History Entry #1

History is not always written by the winners. A history textbook may include some of a country’s achievements, but they also include points in history that the country is not proud of. For example, American textbooks tell of America gaining its independence, but they also include the American Civil War and when America has experienced financial difficulties in the past. If America was writing its history from a winning perspective, I do not think that they would include when  the American people were fighting one another. Also, if America was only writing about the good parts in its history, textbooks would portray all of our presidents as perfect and nothing would ever be said against them. American textbooks would also not include such things as the terrorist attack in 2001. If American textbooks were written only from the winning side, then there would be no mistakes to learn from. After all, part of learning history is to learn from the mistakes that our country has made in the past and to be able to help prevent them from happening again in the future.

Economics Entry #2

                While the rich should not be selfish with their money, they should also not be forced to give it up. They worked to get their money and it does not seem very fare to give it to someone who is not willing to work. Yes there are some people who are poor that are not lazy, but a fair amount of them are. If a poor person wants to get money, they need to find work. It does not have to be glamorous; they can start out with something small and over time work their way up to a more advanced job which will pay more money. The point is that they should not expect the money to just be given to them; they need to work for it. Also, someone who works at the local McDonalds should not be paid the same amount as the doctor. It is just not right for them to be paid the same amount. After all, the doctor has to know a lot more and work a lot harder than the McDonalds employee. Also, the government cannot force people to believe that the wealth should be shared equally. The government may try to force people to believe this, but there is always someone who will rebel and the government doesn’t want that either. Besides, even though many people think that Socialism is a good idea, Communism usually follows, and only leads to destruction. Also, in Mr. Moore’s video he said that if we equally distributing everything “we own everything”. This would lead to nothing but chaos. I personally do not want someone coming and taking my bike or my computer just because they think it belongs to them. It would just make steeling even more common. And even though it would not technically be steeling if everyone owned it I would personally still not be okay with it and I know very few people who would actually be okay with it.  So yes, in a perfect world where everyone worked equally hard and man was not greedy Socialism might work, but not in our current world filled with extremely sinful human beings.  

Economics Entry #1

                Mr. Moore made the statement that “All great religions say essentially the same thing Marx said”. It is true that many of the world’s largest religions want the rich to give to the poor and that we are to help the poor. However, how this is carried out is not the same for all religions. Marx believed in forcefully taking away from the rich to bring up the poor to make everyone equal. Then the Islamic do not really believe that the poor are to be brought up in society. They just have to give them some of their yearly salary. As for Judaism and Christianity, they are the only two that really seem to have the same ideas. Both Judaism and Christianity believe that man is to help the poor, and if necessary give up everything we have to help them, but this is because it is what God has told us to do in the Bible. Unlike Marx the Christians and Jews have God to put their faith in and helping the poor is not a forced act, it is something that we to out of obedience to God our Creator.

                Mr. Moore also stated that when it comes to Socialism “we all have a say”. This is true, if we all agree with a Secular worldview and you agree with what the government believes. It does seem like a good idea for everyone to get along and for everyone to help each other out so that we can have a society where everyone is treated equal; but sadly this can never really be done. Man is too sinful and whenever a society does adapt to Socialism, Communism is surly to follow. Communism as it has been done throughout the history of the world is not really something that most people want repeated. A Communist government just cannot work in this world because of man’s sinful nature. While many of Mr. Moore’s points do sound like good ideas for the world to live by, they are not really practical for our sinful world to live by.

A Secular World Government

 

        While many people think that it would be a great idea to have one global secular government, it would not be that great. In order for there to be one world government, everyone would have to get along together, and that everyone will have tolerance and a universal moral awareness. This is not really possible, because people have varied opinions and moral values. Also, it would be rather difficult for everyone to tolerate everyone else’s problems. It’s just not possible.  Another problem with one world government is with religion. If there was no religion allowed at all, those who do have religious beliefs would be terribly offended and would most likely rebel, causing major problems. Also, the various cultures in the world would make it very difficult to put them all into one. For example, the culture and customs of Africa or South America are very different than those in the United States. The cultures of our world vary to greatly, and trying to make them all one would not end pleasantly.  A Secular World Government would only be possible in a perfect world, which our world is not. Our world will not be perfect until the return of Christ, and no man can predict when that will be. So until that time comes, it is probably best that we do not have one world government.

Abortion: Teen Pregnancy

           While many teenage girls who have babies do tend to leave school, receive bad parental care, rely on public assistance, develop health problems, or get a divorce; this does not happen to every teenage girl who gets pregnant. Some girls have families who support them and help them out. Some are also able to continue going to school and do not develop health problems. Also, some are able to keep a relationship with their child’s father.  Even when a teenage girl does have problems or changes in her life because of her pregnancy that does not mean that she should be aloud to get an abortion. Part of being a mother involves having to change parts of your life. The reason so many teenage girls have problems is because they are probably not mature enough to have a baby yet. They don’t want to give up their social lives or other freedoms to care for their baby, so many of them just get an abortion. While it may seem like just a simple thing, it is not. It is not the baby’s fault that its mother was careless. By having their baby aborted they are taking away a human life, not just a blob of tissue. The girl needs to accept the consequences of her actions and realize that there is in fact a small human growing inside of them, not just a blob of tissue.

            A lot of girls would just say that it does not matter if they dispose of the fetus because it’s not like they are killing a living human being. This is not true. The fetus is a living human being; it is developing and growing, just like a young child that has already left its mother’s womb. Also, just removing the child from the womb does not magically turn it into a human.

            Many teenage girls who do have abortion mainly do it out of their own personal comfort. They do not want o accept responsibility, and just abort their child. It would not make sense (at least in our society) for a parent to have their toddler killed just because they are tired of raising it. A fetus I still a human being, so killing it is like killing a toddler. Just because a teenage girl has gotten pregnant, and this pregnancy will cause her to make some changes in her life, does not make it okay for her to take a human life. A human life is a precious thing, and just as we would not take a life of a two year old who is growing both mentally and physically, so is a fetus in  woman’s womb.

           

Law #4

          In this article, equality is making sure that everyone is treated the same and that no one and nothing is put higher above all the others. Justice is when this equality is accomplished. The feminists and minorities feel that they are not treated equally with the rest of the United States, so to them justice is when they are given equal rights to all of those who have oppressed them, and when they are no longer oppressed. Along with feminism and racism, the article also talks about the equality of all society. It says that “[if] the categories that currently divide and separate people—including sexual, racial, political, and class categories—are broken down, people would be able to share more values and to create a more harmonious society”. That would be the justice, having everyone equal so that the society could grow as one.

          However, this article does not take into account that not everyone is always willing to get along. The Muslims would not be willing to give up their religion in order to make some Cosmic Humanists happy, nor would Christians abandon their faith just so Marxists would get along with them. While it does seem like a good idea for everyone in the world to get rid of their prejudices and live together in peace and harmony, this will never happen. Man is too corrupt and too selfish.

          Christian’s should view justice as obeying the laws which God has given them. Deuteronomy 10:12-19, Jeremiah 22:3, Micah 6:8 and James 1:27 all speak of doing what is “just and right” according to God. God is the ultimate authority and has given us the Divine Law to follow. So, justice to the Christians is following God’s law.

Law #3

       While the Islamic believe in the Shari’ah Law, Christians believe in Divine Law. The Divine Law states that “any law comes directly from the character of God” and that God has revealed Himself through nature (286). On the other hand, the Shari’ah Law does not say that God revealed Himself through nature. The Islamic view of law involves politics, economics, banking, business, contracts, social issues, and much more. Basically, it is involved in every part of everyone’s life. Not following the Islamic laws in an Islamic society has very bad consequences; most involve being killed or having great physical pain inflicted on the person. The source of the Christian view of law is the Bible. Christian law reflects the character of God, shows us that we are created in His image, and does not exclude anyone from following its laws. One major difference between the Shari’a and the Bible is that the Bible teaches forgiveness.  Unlike the Shari’a which promotes drastic consequences for breaking the law, the Bible says that we are to forgive one another. However, this does not mean that we are simply to let a murder go free. We still need to deal with their crime accordingly. Another difference between Islamic law and Christian law is that the Islamic law does not promote individual freedom within its religion. The Christian perspective of law “respects both human dignity and human depravity” (296). The Islamic law focuses on the society, and making sure that everyone follows the rules, and if they do no, there will be consequences. Also, their view of law does not involve a personal God who knows and understands the struggles they go through, or who offers them forgiveness for the wrongs they have done. The Christian law on the other hand does involve accountability for the individual, but it also involves forgiveness and a personal God who knows and understands His people and everything that troubles them.