Dust to Dust
There are many who believe:
·When we die we return to the earth where all that physically remains of us joins with other particles and eventually assumes other forms.
·When this physical body expires what some call the spirit or soul continues to live on. There are scientific experiments which seem to support these beliefs.
·When this physical body expires our score of good and bad behavior is added up and a decision is made about the final destination of our soul.
·When this physical body expires if we have not completed our spiritual work we come back in another body or form to complete the next stage of our spiritual evolution.
·Our need to posit an ongoing journey either as pure spirit/soul, to return or to live in eternal bliss or misery is related to our fear that it is not enough to be us for this brief sojourn.
Decisions or beliefs about how we should behave during this life journey toward ourselves, each other and mother earth (universes) determine what moral philosophers and theologians term moral behavior. Some religions use the term sin to describe behavior which is considered immoral. Sin points are then used to determine the relative hierarchy in the community of humans.=
Oxford dictionary defines moral as: “concerned with principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human behavior.” That sounds simple enough until we face the fact various religions or other organizations determine what behavior is good or bad – right or wrong. Religions and even cultures often adopt beliefs about what is right or wrong based on the limits of science at a particular historical period. If one, for example, believes that there is a shortage of male sperm and if deaths of children and mothers during childbirth are high than one would not want to waste seeds in same sex behavior. Of course, we have known for some time there is no shortage of male sperm. We have also significantly lowered the death rate of children and mothers during childbirth. Yet we continue to have moral rules based on assumptions we now know to be false. There are many other examples of moral rules or religious laws based on beliefs we know to be scientifically false.
We also decide what is good or bad behavior – moral or immoral – based on what we want to believe or what is easier to believe. For example, we expect to make rational decisions. If a person makes a decision to rob a store owner he or she must be a bad or sinful person who then must be punished. I just got a notice on my phone that a person is facing multiple criminal charges based on him running from police and the fact that he was in possession of illegal drugs and the paraphernalia to administer said drugs. When I read the story my diagnose was drug addiction which is a chronic disease. He only engaged in unlawful behavior because of his chronic illness – addiction. The appropriate diagnosis is addiction and not bad or immoral person. The person clearly needs to be treated for an illness which affects his ability to obey the laws/to consider the needs of others. He is not an immoral person,
In the state of Nevada in the United States it is legal to be licensed as a sex worker. Some may or may not approve of their work, but it is not considered immoral or illegal by the local government to operate as a sex worker. In most other states, including my adopted home state of West Virginia, it is considered illegal and immoral (by many) to be a sex worker or to engage the services of a sex worker. Yet consensual adults can hook up with multiple partners as long as money is not exchanged. A 19-year-old and a willing 15 year cannot consent to engaging in sexual acts together. The 19-year-old can go to prison. Someone has decided the 19 old is a criminal and must remain on the sexual offender list for a certain number of years or, depending on the state, for life.
It is obvious to me terms such as moral should not be used to describe the behavior of a person or to determine the laws. I do think that we, as a community, need to make the best educated guesses we can to determine:
• Does the science of today support the fear that a particular behavior is harmful to an individual or the community?
• Was the person capable of making a different decision based on a shared reality?
• Is our goal to dehumanize the person and ensure he or she is permanently unable to consider himself or herself a valued member of the community?
• To what extent has the community failed to provide the tools, skills or trust the person needs to function as a valued member of the community?
• Does the community need to make changes which invites all members to equally share in the resources?
• Are the members of the so-called justice system willing to abide by the same rules they impose or attempt to impose on others. For example, if murder is considered undesirable why is murder by the state condoned?
In future blogs I will explore alternatives to labeling behavior as good, bad, moral or immoral. I will also explore the possibilities that we humans can strive to create a system of justice which honors the sacredness of all it members.
Written September 1, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
There are many who believe:
·When we die we return to the earth where all that physically remains of us joins with other particles and eventually assumes other forms.
·When this physical body expires what some call the spirit or soul continues to live on. There are scientific experiments which seem to support these beliefs.
·When this physical body expires our score of good and bad behavior is added up and a decision is made about the final destination of our soul.
·When this physical body expires if we have not completed our spiritual work we come back in another body or form to complete the next stage of our spiritual evolution.
·Our need to posit an ongoing journey either as pure spirit/soul, to return or to live in eternal bliss or misery is related to our fear that it is not enough to be us for this brief sojourn.
Decisions or beliefs about how we should behave during this life journey toward ourselves, each other and mother earth (universes) determine what moral philosophers and theologians term moral behavior. Some religions use the term sin to describe behavior which is considered immoral. Sin points are then used to determine the relative hierarchy in the community of humans.=
Oxford dictionary defines moral as: “concerned with principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human behavior.” That sounds simple enough until we face the fact various religions or other organizations determine what behavior is good or bad – right or wrong. Religions and even cultures often adopt beliefs about what is right or wrong based on the limits of science at a particular historical period. If one, for example, believes that there is a shortage of male sperm and if deaths of children and mothers during childbirth are high than one would not want to waste seeds in same sex behavior. Of course, we have known for some time there is no shortage of male sperm. We have also significantly lowered the death rate of children and mothers during childbirth. Yet we continue to have moral rules based on assumptions we now know to be false. There are many other examples of moral rules or religious laws based on beliefs we know to be scientifically false.
We also decide what is good or bad behavior – moral or immoral – based on what we want to believe or what is easier to believe. For example, we expect to make rational decisions. If a person makes a decision to rob a store owner he or she must be a bad or sinful person who then must be punished. I just got a notice on my phone that a person is facing multiple criminal charges based on him running from police and the fact that he was in possession of illegal drugs and the paraphernalia to administer said drugs. When I read the story my diagnose was drug addiction which is a chronic disease. He only engaged in unlawful behavior because of his chronic illness – addiction. The appropriate diagnosis is addiction and not bad or immoral person. The person clearly needs to be treated for an illness which affects his ability to obey the laws/to consider the needs of others. He is not an immoral person,
In the state of Nevada in the United States it is legal to be licensed as a sex worker. Some may or may not approve of their work, but it is not considered immoral or illegal by the local government to operate as a sex worker. In most other states, including my adopted home state of West Virginia, it is considered illegal and immoral (by many) to be a sex worker or to engage the services of a sex worker. Yet consensual adults can hook up with multiple partners as long as money is not exchanged. A 19-year-old and a willing 15 year cannot consent to engaging in sexual acts together. The 19-year-old can go to prison. Someone has decided the 19 old is a criminal and must remain on the sexual offender list for a certain number of years or, depending on the state, for life.
It is obvious to me terms such as moral should not be used to describe the behavior of a person or to determine the laws. I do think that we, as a community, need to make the best educated guesses we can to determine:
• Does the science of today support the fear that a particular behavior is harmful to an individual or the community?
• Was the person capable of making a different decision based on a shared reality?
• Is our goal to dehumanize the person and ensure he or she is permanently unable to consider himself or herself a valued member of the community?
• To what extent has the community failed to provide the tools, skills or trust the person needs to function as a valued member of the community?
• Does the community need to make changes which invites all members to equally share in the resources?
• Are the members of the so-called justice system willing to abide by the same rules they impose or attempt to impose on others. For example, if murder is considered undesirable why is murder by the state condoned?
In future blogs I will explore alternatives to labeling behavior as good, bad, moral or immoral. I will also explore the possibilities that we humans can strive to create a system of justice which honors the sacredness of all it members.
Written September 1, 2020
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org
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