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The Bible As An Ethical Guide

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Who is God to you and what is the purpose of life as for living ethically? These ‘big picture questions’, as Mattison noted, is something that everyone questions regardless of their religious backgrounds (pp 226). Also, one may want to question, if the Bible can be used as an ethical guide in latter? However, if the purpose of life were to live happy while helping others, one would have to agree that the Bible does share some important ethical values that can be practiced in latter. Therefore, some information from the Bible can still be used as an ethical guide as it teaches one: to not be possessive, to value family, and to love the needy.
Can owning a luxury good make one possessive? Per Mattison, “Stinginess is using one’s resources poorly by refusing to help others when one can” (pp 61). Hypothetically, if a stranger needed to use a phone to call for a ride, and asked a stranger to lend his or her iPhone to him or her, this situation can lead to the iPhone owner being selfish. Thus, one would care about the iPhone being stolen versus the stranger not getting a ride home. For example, take the story of Lazarus and the rich man from the Bible; Lazarus was a poor man, who would wait for leftovers from the rich man’s home, but never received any food. In the Bible, it teaches one to not get …show more content…

As Mattison noted, in every encounter, Jesus taught his followers by his actions to not reject the poor, the sick, or sinners, but, instead, enrich their lives (pp 283-284). For example, a latter day organization that helps the needy would be The American Red Cross. When disaster relief is needed in the area, one of the sponsors is the American Red Cross that helps with food donation and shelter for the homeless. As noted on the American Red Cross website, “ Volunteers carry out 90% of the humanitarian work of the Red Cross” (American Red

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Unfortunately, they did this for personal gain. One such person who wanted to get something out of helping the poor was Vincent de Paul. De Paul was a Catholic priest and founder of a religious order that ministered to the poor. In a 1658 speech to the members of his order in France he stated that he heard that one of the most important quality of bishops who became saints was their charity work. He thought that people would want to help the poor not because it was the right thing to do, but because it might have facilitated their personal ambitions of achieving sainthood.

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Instead, Jesus welcome anyone when they needed him. Jesus welcomed the poor, prostitutes, tax collectors, leprosy victims and also the rich to his life. Jesus was not picky with his surrounding. He loved each and every one of them. People in his friend group also enjoyed spending time with Jesus because he was a great friend to them.

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Luke 12:33 indicates, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys” (Bible, New International Version). Giving to charitable causes have existed for a long time. In today’s culture, there is a struggle between what is best, either to give freely indiscriminately or to spend by focusing on elimination of the causes of poverty.

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God helps those that help themselves. “We realized then that we were not staying in Hungary. Our eyes opened. Too late” (p. 23). It’s difficult to imagine how people can be so inhumane to one another, it’s sad to think about.

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Martin (2018) defines the human service professional as being part of a team that services individuals needing assistance to enhance their lives (p. 3). As Christians, we are commanded and encouraged to serve, help and assist one another throughout the Bible. During the comparison of the ethical standards of the Human Service professional to the Bible, several bible verses attracted my attention. For example, in 2 Timothy 2:15 we are commanded to “study to show thyself approved” (King James Version).

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The Poisonwood Bible ultimately communicates that as humans live they acquire their own history, and therefore their own story. History is originally retold through the perspectives of people who experience it, therefore it is littered with, and consequently altered by, their own personal emotions and memories attached to the moments. Adah Price, arguably the most introspective narrator in the novel, sums up human life to be “what [they] stole from history, and how [they] live with it,” which further reiterates the concept that humans redefine history by telling their own stories and recollections of what is most true to them, and how they are managing what they experience. The notion that humans “steal” something from history is clearly conveyed

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One article that demonstrates the significance of helping those less fortunate is Andrew Carnegie's The Gospel of Wealth. In spite of his disapproval of contributing directly to the poor out of concern about financial mismanagement, Carnegie is trying to convey a common message. We must give in order to better our society. One quote that shows this ideal is ¨In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves; to provide part of the means which by those who desire to improve may do so; to give those who desire to rise the aids by which they may rise ; to assist, but rarely or never to do all.¨(Carnegie Paragraph 2). Some articles like LifeBoat Ethics by Garret Hardin state that giving is not needed and it wont make a difference.

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Juan Luis Vives, a Spanish humanist, demonstrates a perfect example of an individual who has faith in humanity and believes that we as a whole can do better. Juan believes that no one knows what the ideas of a the poor are or under what circumstances they are living, but people don’t help because,”others withdraw because their good intention is embarrassed by the great number” (Doc 1). Since Luis was a Humanist and he wrote this in a book, he must have meant it and wanted to spread the word to others that it is not a sin to help the poor. Another person who witnessed the poor would have to be Rembrandt van Rijn, in his painting Beggars Receiving Alms at the Door (Doc 6).

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Proverbs 19:17 clearly states, "Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. " What we give the poor, we loan to God, He never forgets to reimburse. Obviously an important attribute, hospitality reflects Jesus' qualities, in the way He loves us, and takes care of us no matter what. Whenever a troubling storm creates

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Morality and religion, the question socrates asks Euthyphro the so-called Euthyphro question. Raises a fundamental issue about the relation between religion and morality. In many religious traditions, God or the gods, are closely connected with morality. Gods are good and care about right and wrong. When euthyphro says what all the gods love is pious, he invokes this connection between gods and morality

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All around the whole world you can find charities for the less fortunate. There are charities for the hungry, the homeless, and for the sick people suffering in hospitals. At my church my pastor visits people in the hospital and prays for them to get better. My youth group does blood drives for the hungry and homeless twice a year. We also go up to Carpenteria and do ministry for the children up there.

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As a Christian, I understand the importance of service. I understand that it is almost a necessity. Some people have so little, yet somehow they manage to pull through the day. It is the job of people who were blessed with more to give back and help those who are unprivileged.

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