Ethics of Life

I wrote this two months ago and forgot to post it! BUSY two months!

ethics  plural of eth·ics (Noun)

Noun

1. Moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior.
2. The moral correctness of specified conduct.              

Until this past fall, I had never considered that each human being determines the ethics by which they live and of which they must defend. Or at least, in theory, they should be able to defend.

Confession: I have never been trained to defend my ethics, nor have I taken the time to determine what they truly are.

The longer I am a student, the more I am being pushed to determine what my personal beliefs and ethics are as well as how to defend my position.  The topics have varied greatly and I have reached a tipping point at times where fatigue sets in and I surrender back to my previous malaise and laziness.  But I am trying.  I want to be able to know what I believe, why I believe that, and how to intelligently defend those beliefs.

This is not just about my religious views.  Ethics are moral principles, and my morals are based upon my understanding of the inspired word of God, the Bible.  But what about issues that are not explicitly discussed in the Bible?  Recently, I wrote a paper about polygamy in the postmodern evangelical church.  How should it be handled when a polygamist comes to a true faith in Christ?  Especially when the Bible is clear that God hates divorce.

Right now, I am engaged in a discussion about the point of conception and when life supposedly starts for a baby.  In all honesty this is a subject I have fastidiously avoided and yet claimed that I was pro-life.  I am still pro-life, but this conversation is showing me how important it is to do your research and be able to effectively communicate your position.

Here are some things I have learned when it comes to discussing ethics:

1. You have to be able to express yourself without letting emotion overtake your reason.  When name-calling and mudslinging begins, the 'conversation' is essentially over. Social media has news and issues even more readily available and in our faces.  Emotions run high and people begin name-calling and throwing the proverbial stones.  This is not constructive for an actual conversation about the issues.

2. You have to do your homework! The old adage of "You came to a battle of wits unarmed" is very relevant if you do not do your homework.  Know what you're talking about.  This is not necessarily to the degree of 'subject matter expert,' but definitely to the degree that you have something to back up your assertions.

3. Lastly, and probably most importantly, is something my mentor/adviser taught me awhile ago:

If you are unwilling to enter into a discussion with the notion that you might be wrong 

then you are wasting everyone's time.

This is a profound notion for me and has changed the way I enter into discussions.

All of this is to say that determining our ethics is important! We must determine the lines we draw in every issue.  What is the standard?  When do we say, "I will allow this to go no further?" And when we determine the lines, how far are we willing to go to defend them?  Are we willing to defend them to the detriment of our core beliefs?