And if I don't like ethnic cleansing, even though it's for the greater good of the race, what should I do about that, Bill? Is simple non-participation an appropriate response?
When you discuss abortion in abstract terms, it's easy to get absolute and say it's either right or wrong. I don't think the decision is that clear-cut - and in your heart of hearts, I think you'd agree. I think you might agree that abortion is not a wonderful thing, and certainly not a cause for celebration. I think you might even agree that it would be good if we could reduce the number of abortions - if we could find another way to reduce the number of unwanted children and unwanted pregnancies. Abortion may be necessary at times - but it's not really a good thing, ever.
I suppose the same goes for capital punishment or warfare, although some people do seem to find the killing of a "bad guy" to be a cause for celebration. Maybe execution or killing in warfare are necessary at times - but whether that killing is good or not is another question. From my point of view, I would say that killing is never good, even when necessary - and I think you'd agree.
This thread is getting long, so I'm not quite clear who first said:
"Christians believe that morality and values are something that need to be referred to a higher authority, named God, who alone has the objectivity and nature to give direction."
I think that's overly simplistic, and it posits that religious moral/ethical systems are based solely on authority and followed solely because of a need to obey authority. I think that most ethical systems are quite rational, based upon shared values may sometimes be universal for humankind. Most ethical systems, be they religious or non-religious, make sense (for the most part). Almost all humans share a value for life, truth, individual accomplishment and possession (i.e., not stealing), and family - and I'd venture a guess that most ethical systems are rational projections of those shared values, not based upon obedience to arbitrary authority.
Religious moral/ethical systems are expressed in a religious context - but most are very similar to non-religious moral codes.
In her book The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong says most religious moral codes are based on some form of the Golden Rule (Do unto others....). I think that most non-religious moral codes also include this value. This value is very strongly held by most non-religious people that I love and respect - including a number of people who have posted to this thread.