Will's Morality Blog

entry 16

2010-04-13T16:57:00.000-07:00

I would say that i am more of a very liberal christian. I have all of the christian beliefs towards God and the church except i veiw some of the church's moral standards a little more loosley than most. I think masturbation is morally acceptable. I feel as though it is a physiological need and God would not have created that need for humans being to maturbate if it was not to be fullfilled. I almost feel as though conservative christians are ignorant because they are over looking the fact that God created everything on this earth, he created every aspect of the human body along the human body's qualities and pleasures and needs. And he created all of these things for a reason, God would not have created needs of human beings if they were not meant to be fullfilled. It also promotes good health. How could something that is good for your health be morally wrong? It improves one's well-being. I also believe it makes people happier, and if it is done privately and no one knows about it then why should it matter? It does not effect anyone else, and its results benefit the health of men. There is no logically known reason for masturbation being morally wrong. I feel as though people think it is wrong because that is what they are told, if someone were to actually think about it i think they would realize that it is not wrong but healthy, positive, and acceptable within ones own privacy.

Entry #15

2010-03-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

I do not think it is morally ethical to sacrifice ones own child to the Gods. God has a moral standard for people on this earth. One of the 10 commandments is, one shall not kill. Death is a very extreme penalty and should only be considered if a major crime was committed, but to kill a child just because one thinks that the Gods want a sacrificed mortal. To sacrifice a child seems to be the exact opposite of what a God would want. I do not know the reasoning as to why the "gods" would want a human child to die in the first place; that is why I think that it is somewhat foolish to think that the gods want you to kill you own child. I think that the second situation is extremely unethical. Everyone deserves a chance at life. The people in the United States Military decided to join the army and decided to fight and are given the chance to defend themselves. They know, when they sign up for the army, exactly what they are getting themselves into. To go ahead and kill and innocent child in a hospital already probably struggling for life is insane and completely selfish of the United States to do. Not only that, if the United States were to bomb a whole hospital wing it would most likely take more innocent lives within the hospital, not just the child. Also it is not a garuntee that killing the child will even break the dictator. It could possibly make him more angry at the United States causing more chaos.

Entry #14

2010-02-17T17:30:00.000-08:00

At first I did not know what to think of the interaction between Henry Poole and Father Salazar. Henry is expressing signs of some kind of deep sadness. He seems depressed the entire movie so far. Father Salazar is a very religious person obviously and he is able to tell that something is wrong with Henry which is why he asked Heny what was bothering him. The fact that Henry does not want to discuss anything with Father Salazar shows that maybe he is uncomfortable about talking to him about it, or maybe he feels embarassed or self conscience. Henry also leaves alot up for consideration because no one knows what is wrong with him or why he so angry because he does not tell anyone. At first I was maybe thinking suicide was the reason he wasnt going to be a long much longer, until later in the movie when we find out that he has some sort of disease and according to the doctors, is not expected to live much longer.174. I think that now that Henry knows he is not expected to live much longer, he is breaking down, emotionally, mentally, and religiously. I think that he tells Esparanza that there is no God because he is afraid, and mad at God for giving him his deadly disease, therefore refuses to even beleive there is a God. I think that Henry is lost within himself and his emotions and he is going through a state of depression. I believe that the underlying theme of this poem is , we all want something that we don't have. Meaning everyone is wishing for something, somekind of unrealistic fantasy but when it comes down to it we are still in the same situation, and we are all still our true selves. I think these words do relate to Henry because Henry wishes for more, he wishes to be healthy, but in reality, his health cant change, and he is going to remain in the same condition and most likely eventually die. I think that the quote is related to Henry, meaning Henry is not being true to himself and his real, and likeable personality is knocking and it wants to come out but it is being held back by Henry's fear of dying.

Entry #13

2010-02-08T16:08:00.000-08:00

I agree with that quote. I think that this quote is saying that to succeed into the Kingdom of Heaven you must take actions and do things to better yourself and the ones around you. You must do things to benefit yourself here and now so that in the future you may succeed into the Kingdom of Heaven. If we live our lives fulfilling what the beatitudes reveal to us we will go to heaven which in itself is wonderful but what makes it even more wonderful is that it fulfills our life on earth as well because living in service to other makes us feel so good. There are many things that benefit me in this life here and now. My family is what mostly benefits me right now. They always have been and always will be by my side, willing to help. They are so supportive and caring and it motivates to keep pushing on. Yancey talks about two groups, the Anabaptists and the Quakers. He favors the Anabaptists. Anabaptists and their nonviolent response to persecution stands as one of the shining moments in church history (pg 136). Anabaptists admit their failure to fulfill literally every command in the Sermon on the Mount (pg 136). I would consider the Amish to be very similar to Anabaptists. The amish are non violent people who simply have different beleiefs than most people. They have a different way of doing things. I think Yancey views purity as being something that is free from sin or something that knows no evil. To me this basically means that nothing or no one can be pure, because the only being free from sin is God. Jesus' paradoxical key to abundant life is, not to destroy life but that we may have it more abundantly. I agree, i think this is trying to say that if you live your life to the fullest everyday your life will be more 'abundant' and greater rewards will come to you.

entry #5

2010-01-12T20:28:00.000-08:00

There are many adjectives that could be used to describe Jesus. One is prudent, Prudence is practical judgement it gives one the ablility to make practical decisions in certain situations. This is definately an adjective that could be used to describe God becuase God always makes practical and morally correct decisions. Jesus also possess the virtue of justice because Jesus is aware that Justice is the virtue that reminds us that the people with whom we share our world with have rights and that, as much as possible, all people deserve to have basic needs met. Jesus also possesses fortitude because he is strong and courageous. Another adjective to describe Jesus is temperant. the virtue of temperance refers to self control in general. Jesus had a tremendous amount of self control. I think that I find the adjective temperant the most interesting one refering to Jesus. Every peice of scripture or passage you read about God describes him as being calm in every type of situation. No matter what it it, death, miracles, life itself or even divine powers. He sets the example for people, he is always very collective and has alot of self control. He knows how to be a role model and leader to his followers which I think is very important. The temperate Jesus sort of reminds me of a hippy jesus, always relaxed and worry free. He supports peace and love between everyone.

Change and Conscience Entry #9

2010-01-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

I dont really know what to thnk of this situation to be honest. I think that conscience and change are deffinately two big parts in this passage. I guess that no one can really pass jusdgement on the character in the passage who decreases the bill because no one knows what his intentions were. Maybe his intentions were just to do something nice for once so that people will like him, so that when he gets fired he will have a place to go, or maybe he was just doing that out of the good of his heart, maybe his conscience told him to do it. Maybe he was acting through God and was doing what God had told him to do. If i were the manager i would not have donw what he did. the character in the passage immidiately started thinking about himself right when he got into trouble, he immidiately began to ask himself what he is going to do so that when he gets fired for his wrong doings he will still be living comfortablely. If that were me i would have apologized for my wrong doing and accepted my punishment as a mature person should. I would not be immidiately thinking about how i can get out of what i just did.I also think that change has alot to do with this passage because the main plot of the story is about change. the whole idea is that the manager is changing people's bills to less for his own benefit in the end. This i think exemplifys an immoral conscience because it is basically cheating what the manager is doing. He is manipulating people to think that he is being this really nice guy who happeneds to be cutting someone a break by decreasing their bill. but really hes just trying to get on theirgoodside so that when he gets fired he will have someone to mooch off of. If you look at it optimistically change will hopefully have a big part in Dan's life. He at the lowest point of his life right now and there needs to be a change soon or else he could die anyday from the drugs he uses. This would not only effect him but also the people that care about him such as his family and friends.

Conscience and Suicide entry # 8

2010-01-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

I guess you could say conscience is related to suicide. Conscience is the little voice in your head that help you to distinguish right from wrong. Conscience is related to suicide because everyone has a conscience whether it is a guilty conscience or a clean conscience, and that conscience is what is driving the decision to commit suicide. We can only hope that a person will over come their guilty conscience so they are able to start making sane and rational decisions. There is always that inner voice within people that tell people what to do and what not to do. 101. Upbringing relates to conscience and suicide as well. According to the text book, "our conscience is formed and molded --cultivated--by our culture and our community. Significant people in our lives, especially in our early lives, shape our sense of right or wrong." This just goes to show how everyone has a conscience, but everyones conscience has been formed and molded around different values and teachings according to how you were raised and taught. This is what makes everyone different. A feeling, is also related to a persons conscience and suicide. Feelings are the main reason a person will commit suicide. They have mixed feelings or bad feeling about something, it is something they feel they must do. 219. Conscience is related to suicide because a persons consicence basically forms the personality of that person. If you have a good conscience you will have a good personality, atleast thats what I think. When a person has a guilty conscience they may feel that no punishment except for death will truly clear their conscience. A persons conscience is the driving force behind their thinking, there actions, and their beliefs. 288. I think suicide is a sin and should be looked down upon by the catholic church. Although suicide may feel like an only option or an unselfish act, it is not, death effects every single person in the world. Suicide is especailly selfish if you are leaving family member behind.

Entry #11

2009-12-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

I think that Dan's reaction to this poem could be unpredictable. I think he would interpret as an encouragement to make decisions. You could relate this poem to the art of choosing in that there are a ton of choices that must be made and tons of choices that are presented to you, some can look good and some can look bad but in the end a choice is made. He would agree that we must strive to be the best person we can through decision making, and we can't let making bad decisions or not making decisions at all, keep us from being the best person we can be. I think Dan's fear was being able to commit himself to things, for many different reasons. Reasons such as laziness, fear, and doubt. He knew that if were to commit himself to something he would be giving up something else. He is afraid of making a choice so he avoids it, which is what he should not do. He avoids the options concerning his future health and well being, along with the decisions concerning the ones he loves. He avoids telling someone about his drug problem which I think is his worst decision of all. By deciding not to tell anyone he leaves out his option for a possible cure or intervention. If he told someone, especially someone that loved him, help and support would be provided. I think he left that out, and made the decision that he did, because he was mainly scared, scared of what people think of him and how his image to other people would change for the worst. If I were Dan's friend I would definately try to help him in someway. I would confront him and tell him that I am going to help him then let him pick how he wants to go about it, whether it is private, or out in the open, or to a therapist, or a large group, or even rehab. 335. I would go about it this way because it provides him with a choice of how he wants to get better and it gives him hope and still some sense of self confidence to keep him going. I would also go about it this way because it lets him know that people care about because I am trying to help him, and everyone needs to know that someone in their life cares about them, that is the first step to getting better.

Moral Dilemma

2009-11-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

It was around last year, I was taking a trip up to New York City with my family, right around Christmas time. We went out to dinner together and then began to walk around the city. My parents wanted to get some coffee so we went into one of the many starbucks that we saw. As my parents were ordering, me, my brother, and my sister, were sitting on the couch in the sitting area. Then while we were sitting there a , what looked to be homeless man, walked into the store and sort of looked around and waited as if were going to buy something. Then all of a sudden I saw him put two bottles of water into his jacket pocket and walked out. I was aware that what he was doing was wrong, and then I thought well he's homeless he needs water to survive in these cold conditions. I didn't know what to do. I knew it was wrong, but i just kept thinking to myself, here is man trying to survive, society has shunned him because of his living condiditon, and if someone is really that desperate that need to steel water from starbucks, maybe it is worth just letting him go. Which is exactly what I did, I was the only one that saw and I didnt say anything to anyone. I still think about it and wonder to myself if I made the right decision.

BSA Oath Entry #6

2009-10-28T16:14:00.000-07:00

I can understand the reasoning behind the BSA oath. They are a catholic organization and the catholic church does not support homosexuality. However, I do not agree with the BSA oath at all. I think it is discriminatory and demeaning towards a different way of life. I think that they kind of conradict themselves in regards of their policies. I also think that BSA organization is somwhat corrupt and has unfortunately begin to corrupt society as well, discrimination such as this corrupts society in that it brainwashes Americans to view a sexual orientation different from their own as unequal. This oath contradicts itself when it says, ""A scout is reverent", mentions that, "All your life you will encounter people who hold different religious beleiefs or none at all, it is your duty to respect and defend the rights of others whos beleifs may differ from yours."" Supposedly the BSA organization supports this quote however they shun people who are different then them? That does not reallly make sense to me. I do not think that any of the three theological virtues are represented in the BSA oath. Faith is demonstrated in the oath ideally through words of prayer and the oath itself however the meaning of faith is not represented here and hope is taken away from people when society keeps pushing them back down and pushing them back down and charity is not even mentioned in this oath.

2009-10-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

To be honest i do not know what to make of all this. It is a very controversial topic and very paradoxical from every way you look at it. Gods intended purpose for us on earth is to survuve and reproduce. He created man, and the male body part, the penis, to impregnate women. That was his only intended purpose in its creation. This is made clear through the catecism of the catholic church and the ten commamndments. However no where does it say that masturbation is a sin. I think that the only reason people think that is because masturabtion is not what was intended by God when he created man but just because it was not what God intended does not mean it should be a sin. Women are obviously still being impregnated. I am leaning toward the idea that maybe masturbation is a good thing. Even though God intended for the penis to impregnate women, the last thing someone needs in an econmy such as the one we are in is to become pregnant. I also think that it is a good thing becuase a majority of the people having sexual intercourse in todays world are teens. A teen pregnancy can ruin a persons life. It can kill a persons bright future and even tear families apart. I am sure that God would not want that. In fact teen pregnancies can cause people to sin more often because they become desperate. So if masturbation is able to keep the sex drive down amoung young teens and boost self control then i do not think masturbation is a sin.271. Things such as the Bible and the ten commandments are basically guidelines for life. They want you to live your life through helping others. In fact the then commandments and the Bible mainly revovle around helping others and not being mean to other people. Where I am going with this is, as long as your actions do not effect the health or well being of other people then i feel as though you should be allowed, by the lord, to do what you want.

Selma's Story

2009-09-28T17:08:00.000-07:00

My prediction was that the woman in the movie will live. I thought this because of the concept of morality. I thought that if a person who makes well thought out, concious, and moral decisions as much as possible, they would be awarded or morally accepted and they would feel good about themselves. That is why I was surprised at the end of this scene when she was brutally hung. My prediction was unfortunately wrong. I predicted this because i was thinking of God. As i was watching the movie i thought to my self...God will not let a poor innocent girl die such a creul and painful death especially because she has done nothing wrong. I was thinking of the topics we talked about in class, such as grace and morality, and i thought about how this girl diplayed every one of them as she prayed and sang to the lord before her death. I also thought about how this girl was blind and deaf. I thought that with her disabilities, God would guide her and help her through life. I hate seeing things like this because i feel as if it lessens my faith, because i wonder why such a nice, young, vibrant, faithful, helpless girl was killed in such a violent manner. i know she did not deserve it which is the reason i ask God...why was she killed? Why did you think she deserved this God? When i see things like this happen, sometimes i wonder why am i so lucky? God gives me everything i ask for, yet this poor girl is blind deaf and helpless and she is killed, when she probably is more faithful than most people judgin my her singing and prayer. Jesus believes in the forgiveness of sins. Even if this girl had done something bad, i do not believe that death would have been the way to punish her.