Originally Posted by SimplyAmorous

Here are some examples for teens... Moral Dilemmas for Students

Originally Posted by Parrothead

Not even close. It's not about "knowing" right from wrong, it's about defining right and wrong and why it's right or wrong.

Riddle me this: why is it that I, the hated Christian soul on this forum, have no problem with SA and her hubby viewing porn and the moral relativists, who can rarely agree on anything "moral", have a problem with what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their own bedroom, i.e., viewing porn?

In order to answer you have to know the difference between porn and art, for one thing.

For another, I laugh at the people who object to SA using porn who will then participate on threads that are so pornographic I can't even view them out of embarassment for the people who are participating - it makes me feel like a voyeur.

Why is that? What's the difference? Some posters on this forum would say it's because of my "religion", which they scornfully dismiss, but they still can't reconcile their own participation in porn with judging SA for viewing it.

How's that for a moral dilemma? The reason I have one reaction and they have another is because they believe what they think is "moral", and they are the arbiters of morality, or because they may have heard someone else say so at on time or another. I, on the other hand, unlike the kids in the survey, know what I believe and why I believe it.

The question before you is, what IS the difference?



As I told her, in every "moral dilemma" there has to be a dilemma, preferably a moral one.

Originally Posted by nice777guy

Re-read the article. These kids were asked to give examples of moral dilemmas, but 2/3 somehow "couldn't".

The author - not YOU - seemed to ME to be pointing to "secular values" as being part of the problem. So - I concluded that if "secular values" were the problem - religous values were going to be part of his answer.

So - then - to You - Mr. Parrothead - is being required to work on the Sabbath - a Holy Day - a moral dilemma? Or is it no dilemma at all, since the Bible clearly tells us what to do (keep it Holy)?

If that's not a reasonable example, then I'll gladly admit - I don't feel as if I'm grasping your idea of a Moral Dilemma.

Originally Posted by RoseRed

Very interesting concept you bring to light...

What exactly is a "secular value" you have eluded to??? Can you give an example?

If ,by definition, secular means the absence of religion there is no 'value system' at all. Or is it the individual picking and choosing what they do and do not like within a religious system that suits or serves their own motives, needs? Perhaps the easy way out of dilemmas? Choose the easy and ignore the more difficult aspects of a religion? Or incorporate many if, ands or buts within a moral system that it becomes watered down to nothing?


Very interesting indeed...

Originally Posted by nice777guy

Re-read the article. These kids were asked to give examples of moral dilemmas, but 2/3 somehow "couldn't".

The author - not YOU - seemed to ME to be pointing to "secular values" as being part of the problem. So - I concluded that if "secular values" were the problem - religous values were going to be part of his answer.

Originally Posted by RoseRed

Very interesting concept you bring to light...

What exactly is a "secular value" you have eluded to??? Can you give an example?

If ,by definition, secular means the absence of religion there is no 'value system' at all. Or is it the individual picking and choosing what they do and do not like within a religious system that suits or serves their own motives, needs? Perhaps the easy way out of dilemmas? Choose the easy and ignore the more difficult aspects of a religion? Or incorporate many if, ands or buts within a moral system that it becomes watered down to nothing?

Originally Posted by nice777guy

I feel like a lot of this is semantics, so I feel a bit thrown off.

Originally Posted by Runs like Dog

Coming from the perspective of being a minority inside a minority inside a minority I will tell you that the most dangerous thing in the world is absolute certainty.

Originally Posted by nice777guy

I would think our laws would be an example of Secular values. And many of these are based off of religous teachings. But you don't need to believe in God to understand the importance of not killing your neighbor on a whim.

We have laws that protect our privacy that don't necessarily seem to be grounded in religion. So, is privacy a Secular Value?

I feel like a lot of this is semantics, so I feel a bit thrown off.

Are we talking about how to raise our children? Or are we talking about how we define "morals?"

Like I said - when I re-read the article, it didn't say 2/3 of our kids are rotten. It said they couldn't give an example - when asked - of a moral dilemma. And per PH - those of us who have responded also seem to have - in his opinion - failed to correctly answer the question.

So - are we talking about the values of our youth, or a Word Power / vocabulary issue here?

Originally Posted by Parrothead

The easy way out of any dilemma is to ignore that it exists altogether. It's easy where there are no morals. That's where we are, that's what the article was trying to say. There are no morals because they are made up on the spot.

Originally Posted by RoseRed

When you consider laws.. .those are ethics...
There is a difference between morals and ethics.
Ethics are a collective agreement within a society. Morals are individualistic.

Ethics are born from a collective moral code... here in the states is mostly based upon Judeo-Christian beliefs that has changed and evolved in the application depending on the society. i.e. the death penalty, abortion, social justice. If you were Muslim, Islamic code says its morally wrong to charge interest on a loan.


The birth of morals from the beginning of society is either an absolute faith in a supreme being, (a god directed a human to write these moral codes) or the formulation of this supreme being to define the mortal development of a conscience. The aspiration of a perfect human by creating a perfect Being.

Is this mortal conscience on the decline?

A recent example of this is Republican debate and the uproar approval of the Tea PArty members in the audience when dealing with the Healthcare issue. A man who could easily afford health issurance, declined to purchase it, was then diagnosed with a very serious illness and he had exhausted his own money in treatment, and since he didn't purchase insurance, he should be left to die and no societal intervention should be given. There was overwhelming approval from a portion of the audience.

The question being now... what are going to be the consequences of this decline??? Anarchy?

Originally Posted by nice777guy

I missed that part. Can you give us a quote?

Originally Posted by nice777guy

Really trying here...

Per Rose -

Morals are individualistic...
Ethics are the result of collective Morals...

I like how you state that in some cases, a belief in a God created the "code" - and in other cases, the "code" created the scripture. Did I get that right?

Always wondered - how do we justify the death penalty in a society whose laws are based on Judeo-Christian beliefs? How do we justify war?

Are we truly no better than our ancestors - who somehow justified owning slaves? Denied women the right to vote? Burned "witches" at the stake in the name of their Judeo-Christian beliefs?