In time we learn that our lives are largely built on a scaffolding of relationships. Understanding this takes many years as most of us learn this lesson late in life. Relationships—good and bad—create the web of our lives. Finding purpose in our web is difficult for much that happens to us is either incidental or accidental. Purpose is intentional and a difficult and foreboding task. When we discover our purpose we are able to maneuver through life in more productive ways.—Joe Hester

International Journal of Religious Studies
Vol. 3, No. 3, June – August 2015.
Joe Hester
ISSN 1352-4624
http://fssh-journal.org
SCIENCE, RELIGION, AND ETHICS
JOE HESTER*

In our time ethics has been subjected to scientific analysis, a religious call to

arms, and political maneuvering all of which have caused a blurring of the

edges of right and wrong. This confusion has also made ethics dominantly

pragmatic (practical) and issue-oriented as we emotionally respond to concerns

such as abortion, gun control, and same-sex marriage, etc. Responding to issues

is one thing; understanding the values involved is another. If ethics and morals

seem complex and convoluted concepts, it’s because our values overlap and

continue to rub against each other in uneasy affiliations. The struggle to

understand these shifting moral currents poses a difficulty that is sometimes

unrecognized. Dialogue is imperative for understanding and moral clarity. To

accomplish this task we must place personal values in a larger context of

morality and everyday ethics with the goal of developing more civil families,

institutions, and communities. Understanding and respect will provide a

foundation for moral reasoning that encourages discussion and about

what we deem important in our lives, nation, and world. Read entire article:

 http://fssh-journal.org/images/IJRS/Vol_3_3_2015/006-Vol%203%20No%203%202015.pdf