Everyman’s Talmud starts with the assertion that God’s existence is an “axiomatic truth” that Jews do not need hard evidence to prove (Cohen 1). Building off this point, God is seen as the Creator of the universe and the only heavenly power. While early Christians adopted the idea of the Holy Trinity and three persons in one God, classical rabbis argued against this triumvirate in favor of supporting a strictly monotheistic, singular representation of God (Cohen 4-5). Another main point expressed in Everyman’s Talmud is the idea of God’s simultaneous transcendence and immanence. This means that while God transcends the laws and limitations of our finite world, He maintains a closeness to man that allows Him to help with our struggles in times of need. “God is at once above the Universe and the very soul of the Universe,” sums this seemingly contradictory idea up (Cohen 47). …show more content…
Genesis 1 and 2 describe how God crafts the heavens and earth, making “man in his own image” with the creation of Adam and then Eve (Genesis 1:27). Additionally, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God where an angel proclaims, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole Earth is full of his glory,” which goes along with the notion that God and His grace are everywhere at once (Isaiah 6:3). While God’s compassion and mercy are well documented in the Bible and rabbinic literature, the book of Deuteronomy expresses how people must adhere to His commandments as He has the power to “destroy you from the face of the Earth” (Deuteronomy 6:15). The Bible also provides several images of God, depicting Him in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3:2), a shepherd (Psalm 23:1-3), and a four-winged creature with the faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle (Ezekiel
In order to make sense of these inherently opposite features, we must seek a higher authority and focus on God’s beauty, mercy, love, and grace. Our God, who is the creator of the world, has a plan for us all and intends for us to seek out His will. When we look around us and see that God created and feeds the sparrow just as he created and feeds us, we can begin to understand God’s will and His purpose for us. The entire enormity of this world and what God created becomes clearer. God seeks a relationship with us. There are times when reading the Bible, a passage or verse may seem too confusing or unrelatable in our current situation, although a God who created nature and everything in it always reveals the truth in His time for His plan for
In light of Craig Stern’s excerpts, from the book, A Higher Law by Jeffrey A. Brauch, he writes concerning four Christian ideas-doctrines “Four Christian ideas-doctrine in fact-are both especially important to that religion and especially important to the rule of law in the common law tradition.” Stern’s begin to explain what formulates the doctrinal belief of the Christian faith. “The first of these is the doctrine of God himself, that is, his being and his work.” By this, Stern’s means that God is the creator of all things he is the beginning and the end. “The Christian faith holds that God is the “I AM,” the uncreated creator of all that is, who is from everlasting to everlasting.” He is also the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, a God of relationship, of covenant. In this way, he is both transcendent and immanent.”
Each of these articles brought an interesting view to the book of Exodus by giving examples of different perspectives. Interpreting the scripture with different views of the Lord brings out opposing outlooks on Him. Most of us as Christians think traditionally that God is just all loving and patient, He is; but He is also jealous and wrathful. The book of Exodus is a perfect example portraying His love and His wrath on the Israelites.
"Aristotle felt that virtue is the ability habitually to know the good and to do the good." (Dreisbach 2009, p. 84) However; what did he mean by this? Can a person be considered morally virtuous, if he is judged by a single action he has committed? What is virtue any way? Well according to Dictonary.com "virtue is moral excellence, righteousness and goodness. (Dictonary.com, 2014) Humans are not born virtuous or moral in nature. They are characteristics that are learned. Such as being compassionate, kind, honest or modest. Aristotle called them habits; habits are a learned behavior pattern. Some can be good, while other a course is not so good.
When we discuss morality we know that it is a code of values that seem to guide our choices and actions. Choices and actions play a significant role in determining the purpose and course of a person’s life. In the case of “Jim and the Indians”, Jim faces a terrible dilemma to which any solution is morbid. On one hand, Jim can choose to ignore the captain’s suggestion and let the whole group of Indians be executed. Alternatively, he may decide upon sacrificing one Indian for the sake of saving the rest. Both options involve taking of person’s life. Regarding what should Jim do in this circumstance, there are two approaches according for Jim’s dilemma that should be examined. By looking into the Deontological moral theory and the moral theory of Consequentialism we can see what determines an action that is morally required.
...he one that most Christians know today. This God is quite different from both the New Testament and Plato’s. In Genesis, God states, “For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die.” This God does not desire human beings to accept knowledge but rather to accept His rule and obey. This particular deity is about fear, power, and absolute control; so much so that those who do not adhere to His law, their deaths are assured. This is seen in Deuteronomy 7:2, it states, “When the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction.” God is characterized not as a kindly guider of souls, but rather the harsh taskmaster intent on defeating enemies of His and spreading the influence of His supporters.
Contrary to Aristotle’s view that supreme happiness is related to earthly living, Augustine argues that supreme happiness is not truly found until one seeks eternal life with God. While both mostly agree on the definitions of the virtues, differences arise when one looks at their views on the ends that those virtues should be directed towards. In this essay, I will discuss both Aristotle and Augustine’s ideas of virtues and what each thinks humans should do in order to truly find and achieve the supreme good of happiness.
“Abortion or induced abortion, by definition is the deliberate termination of a pregnancy via surgical or medical means” (Vaughn, 2013, p. 163). For many years debating the legality and morality of abortion has caused uproars both publically and privately among politicians, religious leaders and the general public. This paper is intended to bring insight to the subject from two ethical theories, Subjective Relativism and Virtue Ethics. After reviewing the subsequent material you will realize abortion in cases of rape is absolutely morally acceptable.
Is virtue all we need? Virtue epistemology is the theory that all of the things we believe are done so through an ethical process. They play an important role, in that our own personal experiences and intellectual facets are what drive this process. The fundamental idea of virtue epistemology is that knowledge is a form of a more general phenomenon, namely success through abilities. Which is turn means: knowledge is a cognitive achievement through cognitive abilities (perception, memory, experience, etc.). Knowledge doesn’t need to be anything beyond a justified true belief.
James Rachels expresses his thoughts on what a satisfactory moral theory would be like. Rachels says a “satisfactory theory would be realistic about where human beings fit in the grand scheme of things” (Rachels, 173). Even though there is an existing theory on how humans came into this world there is not enough evidence to prove the theory to be correct. In addition to his belief of knowing how our existence came into play, he also has a view on the way we treat people and the consequences of our actions. My idea of a satisfactory moral theory would be treating people the way we wish to be treated, thinking of what results from our doings, as well as living according to the best plan.
The conception of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam is monotheism, the belief in the existence of a single indivisible God. The three of religions maintains that there is only one God, who is active in and concerned about the world. These religions are also patriarchal, male-dominated, which has resulted in God being described as “He.” However, how Christians, Judaism and Islam conceptualize God in their respective theologies is actually quite different. In Christianity, God is the supreme creator and ruler of the universe. Christians believe God is infinite, omnipotent, all-powerful, perfect, personal, eternal, unchanging, holy, all-knowing, and all-loving. Their idea of God is shown in the belief of the Trinity. God is one, but with three aspects: God is Father, the creator, ruler, and sustainer of all life, and divine judge; God is the Son, who is Jesus, God made incarnate and savior of humanity; and the Holy Spirit, who is God working in the world. Both Muslims and Christians love and respect Jesus, however, the major difference between Islam and Christianity is the Christians insistence on the supposed divinity of Christ. In Christian scriptures, God never claimed divinity while the emphasis in the Islamic theology of God is “absolute unity;” God is sublimely one. Muslims think that by believing in the Trinity, Christians believe in three Gods. For them, God is One God. Judaism views the existence of God as a necessary prerequisite for the existence of the universe, and the existence of the universe is sufficient proof of the existence of God.
What establishes a noble, valuable, enjoyable life? Many philosophers tried their own beliefs to these ancient and most persistent of philosophical question. Most of Philosophers have agreed that the best possible life is a life where the ideas of “virtue” and “happiness” are fulfilled. Nevertheless expected differences in terms, many great minds theorized that the road to a joyful, flourishing, happy life is paved with virtues. For example, Aristotle believed that anyone keen to live a virtuous life will reach happiness (Aristotle 1992). Also according to Roman Cicero, the bonds between virtue and happiness are very strong, that a virtuous person could still be happy even if he is tortured (McMahon 2006). In addition, Rosalind Hursthouse contended that owning virtue does not essentially result in happiness, as luck plays an irrefutable part in human’s life; however it is the best bet for a good life (Hursthouse 1999). Exactly the same like taking on a healthy routine is the best way for being healthy, although it does not assurance perfect health. In my opinion, there is a strong connection between virtue and happiness, yet there are some exceptions.
In God and Objective morality: A debate, Craig interprets the objective morality and states that the existence of God is the only foundation of objective morality. My purpose of this paper is to argue against Craig’s argument. My thesis is objective morality does exist in society to both theists and atheist, and the foundation of the moral value to individuals does not have to be God. For an atheist, God is also an abstract and not reliable foundation. Social harmony is the general foundation of moral value in modern society, and it is objective without the existence of God. In §1, I present the Craig’s argument and explain the motivation of each premise. §2, I present my critique and show that Craig’s argument fails. In §3, I defend against possible rebuttal.
According to Aristotle’s definition of happiness, in order to flourish or live well one must be morally virtuous. Aristotle says, “Virtue, then, is a state that decides consisting in a mean, the mean relative to us…It is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency” (1107a 1-2). Aristotle suggests that virtue of magnificence is necessary to live a happy life. Aristotle describes magnificence as dependent on wealth. Specifically, he says that “magnificence is expenditure that is fitting in its large scale” (112b 2).
Virtue is the moral excellence that an engineer has to abide by in order to achieve a sense of achievement and virtuous gratification towards his actions. Specifically, virtue ethics emphasizes the individual’s character of the action. Virtue relates to engineering by allowing engineers to practice their intellectual virtues which stems from learning and their ethical virtues which stems from habit. Virtue ethics emphasizes that it is who you are that counts and one should value character, a person’s moral habits.