Lex Von Klark Ms.

Lomax 1/30/14

Religious Ideas about Morality

and stuff

By Lex Von Klark

Did you know that around 802 million people have died in religious conflicts around the world since the beginning of recorded history? These deaths range from slaughters during the Crusades, (thanks Christianity), to suicide bombings across the world (thanks radical Islam), and even to household violence. And depending on your point of view, your morality, these atrocities can seem just or righteous. Evil is a point of view, and it always has been. You know what you know is right based upon what your parents taught you as a child. That being said, belief systems help people to understand which of these moral values they believe to be right by telling stories regarding them. This is why religions can be helpful in ancient civilizations. In order to better understand the importance of belief systems within a civilization and how they can influence the actions and decisions of a people, please consider the following moral dilemma: A Callous Passerby Roger Smith, and skillful swimmer, is out for a leisurely stroll during the course of his walk he passes by a deserted pier from which a teenage boy who apparently cannot swim has fallen in the water, the boy is screaming desperately for help. Smith recognizes that there is absolutely no danger to himself in he jumps in to save the boy; he could easily succeed if he tried. Nevertheless, he chooses to ignore the boys cries. Why should I inconvenience myself for this kid, Smith says to himself, and passes on. Does Roger Smith have a moral obligation to save the boy? Explain why or why not. How do you know? A Confucian would not save the boy, He or she would not save him because not only does Confucianism value intelligence, something this boy clearly lacks, it also values the respect between superior and inferior. So if an inferior, the boy, were to receive help from his superior, the man, it would counteract this system. In fact, Frey states that All people must respect and obey those above them, and, In China, civil servants are the sons of nobles. They might or might not have the ability and wisdom to do their jobs well (209). The quote about the civil servants talks about how Confucianism valued people who did well and knew how to do things. This boy is a teenager and still does not know how to swim, nor is he smart enough

to avoid falling off a pier. This lack of intelligence and respect for the superiorinferior connection shows that a Confucian would not save the boy. A Hindu would save the boy. He would save him because Hindus values karma and dharma the beliefs that you have a role to fill in life, and all evil you have done in life will come back and haunt you in death and rebirth. Frey states that Karma was made up of all of the good and evil that a person had done in past lives (149). This means that if the Hindu let the boy drown, he would get bad karma because he wasnt following his dharma and be reborn as something lower than what he is now, like a mouse or a lower caste. Because of karma, the Hindu would save the boy. A Buddhist would save the boy. Buddhists are taught to live a life of selflessness, so letting the boy die would be undoubtedly very selfish. Frey quotes the Eightfold path (a set of rules made by the Buddha to help reach enlightenment) when she writes of the Buddhist directive to Live a life of selflessness (non selfishness), love, and nonviolence (159). This shows that the man would be breaking the Buddhist law by being selfish and not helping the boy. This is why a Buddhist would save the drowning boy. Because of the reasons states above, belief systems are an important part of a society because they can help save lives and keep the civilization thriving. The civilization of Chalcitis will be known for intelligence, justice, respect, and wealth. These values are similar to those valued by Confucianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. They are similar to Confucianism because they value intelligence. They are similar to Hinduism because they value justice. And they are similar to Buddhism because they value respect. Religion has caused many horrible things in this world, but it also serves the purpose of teaching people what is right and what is wrong in a society.