Fluent Essays

6 Reading reports are based on (Chapter3, Christian Ethics),( Chapter4, Making Ethical Decisions), (Chapter5, Ethics of the beginning of life, Part 1), (Chapter7, beginning of life, Part2), (Chapter8, Biotechnology, Genetics, and Human Cloning8) and, (Chapter15, Race, Gender, and Diversity). Of the textbook Moral Choices, an Introduction to Ethics 4th Edition by Scott Rae. The following are the guidelines for writing the reading report. The following steps must be done for each assigned chapter.- Write a half-page single-space summary in your own words. For example, What is the main topic/subject of the chapter? What appeared to you as most important and relevant in the chapter?- Write a half-page single-space reflection that will present your personal opinion about the subject which is treated in the chapter. For example, Did you enjoy reading the chapter, and why? What did you like most about it? Is there something that you did not like, and why? Is something that you read in the chapter familiar to your culture, faith, personal experience? Is there something that you learned from the chapter that can be used in everyday life?- The whole report should be 1 single-spaced-page long maximum (1/2 page summary + 1/2 page reflection) per assigned chapter. - Before submitting the report, do not forget to write down your full name, and the title and pages of the textbook on which the report is written.Please see the attachments .moral20choices2020an20introduction20to20ethics20204th20edition_compressed.pdf reading_report_instruction.docx make_an_initial_post_based_on_the_assigned_readings_for_this_week.docx reading_comprehension.docx Unformatted Attachment Preview 1 In this highly readable and well-referenced book, Scott Rae patiently works through some of the most relevant and perplexing moral questions of the twenty-first century. Given the nature of these issues, this is not an easy task. His careful analysis is illustrated with many enlightening analogies. Beyond that, many readers will appreciate his answers to foundational questions such as why the topic matters in the first place, how to think morally and the variety of ways people do so, and what distinguishes a Christian approach to ethical analysis from a nonchristian one. Those who desire to navigate the perplexing maze of moral questions and various viewpoints on them will find this book invaluable. Paul Chamberlain, professor of ethics and leadership, director of Institute of Christian Apologetics, Trinity Western University Moral Choices is a treasure. After giving a tour on how to think about ethics, Rae walks us through the array of moral choices one faces in the modern world. Loaded with example scenarios and all kinds of data, this book travels through the labyrinth of moral decisions one faces, especially in the area of medical ethics. Anyone reading this book will not get lost in how to wrestle with such choices and will possess a solid guide on how to think about them. Darrell Bock, senior research professor of New Testament, executive director of cultural engagement at the Hendricks Center, Dallas Theological Seminary Moral Choices is my go-to book on helping students think through challenging ethical issues. I recently took a group of advanced high school students through it, and they loved it. It is clear, compelling, and biblical. I’m thrilled about this update and am honored to offer it my highest recommendation. Sean McDowell, PhD, speaker, author, associate professor, Biola University 2 In my twenty years of teaching Christian Ethics, Moral Choices has been very helpful for my students because it is biblically grounded, clear, and engaging, and it helps readers both to think through the process of Christian moral reasoning and to apply such reasoning to the issues of our day. This updated and expanded fourth edition is timely, with new chapters on “Creation Care and Environmental Ethics,” “Violence and Gun Control,” “Race, Gender, and Diversity,” and “Immigration, Refugees, and Border Control.” Readers may disagree with some of Dr. Rae’s conclusions, but all will benefit from his work on critical moral issues. Ken Magnuson, professor of Christian ethics, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary I regard Scott Rae’s latest book, the fourth edition of Moral Choices, as the most impressive work on Christian ethics that I have read in the last few decades. Written by an outstanding teacher and scholar, this is the one book that I would recommend to students, church leaders, and political decisionmakers who want a sophisticated but easy-to-read guide through the maze of modern ethical decision-making. Situating ethics within an overall framework of worldview, this work masterfully explains and evaluates the various ethical systems, provides a suggested model for moral decision-making, and offers up-to-date and real life working examples of some sensible and satisfying solutions available to modern ethicists. Peter Hastie, principal, Presbyterian Theological College, Melbourne, Australia 3 4 5 ZONDERVAN Moral Choices Copyright © 1995, 2000, 2009, 2018 by Scott B. Rae Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546 ePub Edition © August 2018: ISBN 978-0-310-53643-7 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.Zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc. ® Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible ®. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation (www.Lockman.org). Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version. Public domain. Any internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a 6 retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Cover design: LUCAS Art & Design Cover photo: Yeshi Kangrang/Unsplash Interior design: Matthew Van Zomeran and Kait Lamphere 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 /DHV/ 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 7 Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication. 8 Contents Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: Why Morality Matters 2. How to Think About Morality 3. Christian Ethics 4. Making Ethical Decisions 5. Ethics at the Beginning of Life, Part 1 6. Ethics at the Beginning of Life, Part 2 7. Biotechnology, Genetics, and Human Cloning 8. Ethical Issues at the End of Life 9. Capital Punishment 10. War, Violence, and Morality 11. Sexual Ethics 12. Creation Care and Environmental Ethics 13. Ethics and Economics 14. Violence and Gun Control 15. Race, Gender, and Diversity 16. Immigration, Refugees, and Border Control 9 Notes Scripture Index General Index 10 Acknowledgments pecial thanks and appreciation are due to a number of important people who enabled this fourth edition to become a reality. Thanks to my colleagues at Talbot School of Theology, particularly in the philosophy department, for their intellectual stimulation and encouraging friendships—you guys provide a great environment in which to work. I’m especially grateful for the Sabbatical leave that allowed the space to finish this fourth edition. Special thanks to Matt Estel at Zondervan, thanks for your thorough and careful work in editing the manuscript. I have much appreciation for Katya Covrett, my editor at Zondervan, for her initiative and creativity in proposing the changes for this edition. S Many thanks to Zondervan for their desire to publish a fourth edition of this book. I trust that it will continue to be a useful tool, now more beneficial with the updates and new chapters made for this edition. To my wife, Sally, and my sons, Taylor, Cameron, and Austin—thanks for your patience with me when I was getting this finished. You all are such an encouragement, and I am grateful for all that you mean to me. 11 Chapter 1 Introduction Why Morality Matters magine that you were able to live your life in such a way that you could do whatever you wanted to do, whenever you wanted to do it, and you would never get caught or face any consequences for your actions? That is, you could cheat on exams in school, plagiarize papers, sleep with whoever you wanted to, or embezzle money from your employer, and never worry about getting caught. In Plato’s classic work The Republic, the myth of Gyges sets out precisely this situation. In a parallel to Frodo putting on the ring in the film trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, 1 Gyges was given the opportunity to live as an invisible entity, able to do anything he wanted without anyone discovering what he had done. That is, he could do whatever he wanted and would assuredly get away with it. Given the chance to live life like this, the question Plato raises is “Would a person want to be moral? And if so, why?” 2 After a good deal of dialogue, Plato concluded that being moral was inherently valuable, apart from any additional benefits it produced or harm that it enabled a person to avoid. I How would you respond to the question “Why be moral?” Since the moral life and moral decision-making are the focal points of this book, you can see that I am assuming being moral matters, and significantly. If you decide that being moral is not very important, then you probably will not spend much time reading this or any other book on ethics. But if being moral is important to you, the content of this book will be helpful in shaping how you view morality. Morality and the Good Life/Society 12 Morality matters because most people, when they are genuinely honest with themselves, associate doing well in life with being a good person. Having moral character is still essential to most people’s conceptions of what makes a person flourish in his or her life. For example, it is difficult to imagine a person being considered a success in life if he has gained his wealth dishonestly. It is equally difficult to call a person a success who is at the top of his profession but cheats on his wife, abuses his children, and drinks too much. On the other hand, we rightly hold up a person like Mother Teresa as a model of living a good life, even though she lacked most material goods that society values. One of the principal reasons for being moral is that it is central to most concepts of human fulfillment. For the Christian, being moral is critical to a life that seeks to honor God. We could say that being moral is inherently good because it is foundational to a person’s flourishing in life, since doing well in life and being a good person still go together for most people. The same holds true for society as a whole. Most people would not want to live in a society in which morality was unimportant, in which conceptions of right and wrong carried little weight. In fact, it is unlikely that any sort of civilized society could continue unless it had concern for key moral values, such as fairness, justice, truthfulness, and compassion. Ethics are important because they give direction to people and societies who have some sense that they cannot flourish without being moral. This is sometimes referred to as social contract theory, which maintains that as a society, people generally agree to abide by certain moral rules and standards for the sake of social order and peace. 3 Thomas Hobbes, for example, insists that something like this social contract is necessary if societies are to avoid his “state of nature,” which he describes as a war of all against all. This type of society Hobbes wanted to avoid is exemplified in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies in which a social order without morality degenerates into a world that very few people would want to live. Many thoughtful observers of today’s culture are growing increasingly concerned about a breakdown in morality, particularly among students and young adults. They cite phenomena such as drug use, alcoholism, teenage pregnancies, violence, juvenile delinquency, crime, and sexually transmitted diseases as evidence of the moral fabric of society coming unraveled. Some even suggest that the 2016 US Presidential election is further evidence of character and morality being marginalized. University of Virginia sociologist 13 James Davison Hunter pointedly maintains, “Character is dead. Attempts to revive it will yield little. Its time has passed.” 4 He argues that, culturally, we want a renewal of morality, but we want it without the commitments that accompany a rekindling of the importance of character and ethics. He puts it this way: We want a renewal of character in our day, but we don’t really know what we ask for. To have a renewal of character is to have a renewal of a creedal order that constrains, limits, binds, obligates and compels. This price is too high for us to pay (as a culture). We want character, but without unyielding conviction; we want strong morality, but without the emotional burden of guilt and shame; we want virtue, but without particular moral justifications that invariably offend; we want good without having to name evil; we want decency without the authority to insist on it; we want moral community without any limitations to personal freedom. In short, we want what we cannot possibly have on the terms we want it. 5 What Hunter means by a “creedal order” is a framework for morality that has substantial authority and is binding on individuals and communities. It is not necessarily a religious framework, but Hunter is not optimistic about a renewal of character apart from some kind of religious reinforcement of moral commitments. Morality and One’s Worldview Morality matters because moral questions are at the core of life’s most vital issues. Morality is primarily concerned with questions of right and wrong, the ability to distinguish between the two, and the justification of the distinction. Closely related are such questions as: What is a good person? What things are morally praiseworthy? What constitutes a good life? And what would a good society look like? These are fundamental to your view of the world. You cannot formulate an adequate worldview without providing answers to these moral questions. 6 Your view of morality is connected to other critical 14 questions that your worldview must answer. Everyone has a worldview, that is, a set of intellectual lenses through which a person sees the world. Of course, not everyone’s worldview is well thought out or entirely consistent; nonetheless, everyone has one. In fact, when someone makes a decision for Christian faith, he or she not only begins a relationship with God but also adopts a new set of lenses through which to see the world. The same is basically true of adopting other faiths or no faith—that commitment comes with a worldview, a set of ideas to which you are also committed. You cannot have an adequate worldview without a view of morality. A person’s worldview consists of the way a person answers questions about metaphysics, which ask what is real, or what is the nature of reality? Metaphysics means “beyond the physical,” and it deals with questions of what exists—is it just the physical world (known as naturalism), or are there real things that exist outside the physical world? Your worldview also involves a viewpoint about epistemology (which comes from two Greek words meaning “the study of knowledge”), which asks how we know what we know. It also involves a view about anthropology (which also comes from two Greek words which mean “the study of man [humanity]”), which asks what a person is (and, by extension, what happens to a person after death). Anthropology addresses the issues of human personhood: Is a person simply a collection of body parts and physical properties, or does a person consist of something else, something immaterial, like a soul? Your answers to the questions about morality mentioned above connect to other aspects of your worldview, hopefully consistently! For example, your view of metaphysics makes a substantial difference in how you view morality. If God exists, then your view of morality, to be consistent, should take that into account. You might also conclude that God has ordered his world so that morality is built into its framework. If your worldview has no place for God, you might conclude that morality is strictly a human creation. Or you might conclude that morality arose as a result of an evolutionary adaptive advantage, that human beings saw the advantage for survival in having communities that are governed by moral obligations. Likewise, your anthropology is closely connected to your view of metaphysics. If you are a naturalist, human beings are nothing more than a collection of parts and properties with no essence that continues through time and change. How you view the morality of many bioethical issues depends on your view of human persons—what are persons, and when does human 15 personhood begin and end? 7 A person’s position on abortion, physicianassisted suicide/euthanasia, reproductive technologies, and enhancement biotechnology all depend on your view of human persons, which is often assumed and not made explicit. Your view of epistemology is also very important for understanding how you come to know your moral obligations. If you are an epistemological skeptic, you might hold that even if morality does exist, human beings cannot know its demands. But if you are more of an epistemological realist, you might conclude that morality can be known and what we can know does correspond to what actually exists. How, specifically, it can be known helps to distinguish a divine command view of morality from a natural law view. Epistemology from a Christian worldview presumes that there is such a thing as genuine moral knowledge. But the existence of genuine moral knowledge is being increasingly called into question in philosophy today as a result of the cultural dominance of naturalism. This demonstrates how a person’s view of epistemology is connected to his or her view of metaphysics. Among other things, the naturalist metaphysic maintains that all reality is reducible to that which can be perceived with one’s senses. The implication for epistemology is that there is nothing that is real or that counts for knowledge that is not verifiable by the senses. As a result, moral knowledge has been reduced to the realm of belief and is considered parallel to religious beliefs, which the culture widely holds are not verifiable. The theist maintains that moral knowledge is genuine knowledge just like scientific knowledge—that “murder is wrong” can be known as true and cannot be reduced to subjective opinion or belief without the risk of all morality being subjective. The theist argues that no one consistently lives as if morality is entirely subjective and that moral truths do exist and can be known. 8 Morality and Diversity/Pluralism Morality matters because, in our increasingly diverse global culture, it is critical for solving what may be the most important issue for our survival— namely, getting along with each other peacefully despite a plethora of irreconcilable differences. Os Guinness, in The Global Public Square, identifies the problem as such: “How do we live with our deepest differences, especially when those differences are religious and ideological, and when those differences concern matters of our common public life. In short, how do we create a global public square and make the world safer for diversity?” 9 16 The most obvious of these conflicts, one that has grown increasingly violent and intolerant in recent years, is between radical Islam and Western culture. But others, though less violent, are showing evidence of increasing intolerance of those who disagree. Take, for example, the response to businesses that choose not to provide services to same-sex wedding ceremonies. The well-publicized bakers and florists, and even Memories Pizza, who, out of sincere religious convictions, opted not to serve a samesex wedding, found their livelihood destroyed as a consequence. 10 Or take Brendan Eich, founder and former CEO of Mozilla. Eich was forced out of his position because he contributed a small amount of money to Proposition 8 in California. 11 In addition, some state university systems and private colleges no longer allow some religious organizations and clubs to have a presence on campus because of their views. Increasingly, religious institutions, including schools, nonprofits, and businesses run by religious believers are finding themselves subject to highly coercive measures that would force ... Purchase answer to see full attachment