History #1

Well Paige, this is an interesting argument you bring up. Sounds like you're coming from an awfully postmodern worldview. You probably believe that there are no moral absolutes and that everything is relative to the individual. Many people believe that because history was mostly written through the eyes of the winners make it less credible. It is true that history can be told a little differently through the biases of the different people that wrote it. However, this does not present a valid argument as to why you shouldn't study it. Just because the "winners" wrote it does not change the facts that are presented in history. It may be fabricated a little bit but as seniors in high school we should be able to decipher what is actually fact and what is exaggerated. 

History is so very vital to our education. We are able to look back on our nations history and see what we did right and wrong. We can learn from what we did wrong in the past and we are able to look back at what worked and do it again. If we did not learn these things, our nation would not be as successful as it is today. For example, In English this week we read a poem titled "The History Teacher” by Billy Collins. In this poem, it talks about a history teacher that is afraid to tell his students about the brutal reality of history and he distorts it to be much more innocent and less bias. Later he sees them on the playground being very brutal and tormenting each other; ultimately because they were never taught about the truths in history, they ended up repeating it. WE NEED HISTORY

Economics #2

Why doesn’t socialism work?

The idea of socialism in itself does not seem that terrible if it would work out perfectly. Everyone would work together for the greater good of the community and everyone would be rewarded for their work equally. There would be no separation of classes; no one would have the right to look down upon anyone else because everyone would be equally privileged.  All people would be able and willing to do even the hardest of jobs (knowing they get paid the same amount as someone with an easier job) just to help the well being of everyone else. However, this utopian society is unachievable because of the nature of man. Ever since the fall of man, man is not capable of being perfect or inherently good. It’s impossible. Whether you’re willing to admit it or not, most of us are constantly looking for the easy way out. If we had socialism, there would not be many people that would be willing to go to extra schooling and do the most mentally and physically straining jobs because there would be no motivation or reward. Also, another reason it would not work would be because of the government. The government is not perfect either and if they made a mistake (because they have so much control) it would directly affect your life potentially in a very negative way. Socialism has proved no to work in the past and will never work without at least some capitalist ideas.

Economics #1

Adam Smith was the first person to propose the idea of capitalism. In this form of government there is a Laissez faire (let things be) approach which in turn gives much more freedom to the people. Capitalism includes the right to private property, there are buyers and sellers (economic freedom), competitive markets (law of supply and demand), and limited role of the government. On the other hand, Karl Marx is the founder of socialism/marxism and in that form of government there is no right to private property, no economic freedom, there is a closed market, and a government run economy. It seems clear as to which one would be a more prosperous government system for the people, but it still remains a hot topic of debate.

Mr. Moore, in his lecture, argues that as a nation we should switch from capitalism to socialism. He claims that capitalism is a 16th century idea and that we need to move toward the future and with that toward socialism. However, since America maintains a balance of the two ideas, it has been around for so long. It just proves the success that it has had in our country. Many other countries have tried forms of government other than capitalism and have been unsuccessful. America has been one of the most prosperous nations because of the waffling between capitalism and socialism. Also, in Moore's arguement, he say that socialism is democracy and Christianity. First of all, there is no way for socialism to be considered democratic because there is no freedom given to the people. Everything is under government control and the people have no say. It is in fact the opposite of democracy. Second of all, when he says that socialism is christianity is also a false statement. Capitalism nor socialism is Christian. Christianity is a religion, not a government system. Lastly, if we were to live in a socialist enviroment like Moore suggests, there would be no motivation for people to have successful job titles. The number of doctors and other people with difficult jobs would decrease significantly due to the fact that everyone is paid the same amount no matter what they do.

global government

What do you think the ramifications of a global secular government would be? Due Friday, March 25th by midnight.

          A global secular government would be one universal government that every culture would be forced to follow apart from God. There would be one set of laws for the whole world to abide by. The purpose of this would be to join men of all different cultures to live together in harmony. But ultimately, this would result in complete dystopia. I do not think that it is possible for a successful global government because of the nature of men. People are so diverse with different philosophies of how to run a successful government. There is no way all men would agree on how to do so. One of the major problems I see happening would be that a great deal of people would rebel against the government. Each country has a unique history that is important to them there is no way you could wipe out the history of the different countries and start over. Also, another problem would be that this system would significantly help some countries/civilizations but it would severely hurt others. God did not create the world to be like this. A biblical example of a global government would be the tower of Babel. When the people of Babel attempted to create one global government God mixed up their languages and did not allow it to happen. I think the same thing would happen to us today. God would do something to get prevent it from continuing because it is not why God created us. God created us all to be different for a reason. If there was one world government, individuality would be lost.

abortion

Teenagers who become mothers have grim prospects for the future. They are much more likely to leave of school; receive inadequate prenatal care; rely on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or end up divorced.

It is entirely true that teen mothers are much more susceptible to not graduate from school, rely on the government or their parents for assistance in raising their children, and it could ultimately lead to an unsuccessful marriage. However, this does not make a legitimate argument for a woman to have the right to chose abortion. The choice that woman made was to have sex and/or not use protection. After making that choice, as women, they should own up to the decision they made and take the necessary steps to either find a way to raise that child as best they can or if that is not possible, to give the child to someone that is more fitted to raise a them. Adoption is a very viable option for women that cannot provide for the child because they are still bringing them into life and giving them the life that they deserve. There are many adopted children out there that live very successful lives and are wonderful people today that would not be here if their mother would have aborted them. The aborted fetus has potential to be someone in this world and live a fulfilling life. Who are you to take away from that opportunity? God is the only thing that can give and take away life. The bottom line in this situation is that women and men should think about the consequences of their actions before they have sex. They should own up to the decision they made and consequently either find a way to raise the baby in a healthy environment, or adopt it into a family that can. In life, you cannot just eliminate the problems, you have to deal with what comes to it in a rational appropriate manner. You cannot eliminate suffering by eliminating the problem. Suffering will sitill exist, so it is best to take responsibility for your actions and turn it into something positive. In this case, it is life. 

Law #4

The CLS is a group of liberal intellectuals that argue major topics about law and go against the societal norms in hopes to create equality.The CLS does not define justice and equality from a Christian viewpoint at all. The goal of the CLS is to eliminate laws to create more equality. They believe that everyone is equal and should be treated equally. Where as, they believe that justice is the opinion of the people. However, in attempt to create a sense of justice and equality they do the opposite. Laws are created to maintain justice and equality. For example, in Duetoronomy it says that we should follow the commands God gives to us because it directly benefits us and how we live. If we had a perfect society and everyone followed the commands of the Lord, we would all live peacefully. This is directly contradictory to what the CLS says. God did not create laws to make us feel like we were unequal racially or sexually but he created them so we could live the best life that he intended for us with some guidelines to make it most productive. God knows that without structure through laws there is no way the world would function properly. It would be utter chaos. In the passages it also says that God shows no partiality between people. He loves everyone the same and all people are equally created in his image. As far as justice, we should look at the Bible and that will help us determine what it is and how we should view it properly in the person of Christ, through the Christian worldview.

Law #2

No, legal standards are not limited to the determination and interpretation of each individual. If it was, then the whole world would be in chaos. There are so many different people with different beliefs that if the law was subjective to each individual the law would serve absolutely no purpose. People would skew the meaning of the laws to make it mean what they wanted it to just so they could do whatever they wanted. There is one absolute truth that humans should follow. God instilled it into the minds of every person in every culture for this very reason. So that humans would follow it and the world could maintain some kind of order and structure. At first, it may seem appealing to not have any laws or to have the ability to interpret them however you wanted, but one will soon find out that it would be a much more difficult world to live in. Although there will always be people who disobey the law or rebel against it, it keeps the world in order and much less chaotic.

Laws

No, the ultimate authority for creating laws is not the government. God is definitely the ultimate authority and has been since the beginning of time. That’s the way it should be, at least, in order for the society to be a successful one. Throughout Bible times there are countless examples of societies that followed the law of God and one’s that did not. It is obvious that the one’s that did turned out to be more thriving. That is the reason that God made the laws in the first place, to have us use them as guidelines to live a more fulfilling life. These laws were created by Him and intended for the government to put those laws into action and hold people accountable for upholding the laws. God is the creator. He created all of humanity, it only makes sense that he is the only and ultimate authority for creating laws. However, it is also true that times change and laws do too as a result of that. But, when changing and adding laws the government should always make them in accordance with the Bible and what it teaches.

Christianity and Feminism

In Webster’s dictionary, feminism is defined as, “the theory of political, economic, and social equality.  God has created men and women equally in His image, there is no doubt about that. But some feminists can get offended because even in the Bible, men can do things that women cannot. For instance, they can serve as leaders of the country and have most of the power. They also serve in the highest positions of the church. This can be commonly misconstrued by feminists to mean that Christians do not believe in the equality of men and women but the reality of the situation is that women and men were created equally, just to carry out different functions in the family and life. Women were created to be bear children and to be nurturing. Where as, men were created to hold down the household and provide for his family. Each of these tasks is equally important, but the nature of the two are just simply different. No one is higher than the other. Another example of men and women being equal but having different nature is the draft in war and having women on the front line. Some women may in fact be fully capable of handling that but it is not natural for women to kill and shoot at people when God created them to be nurturing, kind, compassionate beings. The inverse of this is women having children. Men will never be able to bear a child but that does not make them any less capable than women. So, as Christian’s, we need to be respectful to women and they should not be looked down upon but we also need to recognize the difference between the nature of men and women and respect that nature that God has instilled in each of us.

Many people do charge christianity as being sexist and homophobic. both of these claims are inaccurate but I see where they are coming from. First of all, I would like to explain why Christians are not sexist. I think that men and women were created very differently for a reason. God did not create them to preform the same tasks or for the same purpose. Women were created to be nurturing and to bear children, where men were created to do the labor work and provide food and shelter for his family. Both of these tasks are important to having a healthy family and relationship. They go hand in hand.That was God's purpose in creating them like that, to unify them as one. Not to put one as more important than the other, but to complete eachother. The bible does say that women are supposed to submit to their husbands but that is only because they are supposed to be the head of household and God intended it to be like that. The women being "submissive" is only to maintain a healthy relationship and when a woman is submissive, it shows how much she loves her husband.

A lot of Christians are pegged as homophobes and sadly, I believe that sometimes it is true. As Christians even though we do not believe in their sinful lifestyle, we still need to love them. If we love them and refrain from being so harsh and judgemental maybe we will act as examples of how to live and they will in turn want to live a Christian lifestyle. I'm not saying we should ever believe what they practice is okay, we should still accept and respect them as human beings.