Josh Peterson: Journal Analysis

(Q1: Journal 1 - Identity) My name is Josh Peterson. I was born on the 7th of November, 2000. I was born and raised in London, and then moved to Australia in 2005. I love playing computer games and doing taekwondo. I am good at, and like, Japanese and Technology at school. I am Catholic, just like the rest of my family. My parents, who are loving and caring, have taught me all about moral integrity and the importance of having moral values in life. As a student at Marist College Ashgrove, I consider myself as part of the community. The values which I have learnt, such as honesty, justice, courage and persistence help me. I have self-respect and respect for others, self-esteem, I help others in need and I stand up for what I believe is right.

If you have an informed conscience, you are able to create judgements about how morally right something or someone is. Through Catholic teachings, we learn when making an informed conscience decision, it’s important to gather the facts about a particular circumstance and to have knowledge about morals, values, virtues and laws before a decision can be reached. People develop an informed conscience through learning about what’s right and wrong by using our heart and our mind. This can be achieved through following and understanding Catholic teachings and also following and obeying The Ten Commandments. We also learn how to develop one through Jesus’ teachings and the scriptures in the Bible. People also learn from parents, friends, teachers or other people. In a group setting, most people would do whatever everyone else does, whether it is right or wrong. If a person in this group setting were to stand up to everyone else to tell them what they are doing is wrong, they would be using their informed conscience. An example of this could be a group of people at a school deciding to go and raid other people’s school bags, which is inappropriate behaviour. If one person in that group stood up to everyone else by gathering the facts about the situation, they would be able to make a good decision and not raid the bags because they would be not be doing the

Good is usually defined as something that is a moral act, or being moral – the right thing to do. Evil is usually defined as an immoral act, or being immoral – the wrong thing to do. There are 2 types of evil – physical and moral. Physical evil is something that occurs naturally, like a natural disaster. Moral evil is when someone chooses to abuse their free will for the wrong purposes. I know what good and evil are because they were taught to me from many people, including my friends, family, parents and teachers. People, including myself, know what is wrong from experiences – I have learnt from the consequences of my actions. An example of good in society today could be someone donating to charity just because they know that the donations are going to people who are less fortunate. People who are usually selfless could be classified as being good, because of what they do. An example of evil could be robbing a bank so that they can have the money for themselves. People who are regularly selfish could be classified as being evil, immoral or bad because of their actions. The act of becoming part of the MATES program at Marist College Ashgrove through feeding the homeless is good and moral. Helping others who are less fortunate and in need is selfless and moral. There are many stories that show times when Jesus healed and taught people important lessons. A good example