What makes something morally right or wrong?

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Most people are outraged when they hear of someone being raped or killed. A person is praised for being generous and courageous. Why is this? It seems most people have a built in sense of what is right and wrong. The problem is that once we try to define exactly what makes something morally right or wrong, everything becomes pretty subjective. Here are three definitions I have heard given for defining morality.

  • Human Flourishing. This is the way a lot of humanists would define what is morally right and wrong. According to this line of thinking, things that contributed to human flourishing would be morally right and things that did not would be wrong. Consequently, killing someone, unless for a very good reason (e.g. they were a mass murderer), would be wrong. Conversely, giving money to charities would be right. Killing an animal would be neutral. By this definition, doing things that are unhealthy to yourself, others, or the environment could be classified as wrong. Limiting people’s rights, except for specific cases, would also be a no-no.
  • The Bible. I am not listing all the different holy books, even though there are many people that believe the holy book of their particular religion is the final arbiter of what is morally right and wrong. For now, since most of my readers are Christians, I will just focus on the Bible. Now, the Bible is a very diverse book and there are thousands of interpretations of its various commands. However, actions can be placed into a general category of definitely wrong, possibly wrong, or definitely not wrong according to the Bible. Killing another person (except in unique cases) would be definitely wrong, something that is not contested. Eating pork and not tithing would be possibly wrong, as these are debated among Christians. Things that are not wrong according to the Bible would be topics the Bible doesn’t even reference in general or things the Bible specifically commands or infers are acceptable.
  • Logic and reasoning. Atheists will sometimes argue that most religion is wrong because it makes a virtue out of believing things without evidence and favoring presuppositionalism over logic in discovering truth. This definition condemns any action or belief as wrong if it does not lead to empirical truth but is mystical in nature.

With this much confusion and lack of consensus on what constitutes morality, I believe this word is better avoided. Instead of asking if something is moral, just choose one of the above definitions (or another one you like) and ask “Will this contribute to human flourishing?” “Does the Bible state this is definitely (or possibly) wrong?” “Does this contradict logic?”

I believe if we asked these questions instead of asking “Is this moral?” or “Is this right?” we would be able to understand people with different ideas of morality better and have meaningful discussions about these important topics. As for me, I tend to value each of these pursuits (human flourishing, the Bible, and logic) equally, but I realize they are distinct concepts. I am ultimately interested in finding the intersection between the pursuit of happiness, and the pursuit of truth.

A Month of Orderly Surroundings

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For the next month, I am going to maintain a state of neatness. Because I live in two different places, I am always packing and unpacking bags. Oftentimes, I won’t finish putting everything up, and once one thing is left out, another follows, and soon my surroundings are cluttered.

So, this month’s challenge is fairly simple. Here are the basic objectives:

  • Maintain open floor space. In general, keep things off of the floor. If they need to be on the floor, make sure they are tucked away and are not adding clutter.
  • Keep tables and shelves generally organized. Not everything will be perfectly neat all the time, but things should always have a general appearance of order, even if things are laying out.
  • Make the bed neatly. I have made it a point to always “make” my bed. However, it often still looks messy (creases, sheet showing, pillows scrunched up, etc.). I want to take the extra 30 seconds and make it nice.
  • Do regular light cleaning. Incessantly cleaning can be a big waste of time. However, just doing 5-10 minute cleaning episodes once a day can work wonders and will remove the need to have a big cleaning day every few months.

Up next: an evaluation of my month of constant smiling!

Walk in the Light

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I would like to share what has become probably the most important verse in my relationship with my heavenly father, I John 1:7. When I am following my convictions and doing what is good, all it takes to feel connected is to think my thoughts to the father (pray). However, what happens when I sin and lack faith in my paradigms?

In the past I focused on I John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I took this verse to mean that in order to be forgiven of a sin, any sin, I needed to tell the Father the specific sin I had committed. Also, Matthew 6:12 says, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” So after I had sinned and wanted to restore the relationship I would say something like, “Father, I lusted; please forgive me” or “Father, I was lazy; please forgive me”.

Now these verses brought tremendous bondage into my life. I was always worrying that I had not confessed my sin correctly, or that I had forgotten to confess a sin. These two verses became an integral part of how I viewed my sanctification. Sometimes I would spend long periods of time searching my mind for how I had sinned and pleading with the Father to forgive me, hoping I was doing it right.

At some point, I realized that what I was trying to do was impossible. If I had to confess every sin in order to be forgiven and have a relationship with the Father, I was doomed. So, how should I John 1:9 and Matthew 6:12 be interpreted. I am not entirely sure, but I tend to think that these are some of the possible evidences of having a close relationship with the Father. When you sin, it will burden you, and you very well might share your failing with the Father.

However, you would not be doing this to receive forgiveness. This happens in a different way. I John 1:7 is a verse I quote to myself all the time, but especially after I have failed. It reminds me that the Father does not require any pleading or penance in order for us to receive forgiveness. Rather, as I John 1:7 so beautifully states, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

What this verse means to me is that if I stop what I am doing that is sinful and start following my paradigm again, then I am forgiven and have fellowship with the Father. Fellowship can always be restored in an instant. I just have to choose to do so. Now there are still times when I allow guilt to consume me, and these I am trying to fight against. I believe guilt while you are engaged in sin is good, but any lingering guilt after the moment you start doing right is not, because according to Romans 8:1, there is no condemnation to those who are in the Christ Jesus/Yeshua.

So, here are three quick things you can do when you realize you have strayed from walking in the light.

  1. Stop. Whatever it is that you are doing or thinking that is not right, cease doing that.
  2. Start. Whatever you believe is the action or thought you should do right now, do that.
  3. Thank. Consider expressing your gratefulness to the Father for His unbelievable forgiveness. You could have just done the worst sin imaginable, but the moment you leave it behind, He is waiting with open arms to fellowship with you and give you His favor!

The Apostle Paul said in Romans 5:20 that “where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The Father’s amazing grace seems even more amazing after each time I sin. Does this make me more likely to sin? Not at all! You see, once you grasp this concept, you can begin to look at sin more objectively and think of ways to help you avoid it rather than just moaning over your sin and pleading with the Father for forgiveness. You can conquer your failings with inspiration rather than guilt.

Truth vs. Happiness

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What would you rather have: more truth or more happiness? I am sure most of you will immediately think this is a false dichotomy and that these two concepts are linked. The more truth you acquire, the more you will be able to make decisions that lead to more happiness, right?

Well, this may be right, but is not necessarily so. I listen to and read a fair amount of atheist shows and articles. This has been one of the most informative ways of pointing out flaws in my thinking and inconsistencies in my beliefs. The biggest thing I have learned from doing this is that atheism is very logical and based on truth at all costs. This I greatly respect. I have seriously considered becoming an atheist in the past for this very reason. Atheists don’t appeal to belief without evidence, tradition, or personal feelings. And nor do I.

However, one thing I have decided recently for myself (and I really knew this all along, but had never really thought upon it), is that I am not interested in atheism even if it had the highest possibility of being true, unless it offers some better hope of eternal life by doing so. This was a shocking realization and one I tried to get rid of initially. However, I now realize that I am definitely more interested in happiness than truth and not ashamed about that. Really, everyone else is as well, even if some don’t want to admit it, because it sounds more noble to be a “truth-seeker.”

Now, having said that, let me quickly add that, for the most part, I believe these two concepts are directly aligned. That is, the more truth you know, the more happiness you will be able to attain. However, the difficulty with truth is that it is very hard if not impossible to know anything with 100% certainty except for our own existence. Furthermore, when I say I am more interested in happiness than truth, I am principally referring to only one area, that of the afterlife. Unless I knew with 100% certainty that there was no afterlife or that nothing I did in this life would affect it, I am going to believe in some religion, philosophy, or metaphysical concept that does offer this possibility. The question is not what is the most logical position, but rather what is the most logical position among the positions that offer hope of an afterlife based on what I do here and now. I am not implying here that atheism is the most logical position, only that even if it was so, I still don’t think I would be interested.

I am sure any atheist reading this will be absolutely disgusted at this point. But I want to challenge that reaction. I am living for total consciousness forever, which I believe will bring ultimate personal fulfillment or happiness. I am sure you are living for ultimate personal fulfillment as well.

If I was in great health and expected to maintain that, I would consider atheism as a potentially logical belief that freed my from possible constraints imposed by religion. However, I am not, and though I will live the healthiest life I can, I don’t ever expect to be in really great health. So, by default, unless the truth of atheism could be shown with 100% certainty, it is not even an option.

Let me expound on this a bit. I have kyphoscoliosis, which is a 3-dimensional spinal deformity. It is not as severe as many others, but it has caused immense pain and feelings of inferiority, and has limited my career choices. Now if I did not have this deformity, it is possible I would be extremely skeptical of anything outside of mainstream medicine. I still am skeptical of anything outside mainstream medicine, but not extremely so. Why? Because even though I believe the best science supports conventional medicine, at this point there is not a whole lot else that it can do for me. For this reason, I am very open and interested in chiropractic care, essential oils, and other alternative modalities that at least offer hope, and may (even if the possibility is slight) turn out to be true. I look at the existence of a divine being and the truth of Christianity in  a similar fashion.

Always seek your greatest happiness. Selfishness is not a vice or a virtue; it is simply an unalterable part of what makes us human beings. What is important in seeking fulfillment is to live your life according to the logical paradigm and belief structure that will best accomplish this.

Romans 8:28 as a Cure for Guilt and Bitterness

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I was searching around last week for a way to make sense of undesirable things in life, and eventually thought of Romans 8:28. I have commented on this verse before, but for completely different reasons. Here is how the verse reads, for those unfamiliar with it:

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love Elohim, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

My application of this is as follows. If I am currently (not as in my general lifestyle, but the moment I am in right now) meeting the conditions in this verse, then I can legitimately entertain the empowering thought that every flaw I have inherited or acquired, every sin I have committed, and every bad impression I have made will ultimately work together for my ultimate fulfillment.

I believe loving the Father and being called according to His purpose are two sides of the same coin. My practical interpretation of this verse would interpret this group of people as those that don’t compromise their convictions and those who do what they know to be good. To really generalize this, it would be those who live consciously.

I believe this is the sort of concept that just makes a lot of sense to believe in for anyone. For even if it turned out to be false (say at death you simply ceased to exist forever), it would still greatly empower the life you have now. Extremely fortunately for me, this concept is actually written into the Scriptures in which I currently place a good deal of importance.

So, if you are reading this and happen to be a Christian, I encourage you to fully take advantage of this concept to combat the guilt you may feel over a recent failure you made or bitterness over some flaw you have physically or with your personality. However, you can only access this if you are living consciously and meet the conditions in the passage.

The 3 Definitions for Sin

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In the new testament, I have found three primary definitions for sin that I think are very instructive. These are located in Romans 14:23, James 4:17, and I John 3:4.

  1. Sin is doing something despite having qualms about it (Romans 14:23). The classic Biblical example of this is eating meat offered to idols. Paul made it clear in I Corinthians 8 that intrinsically, doing so is not sin. However, he also made it clear that to do so thinking that it may be wrong is sin. Basically, if you have a conviction on something, you need to keep that conviction. Your convictions can and should change as you learn more and transition from a weak believer to a strong believer, but whatever ones you currently hold should not be compromised.
  2. Sin is not doing what you know you should be doing (James 4:17). The immediate context of this statement is in connection with saying ‘If the Lord will, we shall do such and such” instead of boastfully presuming on the future. However, I believe it can be taken in a broader sense as well. Now, the verse actually says that if you know what is good and don’t do it, then you have sinned. Does this mean that I must do every good action that pops into my mind? I don’t believe so. This would lead to absurdity. I believe a sensible way to understand this is to do what you should be doing right now. In order to do this, you would either need a paradigm in place to determine a prioritized list of things you should be doing, or else be following any hint of what could be the spirit’s prompting. Your choice would reflect whether you believe reason or instinct should be the guiding force in your decisions.
  3. Sin is transgressing the law (I John 3:4). This is where things get controversial. Is John referring to the Torah, the commands of Christ, the instructions in the epistles of Paul, or possibly all three of these? My short answer to this is: I don’t know. However, if you want to know how I currently make sense of this, check out my Scriptural Command Paradigm (also part 2).

Now, I believe most people tend to think of the third definition when they think of sin. They ask, is homosexuality sin? What about gambling? Is it wrong to smoke? And the questions go on and on. What they are basically asking is what does the Bible categorically prohibit? This is a very important, though difficult, question that is worthy of much thought and study.

However, I am here to propose that the first two definitions given above are more fundamental and more important than the specific actions the Bible condemns as sin. One reason for this is that these are not ambiguous like the last definition. You know if you have a qualm about doing something, or if you are not doing what you know you should be doing right now. Even something most Christians think is just obviously sinful, homosexuality, is really dependent on how you interpret Scripture, such as this article and this one show. I have a different understanding of this topic than these authors do, but I am willing to admit that I could be wrong.

This drives sin a lot closer to home. You don’t know what other people’s convictions are usually and neither do you know their priorities, so for the most part judging others is excluded in the first two definitions of sin. The only person you can judge is yourself.

I believe this understanding of sin is very important in witnessing. I know of people who use the 10 commandments to show a person that they are a sinner and in need of forgiveness. While I believe this is done with good intention, I think it is a very poor and inconsistent method of pointing out sin. There are a wide variety of viewpoints on whether the 10 commandments apply to Christians today as well as on how to interpret them.

Evaluation of my Month of Moment Decisiveness

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This past month was a total failure as far as my monthly challenge was concerned. I did fairly well the first week and a half, but it was downhill from there. However, I learned some valuable lessons that I think made the month worthwhile despite the personal debacle. Here are some of the important insights that were gleaned:

  • Make decisiveness a fundamental paradigm. In my experience, any action or thought is usually better than brain fog. Either think constructively or act purposely, but by all means be moving forward and not stalling. I tend to believe that if I am conscious and decisive about my actions and opinions that whatever path I end up taking will turn out to be the best. Spiritually, this correlates with Romans 8:28.
  • Function in totally focused blocks of time. Let’s be real. We are human and cannot always give our full focus to something as we might like. So, expect that your focus and energy will wane and be okay with it. If you are working on an important project, and despite your best effort, you just feel like procrastinating, give yourself a 10-minute break. I believe it is much better to take these breaks even if they happen often, than be semi-focused and not get anything of real importance accomplished. Allow your mind to wander and do anything you like for that block of time. When the 10 minutes is up, you will be able to put yourself back into your project with full focus. On a larger scale, this is really what living in appointed times by faith is all about.
  • Add a third category of actions between minor and major – semi-important. While purchasing an expensive item online or deciding whether to join a Toastmasters club are definitely not major actions in any sense of the word, I also would not categorize them as minor. They represent a commitment of a decent amount of time or money and therefore should be given more thought than, say, deciding whether to practice yoga tonight. However, I think for most of these actions, setting a deadline for when you will make these decisions will enable you to be conscious and decisive but still give some thought to these choices. So, you might give yourself 5 minutes to decide whether to purchase that item online or give yourself till the end of the day to decide whether you will join a Toastmasters club.

One of the problems I faced this past month with respect to decisiveness was my self-image quandary. Now, this is nothing new, but it really came to a head this past month. I had good intentions. I really wanted to figure out how I should handle this.

First off, I wrestled with my purpose statement of living for total health and consciousness forever. Even just thinking about total health depressed me because I don’t believe I will ever in this life have anything close to that. I do believe in the possibility that some treatment (besides surgery) or exercise regime could straighten my back and take away my pain, but I am not expecting this to ever happen. Now this thought process yielded a simple but incredibly liberating conclusion.

I became a monist idealist. This means I now believe that only one type of thing exists in reality and that one thing is consciousness. This might sound weird, but quantum physics gives solid evidence for this concept. This allowed me to look at consciousness as supreme, and health, posture, fitness, and diet, though important, as simply channels to obtain higher consciousness, simply means to an end and not an end in themselves. But I believe I can reach total consciousness without perfect health or appearance.

So, I changed my purpose statement to: living for total consciousness forever. This may seem like a small, esoteric change, but it has made a big difference in my outlook. However, the second thing I realized while in my self-image quandary paralleled the concept that catapulted me out of philosophical depression last summer. That is, I am not going to solve all my self-image problems today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, or in ten years! That being the case, the important thing is to do something, to have some paradigm in dealing with my self image that I can follow for this week, or this day, or even just this moment, and believe in this paradigm. Then evaluate it at the appropriate time. I think punctuated oblivion is a paradigm that I can function with for now, but I fully expect it to change.

One very practical aspect of decisiveness is that not as many questions need to be written down during the week. Now, this idea of writing down things during the week to think about during the next philosophical appointed time I believe is an incredible concept. However, it has to be kept in check. Generating too many thoughts or questions to look over can turn what should be a fun and educational experience into a dreaded chore.

So, will I repeat this monthly challenge at some point in the future? Probably not, because I am seeking to make this more of a 24/7 paradigm, so there will not be a need for that. What this past month has shown me is that sometimes my failures can teach me more and cause more growth than my successes, as paradoxical as that sounds.

A Month of Constant Smiling

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This monthly challenge will be different than my previous ones in that it will literally affect every moment of my life for the next month. Exceptions to always smiling should only be made when it would definitely not be appropriate, such as hearing news of someone’s death. So, what counts as a smile? Below will be my thought pattern.

  1. Always smile with the eyes. To be sure, smiling is done with the mouth. However, think about smiling and communicate this through the eyes even if there is not much upward curve of the lips.
  2. For close-lipped smiles, make the faintest hint of smiling with the teeth and then close the lips. This will ensure that the curve of the lips is enough to make a smile, but not excessive, which can look weird with close-lipped smiles.
  3. Try smiling with the teeth unless it feels awkward in the current environment. A lot of the time this type of smiling should work fine. The two main exceptions I can think of are while in class and sleeping.

I have been rather moody the past few weeks and this greatly affected my monthly challenge of decisiveness, which I will share about in my next blog post. For this reason as well as to help me live fully in the present moment, I believe consciously smiling for an entire month will be a great experiment. One change I am making starting with this month is not including philosophical appointed times as part of the challenge. These times should be a sanctuary both from scheduled tasks and activities as well as from my monthly challenges. This doesn’t mean I can’t smile during these times, it just means I don’t have to smile.

One hypothesis I want to test with this experiment is that a person will feel happier if they smile. If this is true, and I want to experience as much happiness as possible (who doesn’t?) then I will put more effort into smiling as a general paradigm to minimize depression.

Jesus or Y’shua

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How important is a name? In one sense, it is very unimportant. Whether you are Bill, Joe, or Chris, does it make much difference? It is really just a label.

However, in another sense, it is the most important thing about a person. Let’s say I have a friend whose name is Tom. He is an electrician, is married, has 3 children, is 6 feet tall, enjoys running, and is 40 years old.

Now, if I were to ask you to tell me who my friend was, what would you say? You could say he is an electrician, and that would be true, but lacking – he is so much more than just that. Even if you were to mention all the descriptions given above, this would still not be all of who he is. There is only one description that can truly capture him – Tom. When we say his name, it represents a million (and more) different aspects of who he is all at once.

How deep can a physical relationship be if you don’t know the other person’s name? My name is Daniel. Now, you could call me Bill or Joe or Sam, and I could get used to you doing so. Communication could occur, recognition could happen, and a lot of knowledge about me could be gained. However, if you never used my true name, there would just be something missing.

So, does it really matter whether we use Jesus or Y’shua in referencing the Messiah? In one sense, I don’t think it matters at all. It definitely matters a lot more to him whether you follow His commandments. However, in my own personal experience, there seems to be something missing, even if it is very small, if I never use my savior’s given name.

There are many people who only use the name Jesus. There are also several people I know who only use the name Y’shua. Both names have been used to change people’s lives. I don’t think either should be discarded. In speech you have to favor one over the other, but not in writing. From now on, I will simply use both when I use the Messiah’s name in a blog post.  Jesus/Y’shua is my savior!

Atheistic Prayer

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Last week I had a chain of thoughts that threatened to upend my believed openness on whether an almighty and eternal being exists, which is the first line in my statement of belief. This is not just a presupposition I have held onto since childhood. In fact, just over a year ago I seriously considered becoming an atheist or at least an agnostic.

I largely credit my strong belief now in an almighty and eternal being to William Lane Craig, whose debates with atheists I providentially discovered last summer. I now believe there is overwhelming philosophical and scientific evidence for believing in such a person. However, I thought that if all of this evidence could be dismantled and strong evidence could be supplied for atheism, I would do the rational thing and accept atheism.

Last week I was thinking about the fulfillment that prayer (which I define principally as thinking to the Father) brings to my life. Then the thought came, so would I even be open to atheism if it ever became the most rational choice? I so wanted to say yes to preserve rationality and reality, but my emotions screamed out no.

This dilemma paralyzed me. I realized I couldn’t just write it down and think over it during the next philosophical appointed time. This is because I think to the Father (pray) when figuring stuff out. I couldn’t or was not willing to challenge this practice. I watched my thoughts become willing to cast off my entire paradigm structure to preserve this one practice.

Fortunately, I started thinking rationally, and looked up online if atheists ever prayed. I found many examples, and realized my fears were unfounded. This is because the almost infantile dependence I found myself exhibiting to this practice of prayer was an overarching desire for connection with something greater or all-encompassing. This is where my source of all purpose resides. I realized that this belief I held was not the Christian understanding of the divine, per se, but rather something beyond myself, be that collective consciousness, the energy of the universe, or a spiritual dimension.

Now, I firmly believe at the present time that collective consciousness, the energy of the universe, and a spiritual dimension all flow from my Christian understanding of the divine. But this belief can be challenged and even overturned without me losing my belief in an ultimate connection.

In saying this I want to take back what I said in a previous post about atheists not believing in an afterlife. While many don’t, it is certainly not illogical to do so. Check out this article by Steve Pavlina, an atheist of sorts, for some intriguing thoughts on life after death.