January 27, 2009
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Ethics
Ethics class today explored cultural relativism.
Anthropology has found three common values/moral codes in every society:
Don’t murder
Don’t lie
Make sure that enough children are raised/cared for to continue the tribe/group/whatever
that was it. some added insest, but that was too hard to define where the line was and so on. Depressing.
Are there universal laws? codes? that are true whether or not we live them, awknowledge them, or anything? i believe there is.
the more i take this class the happier i am that God is in the class sitting next to me. The happier i am that i have made a choice. The choice that His way is the way for me. It settles so many questions. While the teacher is discussing the theories and different options and objective rules and subjective rules, i stop and realize–i don’t have to find everything right. I don’t have to sort through it to get to some put together something of what would be called “Rachel’s ethics.” Sure, i am walking through life, which means constant learning and re-learning and seeing things differently and all those lovely and hard things…and i will sit in this class and listen and think for myself…but i’ve made a choice…God’s way. and what He says goes.
Rachel’s understanding (so far) of God’s universal laws:
#1 Love
It is right to love
it is wrong to not love (that would include murder)
#2 Purity/Holiness
It is right to be pure and holy
it is wrong to be impure in thought (lust), word (lying), or action (sex outside of marriage)
#3 Priorities
it is right to have God first (Sabbath–the first day is His, tithe–the first money is His…)
it is wrong to have anything else first–idols, substitutes
#4 Weaker Brother
it is right to do anything you have faith is right
it is wrong to do anything that causes someone else to stumble
*
There is more…i am sure. I didn’t even put Jesus being the only way in there. this is so complex! ahhhh! Maybe people would call me untolerant to say this. to say that these rules apply to everyone. to Indians. to Africans. to Cubans. to those 200 years ago and 2000 years ago.
and then you can have all the other arguments…what is “love?” “purity?” “faith?” and so on…and redefine everything…this just happened to be what i thought of.
my education is not complete. but all the answers are there. In the Bible.
Comments (1)
See the first couple chapters of “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, he goes into these ethics that were found in every culture and what they must apply.