Having taken part in a website test (posted here - where I remember not) that gave several moral situations - the consistent answering of which enables one to survive uninjured to the end of the questions - I have been left for a while deeply ruminating and cogitating over some dilemmas:
Most people would consider that hurting an individual for the good of many is morally wrong and therefore 'evil' (eg kill a child to save 2 people) however would be swayed by context (eg kill an old person to save 2 young) or extra info (kill Hitler prior to WW2) but in all those scenarios there comes the ultimate 'mirror moment' if you had to make the decision you inevitably would have done something evil in someone else's book and very possibly in your own.
Enter God.
If we decide that it is evil to hurt someone for others, where does that leave God, who planned, delivered and allowed Jesus to suffer for and on behalf of us? Does the context (Jesus chose that path as well and could have backed out) make it more acceptable? Does it matter whether Jesus was God (trinity) or the Son (seperate being to the Father)?
Is self sacrifice - a regular tenet of religion - wrong? Do we change our view of the 'morality' if the 'victim'/sacrifice is a willing participant? If we do, would that change our view of God's 'nastiness' towards innocents (disaster victims for example) if we somehow acquiesed to our own suffering (a concept inherant in my LDS worldview by dint of a belief in existence before life on earth)?
Enter Religion.
Let's talk about my LDS faith here (so my introspective questions are not an attack on other faiths). Is it correct for the church to 'sacrifice' my time, money, freedoms for others (as a missionary 2 years, in community programs like today's litter pick :P, at church on a Sunday preaching and teaching)? If the LDS faith is a better way of living than someone currently has does it matter that the price is so high if the rewards (purely practical) are so good? Does it matter if I tell the whole truth as a missionary since I know that if they accept the faith they'll get happier as long as they don't dig too deep in the logic or history of the faith? Is it better to introduce someone to Jesus (even if that Jesus is 'false') than to leave them where they are?
So many questions.
Random Musings - What is Good
by Qcmbr 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Qcmbr
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Joel Wideman
Hmmm... Those are some stumpers. Let's see how I measure up.
If we decide that it is evil to hurt someone for others, where does that leave God, who planned, delivered and allowed Jesus to suffer for and on behalf of us? Does the context (Jesus chose that path as well and could have backed out) make it more acceptable? Does it matter whether Jesus was God (trinity) or the Son (seperate being to the Father)?
God has the advantage. We are imperfect and make mistakes, not understanding fully the consequences of our choices. If I had to sacrifice my son for the sake of the world, I'm not sure I could do it. I could never be sure that my choice was right. Neither the context nor deity status matters - what matters is that only God could have made such a choice and have it be truly just.
Is self sacrifice - a regular tenet of religion - wrong? Do we change our view of the 'morality' if the 'victim'/sacrifice is a willing participant? If we do, would that change our view of God's 'nastiness' towards innocents (disaster victims for example) if we somehow acquiesed to our own suffering (a concept inherant in my LDS worldview by dint of a belief in existence before life on earth)?
As I've already stated that context doesn't matter, then self-sacrifice changes nothing. That someone would sacrifice themselves to the greater good is noble. That someone, lacking the perfect wisdom of God, would demand that sacrifice is unjust.
Let's talk about my LDS faith here (so my introspective questions are not an attack on other faiths). Is it correct for the church to 'sacrifice' my time, money, freedoms for others (as a missionary 2 years, in community programs like today's litter pick :P, at church on a Sunday preaching and teaching)? If the LDS faith is a better way of living than someone currently has does it matter that the price is so high if the rewards (purely practical) are so good? Does it matter if I tell the whole truth as a missionary since I know that if they accept the faith they'll get happier as long as they don't dig too deep in the logic or history of the faith? Is it better to introduce someone to Jesus (even if that Jesus is 'false') than to leave them where they are?
The real question here is, are you really following God, or men? It is easy to be certain we are following men, but it is impossible to be certain that we are following God. In light of this uncertainty, any deviation from the simpler concepts of justice and truth is folly. -
Joel Wideman
Okay, I give up - how do you put stuff in quote boxes?
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Qcmbr
Thanks, Joel - no idea on the quotes box thing - I use Firefox which locks me out of a lot of functionality on this site.
For the rest of you I either bored you rigid or ..I'm not certain their is an 'or':)