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Below we explore spiritual questions applied to ethics.
Ethics address the ‘should’ & ‘ought’, questions about what is right. From private matters of conscience to issues of public concern such as business ethics and political judgment. We try to apply spiritual principles to these moral questions.
Posts for example address the dilemma of working parents between work and being at home for the children. What guidelines should be employed when disciplining children within the home? What should be the limits of tolerance, protectiveness, anger or impatience?
Human beings need to economically make use of the physical environment. Where should the balance be between valuing and preserving nature and exploiting it to meet the economic needs of a growing world population?
Can it be right to tell someone something they don’t want to know like their medical condition? What about euthanasia? How far should we go to prolong life? Ought we not take our own life?
Articles, linked to below, tackle how to approach political ethics using spiritual principles. Is it right to have a monarchy? How should we regulate free market capitalism? What are the right and wrong ways to deal with a country’s financial crisis? What about immigration policy and multiculturalism? What stance should we take to the numbers of refugees we take in. Should we be ashamed of the western world values. In relation to violence, how should we respond to the human misery caused by civil wars and lawless rogue states?
Insincerity and hypocrisy are criticised. But arguably white lies and pretence are needed to oil the social cogs of society. When is it fair to criticise those who don’t always practice what they preach? When is it wrong to gossip?
If discrimination and judging others are wrong, just how tolerant should one try to be? Posts below look at attitudes to criminals, layabouts, foul language, litter.
Should we put our needs before those of others? Should one give favours on the understanding we will get them back in return or should we follow the ideal of unconditional love? Do we get our own way too often?
Should we try to tell the difference between right and wrong? How much should one give to charities? How to evaluate one’s own private desires? Why does it matter if we go against our conscience? Are there really any impure thoughts? Is sexual imagery too explicit? Where is the harm in watching pornography. How does one become a better person?
It is now clear that in Syria the Assad regime has employed nerve gas against the civilian population and has committed other atrocities in its willingness to pursue a civil war. For example it is documented that government forces last year went into villages and conducted wholesale slaughter. In Syria the human misery is intense … Continue reading Syria – What ethical principles apply?
During the second world war, a seven year old boy helped dozens of Jews escape the Nazis. The Sunday Times newspaper reported that Matteus Guidon’s father, a pastor, would take his son out of school and get him to lead Jewish fugitives across the 9,400 ft Fuorcia pass to his grandfather’s house up in the … Continue reading Even a child can help save lives.
My daughter is getting married in two days time so I couldn’t resist posting this piece about a lost wedding dress that I read about today in ‘The Week’ magazine. A bride-to-be in Tacoma, America was in tears when she phoned the police to report that her wedding dress had been stolen just hours before … Continue reading A happy coincidence?
A little girl died aged 15 months last November from an aggressive form of cancer. You might think that would make Isla Cecil’s parents become negative and lose heart and energy. Not so Mikey and Anna who have since raised £500,000 for research into high-risk childhood tumours. They did it by organising fêtes, marathons, and … Continue reading A great effort
English young people aged between 11 and 15 years of age are turning away from bad habits of their forebears. Dramatic data from the Office for National Statistics suggest that the smoking ban and other public health measures have been working. The percentage of this age group trying alcohol fell from 61% in 2003 to … Continue reading Can we learn from our kids?
Many working mothers feel torn between staying at home to look after the children and going out to work to earn needed money. With the high cost of housing in the UK, being ‘a stay-at-home mum’ is often not an option. Yet such working mothers may feel guilty about not being around for their children … Continue reading Working mothers torn between home and work. What choice to make?
You can hear people saying sorry at funny times. I thoughtlessly knocked into someone in the supermarket the other day and she apologised to me even though it wasn’t her fault! Actually, I have noticed that British people do tend to say sorry over the least thing. It seems to be an unthinking response in … Continue reading Saying sorry — when should I do this?
In the wake of the butchering to death of a soldier in London, supporters of the English Defense League organised a demonstration outside a York Mosque. The group nailed a St George’s flag to the wooden fence in front of the building. Reports indicate that the death of Lee Rigby has unleashed a lot of … Continue reading EDL protest at York mosque
Imagine a mother’s feelings. She thought she would never see pictures of her child, now 9 years old, taken when a baby. Ann Perry-Smith’s car had been broken into all that time ago and cameras and a roll of film had been stolen. But a woman named Helen Maslyk happened to stop on the side … Continue reading With just a little effort
Many a parent wonders how good they are at the job. According to the Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, many parents fail to impose proper discipline in the home and simply put children in front of the television rather than talk and play with them. Many studies have described a bad parent as being … Continue reading How good a parent am I?
