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Controversy Over Whether The Ends Justify The Means

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The debate over whether the ends justify the means stands greatly at an impasse for many people. The Bible, historical events, and many stories however have all pointed to the fact that the ends rather, do not justify the means. While this topic is widely based on situational ethics, you must still assess each situation carefully, realizing that there are absolute truths that you cannot defy because you believe you will end up at a good end. In Exodus 20 when God gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, they were self-explanatory, straightforward instructions that are meant to govern the way we live. God knew people would encounter situations where we would have to make difficult choices, however, he knew that the Ten Commandments would be enough to guide us through …show more content…

In 1 Samuel 13, Saul is commanded by God to completely annihilate the Amalekites. Saul is given specific directions to wait for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifice before entering the battle. Situations however got desperate and Saul’s men began to scatter and leave because they were fearful of the enemy. Saul currently is in a desperate situation in which he decides to disobey God’s command in order to restore the morale and courage of his men. Unfortunately, as soon as he chooses to offer sacrifice without Samuel’s consent, Samuel arrives, and this leads to Saul’s rejection as king of Israel. Even though Saul’s intentions were good and respectable, he disobeyed God, thus causing him further punishment. Here it is clear that no matter how pure your intentions are, if you use immoral means to arrive at the end then it is wrong and unjust. Furthermore in 1 Chronicles 13, when the ark is being returned to Israel, a man called Uzziah stuck out his hand to save the ark from falling and because he touched the ark that God commanded no man to touch, he died. This may

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Likewise, in 1 Samuel Saul leads Israel in victory over them Ammonites but says they are not to be killed: “The people said to Samuel, ‘Who is it that said, “Shall Saul reign over us?” Give them to us so that we may put them to death.’ But Saul

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This phrase can only be answered through perspective. As all things in history, there are two sides to this. The opinion formulated by this question depends on whether one values the goal or the means used to achieve that goal more. The position in which I take on this is that the ends do not justify the means.

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