Great teachers across all popular religions and all passionate scientists who have unraveled to us some
of the most amazing mysteries about human behavior, have been trying tirelessly during their lifetime to
establish within the human nature what exactly can be done in order to create a reverent heart within a
human soul. Issues of morals and values form the pith of the difference between humanity and wildlife.
The very existence of moral behavior raises the enormous question of why people ever try to pursue the
good in the first place. Lying, killing, taking what is not yours, raping a woman or another person,
fighting a fellow human being to hurt them, scolding your neighbor and taking another person’s wife
and all other sinister attributes that advance personal interests are all aberrant behaviors. On the other
hand, giving to others, caring, resisting temptation, sacrifice, commitment to good are values which
brings one a reputable name. This concept of what is good to individuals and society saw the birth of
this special branch of principles called ethics.
Ethics is rooted in the ancient Greek philosophical inquiry of moral life. It refers to a system of principles
which can critically change previous considerations about choices and actions. Ethics seeks to establish
what is good for individuals and society. It is also described as moral philosophy because it has been
derived from morals agreed within religions, philosophies and cultures. Much concern and debate
dwells on topics like abortion, euthanasia, human rights and professional conduct, war, animal rights,
capital punishment et cetera.
One of the most popular argument in the world is that of administering life-limiting measures to a sick
patient or person who is deemed to be beyond the healing phase. This is euthanasia – termination of a
very sick person's life in order to relieve them of their suffering. A person who undergoes euthanasia
usually has an incurable condition. It is popular opinion that life is to be respected and no fellow human
being can decide the fate of another; whether the person is abnormal mentally or physically. No one
person should be able to decide when one’s life should end because the belief is that God has the final
carte-blanche` on who lives and who dies. But in developed parts of the world, opinions challenging this
school of thought have emerged suggesting the contrary. They say there are moments when physical
harm and discomfort from pain can torment a person who is at a point of no return to normalcy.
Therefore, they talk of mercy-killing or euthanasia as a way of redeeming the patient from pain by
offering an involuntary send off to heaven. Should this act be justified or not? In some countries,
medical personnel are allowed by law to end a persons life by a painless means, as long as the patient
and their family agree. But who knows the thoughts within the consciousness of such a soul? As long as
we see life in a person, regardless of the suffering they are going through, it is the conviction of the
writer that God has not decided yet to end the person’s life so why should another creature decide on
the fate in such sacrosanct matters where divinity should exercise authority over humanity by virtue of
being the giver of life?
History since millennia has also recorded events of capital punishment-from crucifixion to stoning. Jesus
Christ being one popular example; was crucified during the governorship of Pontius Pilate who ruled AD
26–36 who ruled the Roman province of Judea under the emperor Tiberius. Years after the capital
punishment on Jesus Christ, Stephen the saint was also killed. He was condemned for committing
blasphemy against the Jewish Temple, and was stoned to death as his punishment. Until now, methods
of capital punishment have been invented; they’ve evolved, improved, gotten more lethal and smarter
to be pardoned. Somewhere under the sun, today, it’s their last day. They are being executed or
hanged; or some lethal poison that kills within seconds is being injected into their veins for allegedly
committing a crime. In this present day and age, should we continue ending one’s right to life for their
crimes? Those who have committed murder, rape and mass killings might deserve but what about those
who are wrongly accused? We have developed our justice systems to be effective in punishment but
have we developed them to be precise in proving guilt. Is capital punishment justified then when we
have a system that can make errors into condemning the righteous? Some who are in support of capital
punishment believe it deters crimes and, more often than not believe that certain crimes eliminate
one’s right to life. But can we not develop a system of expression or communication of fundamental
values or norms to the offenders behind bars for purposes of educating or reforming offenders and even
convicting them to the faith of God?
Other issues include abortion of a fetus with a disability. When we look at this from the point of view
where we already have other disabled people who are amongst us; doesn’t it seem to be an unjust
treatment or stigmatization against the disabled community? Are we not then denying disabled persons
the right to live by attempting to eliminate all disabled genes from the human race? We are not denying
the fact that deciding whether to have a baby with down syndrome is not an easy choice to make. It’s a
continual debate that rages on and on: is having a baby with disability a noble thing to do or mothers
should find peace in the selfishness of aborting the baby? Raising a child with a severe disability can be
exhausting and difficult, but they too are a living soul. We have had children who are disabled but
extremely intelligent, some excel in gymnastics and various sports and some have been renowned
motivational speakers. These are champions who could have been aborted but they have proven the
world wrong by doing far much better than most normal people in important aspects of life. Then the
question will forever remain: should abortion of a disabled fetus be justified? Others say women who
choose to end pregnancies because of potential disability can be acting out of compassion, knowing that
they do not have the ability to care for a child with special needs. What say you?
It is probably best to make decisions and choices out of intuition than conscious reasoning by battling
facts and the status quo. Intuition is that magical feeling, or hunch which usually comes from the
subconscious mind or shall we say it is an inspiration from God into your soul on what one should do.
Ethics, as principles, are good but facts surrounding them can compromise their integrity. Isn’t it always
best to rely on the inner voice that comes from one’s spirit which is usually God inspired; for it is only
this part that makes us different from animals. We have the ability to discern right from wrong, good or
bad, holy or evil-that is why when one gets to a dangerous place, say a grave yard, their hair can
respond as if there is an electric flow. These are all proofs that we have God watching over us and our
decisions matter to him. Life is given by him and therefore our actions towards another lives should be
more beneficial to one another therefore we need more than ethics and morals to act right and do good
in life. More on this topic will be discussed in the coming chapters!
