Religious%20Morality

1
Religious Morality

• The interpretation of sacred writings guided by
  faith, tradition and/or reason.

2
MORALITY IN THE MODERN WORLD

• Area 1 The Relationship between Religion and
  Moral Values
• Introduction (pp. 1-7)
• The Euthyphro Dilemma Are actions good simply
  because the gods command them or do the gods
  command certain actions because they are good?
• Religious Morality (pp. 8-21)
• Moral values are grounded in religious belief
• The interpretation of sacred writings guided by
  faith, tradition and/or reason
• Utilitarian Ethics (pp. 29-33)
• Act and Rule utilitarianism
• Principle of the greatest good
• Kantian Ethics (pp. 34-37)
• Categorical imperative
• Universal maxim
• Respect of persons

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End of

• Aim to pick out the key points yourself
• Your heading can be
• Introduction
• Inerrancy
• Christian Scripture
• Buddhist Scripture
• Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief

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Introduction

• There are many scriptures that religious people
  believe come from God(s).
• These scriptures also tell followers what is
  right and what is wrong.
• Many religious people disagree with each other
  because they feel that their scripture is divine.
• As well as this there are many different
  interpretations of these scriptures within a
  religion.

5
Inerrancy

• This means to what extent the scriptures could be
  said to be TRUE (or inerrant).
• Traditionalists/Literalists the scripture is
  completely true with no errors.
• Conservatives the scripture is mostly true but
  there are some factual errors.
• Liberalists the scriptures are not to be seen as
  fact books. The lessons and meaning of the
  stories are the important thing.

6
Christian Scripture

• Some Christians believe that the scriptures (OT
  NT) were sent directly from God to those who
  wrote them down.
• Other Christians think that they should be seen
  as a general guide to how to live and that some
  parts of the Bible are more important than
  others.

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Christian Scripture 2

• Some Christians worry about how scriptures are
  used should you take it all as a whole or pick
  bits out?
• Other Christians say that the Bible can be
  interpreted in many ways and they are meant to be
  understood in the context of the time, place and
  situation in which they were written.

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Christian Scripture 3

• Christian Scripture were written a long time ago
  (Bronze Age) when many issues could not have even
  been imagined.
• This means Christians try to match up teachings
  to fit with modern dilemmas.
• This will still leave you having to work a few
  things out for yourself.

9
Christian Scripture 4

• The Guide / Unchangeable Set of Laws debate.
• Jesus stuck to the laws of the Hebrew bible (OT),
  but also bend the laws when he felt it made
  sense to do so.
• Also, whats in Christian scriptures and what is
  not isnt agreed on by all Christians.

10
Christian Scripture 5

• To resolve this many Christians use scripture but
  also compare it with their reason and check with
  their religious leaders or other Christians.

11
Buddhist Scripture

• There are many Buddhist scriptures, so there are
  some of the same problems here too.
• Some scriptures contain sayings of the Buddha
  memories of his followers stories about what he
  did when he was alive (or in previous rebirths)
  and writings of Buddhist teachers or leaders.

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Buddhist Scripture 2

• When trying to interpret the scriptures Buddhists
  have the same problems as Christians what did
  they originally mean and how can you link them to
  modern scenarios?
• Buddhists also disagree about what counts as
  sacred scripture.

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Buddhist Scripture 3

• For Buddhists there is an added problem the
  scriptures are only to be seen as a guide.
• A key factor in Buddhism is working things out
  for yourself by putting its teachings into
  practice.

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Buddhist Scripture 4

• There are some Buddhists who dont read any
  scripture for them being a Buddhist is all about
  learning whats right and wrong for yourself,
  maybe with the help of a teacher or through
  meditation and reflection.

15
Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief

• No sacred scriptures! No god(s)!
• There are written texts which act as a starting
  point to help people make decisions about right
  and wrong.
• For example, Utilitarians refer to the works of
  Bentham and Mill.

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Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief 2

• Documents like the United Nations Declaration of
  Human Rights can give people a start in moral
  decision-making.
• Remember though theres no need to follow
  anything thats written and no writing can ever
  take the place of personal choice about morality.

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Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief 3

• Non-religious might use written sources to help
  them make moral decisions, its just that these
  sources are in no way seen as sacred (this is not
  to say they are thought of less importantly).

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Viewpoints Independent of Religious Belief 4

• the peoples of the United Nations have in the
  Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental
  human rights, in the dignity and worth of the
  human person and in the equal rights of men and
  women and have determined to promote social
  progress and better standards of life in larger
  freedom.
• UN Declaration of Human Rights

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How do you do?

• Peer assessment- Notes swap.
• Work together.
• Fill in any gaps.
• Take a note of questions for me to answer.

20
MORALITY IN THE MODERN WORLD

• Area 1 The Relationship between Religion and
  Moral Values
• Introduction (pp. 1-7)
• The Euthyphro Dilemma Are actions good simply
  because the gods command them or do the gods
  command certain actions because they are good?
• Religious Morality (pp. 8-21)
• Moral values are grounded in religious belief
• The interpretation of sacred writings guided by
  faith, tradition and/or reason
• Utilitarian Ethics (pp. 29-33)
• Act and Rule utilitarianism
• Principle of the greatest good
• Kantian Ethics (pp. 34-37)
• Categorical imperative
• Universal maxim
• Respect of persons

21
The challenge of moral autonomy what do you
think?

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vv_HRU_7XBS0feature
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