Journal Question

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Journal Question 6

• Is it selfish, and thus morally wrong, to pursue
  your own happiness? Explain your answer.

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Journal 7

• Has someone ever made a claim that you didnt
  agree with? EXPLAIN.
• What do you think when someone tells you to be
  accepting of all views?

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Biblical Answer

• The Bible assumes we desire happiness, and
  believes that the Christian life will bring one
  happiness.
• Whatever you have learned or received or heard
  from me or seen in meput it into practice. And
  the God of peace will be with you Ive learned
  the secret of being content in any and every
  situation (Phil. 4 9, 12).

4

• The Bible also assumes that immorality is
  self-destructive, whereas morality is good for
  people and will lead to happiness (Col. 3 1
  Peter 310-12).
• Thus, according to the Bible, selfishness can
  never bring one to happiness, rather it is by
  serving others and acting like Christ that one
  reaches happiness.

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The Death of Relativism

• 6 Problems with Ethical Relativism
• From David Horner

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I. Problem 1 The scope of cultural relativism
is hopelessly vague

• A. The scope of cultural relativism is hopelessly
  vague what constitutes a culture/group in the
  relevant sense?

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The scope of cultural relativism (cont.)

• 1. Most people belong to several groups
  (American, Christian, southern, etc.), and there
  may be conflicting values between groups.

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The scope of cultural relativism (cont.)

• To which group am I morally bound and why?
• Who has the authority to represent the defining
  moral values of the culture majority view,
  consensus, political leadership?

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II. Problem 2 the Reformers Dilemma

• A. Reformers Dilemma If what is right is
  defined by whatever the cultural majority
  believes is right, then a reformer is always
  morally wrong.
• E.g. Jesus and Martin Luther King Jr. would then
  be immoral, which is absurd.

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III. Problem 3 Moral progress

• A. If what is right is just defined as whatever
  the cultural majority believes is right, then
  there can be no moral progress or regress.

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Problem 3 Moral progress (cont.)

• The notions of improvement or decline require
  comparison with a standard outside of what the
  culture happens to believe at the moment.
• But cultural relativism denies that there is a
  standard outside of ones culture.

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Problem 3 Moral progress (cont.)

• So not only was MLK Jr. wrong to oppose
  institutionalized racism, but when we finally
  followed his lead and began to work to diminish
  racism in our society we werent doing anything
  better at all just different. There is no
  moral difference between a racist culture and a
  racially accepting culture.

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IV. Problem 4 No Moral Difference

• A. If MR is true, there really is no moral
  difference between individuals (individual
  relativism) or cultures (cultural relativism)

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Problem 4 No Moral Difference (cont.)

• 1. Individual relativism what is right is
  whatever the individual believes or does.
• It is thus impossible for him to be wrong. The
  only way to say someone is wrong is to appeal to
  a standard outside their beliefs but thats
  what relativism denies.

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Problem 4 No Moral Difference (cont.)

• Since no one can be morally wrong Hitler and
  Mother Teresa are equally moral.

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Problem 4 No Moral Difference (cont.)

• 2. Cultural relativism whatever society
  approves is right.
• So a society is never wrong, no matter what it
  approves slavery, genocide, etc.
• But this nonsense. Nazi Germany was worse than
  Great Britain during WWII.

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V. Problem 5 Impossible to Live as a MR

• A. People want to live their own lives like
  relativists but they dont want others to do so.

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Problem 5 Impossible to Live as a MR (cont.)

• If MR is true, then we cannot hold
  individuals/cultures responsible for harming us
  and people we care about.

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VI. Problem 6 Moral Knowledge

• A. MR is incompatible with what we know about
  right and wrong.
• We know that some acts are morally wrong (e.g.
  torturing babies) and that some character traits
  are good (e.g. compassion) despite what any
  person or culture thinks.

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Problem 6 Moral Knowledge

• MR denies these conclusions, and so is
  incompatible with what we know about right and
  wrong.

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VII. Conclusion

• MR is problematic.
• Objectivism is, therefore, much more probable.
• However, this doesnt mean that what is right and
  wrong is always easy to figure out. It only
  means that right and wrong is objective.