For this assignment you are to give feedback regarding the following presentation. Please respond with 220 words .You may agree or disagree with the presentation. Give your reasons for your agreement or disagreement. Ask clarifying or critical questions. Give comments on any misunderstanding or misapplication of ideas.
Morals actions are codes of conduct put together by a society, a group or a religion but are also actions that proceed from our purposeful will. While some religions such as Orthodox Judaism, Hinduism and Islam might practice some similar code of ethics, they can also differ significantly. Judaism will use the Ten Commandments found in the Torah to practice moral actions. Orthodox Judaism will rely almost entirely on rabbinic legal president as the influence foundation for deciding controversial moral and ethical questions. Today, Jewish ethics and morals vary on how to handle birth control, homosexuals, political issue and abortion. Hinduism will practice the dharma and karma’s moral thoughts and action. The dharma influences the way people live and view themselves, it is the principle of Hindu morality. The karma in Hinduism is the chief agent of morality, it all depends on the individual whether they receive good karma or bad karma. If an individual does good things for others or acts selflessly, good things will come. If an individual accumulate negative karma, bad outcomes will be the result of his behavior. Islam will carry out moral actions through the Quran. The Quran states that Allah reveals to human nature the consciousness and cognition of good and evil. Ethics and moral actions are a big part of every religion and although they might seem to all try to do well, the bad is also exposed. One moral action that is often debated would be abortion. Sometimes the legality of abortion is debated more than the morality of it. Religion is a big part of the moral actions of abortion since it is difficult to decide what is morally right or wrong depending on the abortion circumstances and the religious believes.
In the Orthodox Judaism, abortion is considered a form of murder and therefore, it is strongly opposed. The only time abortion would be allowed is when the pregnancy puts in danger the mother’s life. Conservative Judaism is not much different since it allows abortion only if a continuance of pregnancy may cause the woman insensitive physical or psychological harm. There are other exceptions which also allow abortions but it is more in depth such as a woman being raped. The Torah, the first Five Books of the Bible, contains no direct mention to deliberate pregnancy termination but it does mention a miscarriage following violent altercation. The Talmud, which contains the history of the Jewish religion, laws and beliefs indicates that prior to 40 days of development, the fetus has limited legal status. Prior to the forty days, the fetus is considered simple water. Then again, somewhere else in the Talmudic authority, it states that women should be free to make decisions with reference to their own bodies. Although I am little confused on abortion rules regarding Judaism because there are so many different things to consider, I do know the safeguard of a woman comes before anything.
Hinduism incorporates various beliefs and practices that fall into dharma and karma which is the concept of moral thought and action. Different people have different dharma and therefore it is said to be the most complex term in Hinduism. To act properly is a moral and ethical dharmically guideline besides acting appropriately, being righteousness, proper conduct, putting things in their proper place and maintaining order. Karma is the universal law of cause and effect in Hinduism. Positive karma is said to be generated by ahimsa which is non-violence. On the other hand, an abortion would be a mortal sin in dharma and in karma; an abortion would delay the spiritual progress since it would interfere with the rebirth of souls.
When it comes to abortion, the Hindu way is to choose the action that will do least damage to all involved including the mother, the father, the fetus and also society. Unless it is necessary to save the mother’s life, in Hinduism, abortion would not be an option. Abortion is said to be compared to killing a priest. It is also considered to be worse than killing one’s parents. Also, if a woman aborts her child, she will lose her caste. In Hinduism, abortion is seen as a breach of the duty to produce more children which is a tradition. Hindus believe in non-violence and they also believe that all life is sacred including the life of embryos. Killing living people is the same as killing the embryo. Although most religious do believe killing living beings is wrong, they sometimes have different thoughts when it comes to considering what a living being would be depending on the size of the embryo. Although abortion is a negative thing in Hinduism, reincarnation could be seen as a positive thing. Hinduism believe in reincarnation and a soul gets many lives, abortion would be only one of many births which it would have.
In the Islam religion, whatever is harmful is morally bad and thus making whatever leads to the wellbeing of an individual or society and maxims of the religions, is ethically good. For Muslims, piety and humility are the most fundamental characteristics and morality is the Islam nation’s strength. The love and awareness of God and the Day of Judgment permits man to be moral in behavior and genuine intentions. When it comes to abortion in Muslim’s views, it is permitted when it is permissible, before four months of gestation, fetal deformity and when it is a threat to the woman’s life.
Abortion is permissible depending on factors such as extenuating circumstances and time. Before four months of gestation or pregnancy, it is acceptable to abort but not after. The Qur’an condemns the killing of humans but it does not mention abortion. I would think it is questionable to some whether aborting is the same as killing since some consider the fetus to be human, even if it is under 120 days old. In the case of fetal deformity, it is safe to abort but then again, aborting is the same as killing since the fetus is a human to some. Once again, although it could be a threat to the woman’s life, it is still killing a life when you need to abort the fetus or the baby.
Although there might be differences in moral values between Orthodox Judaism, Hinduism and Islam, they all seem to think abortion is not a good choice. I believe it is similar with all religions. There is always the pro-life person who will disagree with abortion no matter what the circumstances might be and there is also the pro-choice who will be fighting any religion or any laws in order to prove their point and save a life. Either way, depending on your ethics and moral believes, people will do what they think is best for them.
Whether someone practices Judaism, Hinduism or Islam, ethics and morals seem to be a key factor in a religion. As a matter of fact, even atheists and other religions make similar moral judgments. Studying and reading on the different religions gave me a new understanding of the real meaning of moral actions that are practiced without being bias. I believe knowing right from wrong is something we are born with and not something that is learned. I also trust that religions do help with ethics by being a social enforcer and helping to follow right from wrong. The book, Anatomy of the Sacred, declares “the sources and the norms of moral obligation are derived from commands or instructions that are revealed through or dictated to divine intermediary or a standard of right and wrong is so because it is commanded or forbidden by God”. Here also, it states that religions such as Judaism and Islam practice the same ethics and morals and obligations as a human being.
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