Exercise1.html

Philosophy 1100: Introduction to Ethics

Exercise 2: Morality and the Bible

Due Date: Thursday, September 13

Proportion of Final Grade: 5%

This exercise has two objectives. First, and as was noted in the previous exercise, many people find it somewhat difficult, initially, to approach religious writings in a critical fashion. The present exercise is designed to give you additional practice in doing that.

Secondly, each of us is faced with an important choice with regard to how he or she should approach the task of deciding what moral beliefs to accept, of determining what values should guide his or her life. Very different answers have been advanced on this matter. Thus, on the one hand, most philosophers feel that what is crucial is the dispassionate consideration of alternative views, and the critical evaluation of arguments for and against the various alternatives. But many other people feel that such an approach is at best unnecessary, and quite possibly ill-advised. For they believe that the Bible - or some other scripture, such as the Koran, or the Torah - is an unerring source of moral truths. A second objective of the present exercise, accordingly, is to encourage you to grapple with this issue in a serious way.

The exercise has two parts. The first involves locating passages that contain what appear to be problematic moral beliefs. The second focuses upon passages where what appear to be morally problematic actions are attributed to God.

Instructions - Part 1

1. Before reading the following selections from the Bible, read all of the questions listed below in Part 1, so that you will know what questions you are to answer, and will have those questions in mind as you do the reading.

Readings: Exodus, chapters 20-23; Leviticus, chapters 18-20, Deuteronomy, chapters 21-22; 1 Samuel, chapter 15; Matthew, chapter 5, verses 27-32; chapter 15, verses 19-20; chapter 19, verses 3-12; Mark, chapter 10, verses 2-12; Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 21-33; Romans, chapter 1, verses 18-32.

2. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible is currently available at the following address:

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/r/rsv/browse.html

The King James Version of the Bible is available online at

http://quod.lib.umich.edu/k/kjv/browse.html

Either version should be fine, although I think the Revised Standard Version is the better translation.

3. For each of the following thirty-four questions, find a passage that contains an answer. In each case, state the location of the passage, and then describe, very briefly, and in your own words, what the passage says.

4. Each correct answer is worth one point.

5. Note that the order of the questions corresponds to the order of the readings.

6. Given that there are a number of different readings, however, it occurred to me that it would also be good to know, with regard to the 35 questions in Part 1, where the breaks come. These are as follows:

Exodus, chapters 20-23:            Questions 1 to 10.

Leviticus, chapters 18-20:            Questions 11 to 17.

Deuteronomy, chapters 21-22:         Questions 18 to 25.

1 Samuel, chapter 15:             Question 26.

Matthew, chapter 5, verses 27-32:         Questions 27 to 30.

Matthew, chapter 15, verses 19-20:     Question 31.

Matthew, chapter 19, verses 3-12:        Question 32.

Mark, chapter 10, verses 2-12:        Question 32.

Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 21-33:        Question 33.

Romans, chapter 1, verses 18-32:         Questions 34 and 35.

7. Finally, in the case of some of the questions in Part 1, there are equally good answers – or in some cases better answers – in other places. So if you found an answer in a different book than the one mentioned above, that’s fine.

Questions

1.   Is there anything problematic about making a likeness of something?