The Broken Compass: Exploring Ethics

This book is my effort to try to understand ethics. I look at ethics through two perspectives. The first perspective is that of moral realism. The second perspective is through Christian orthodoxy. Between both of those perspectives, there are overlaps and contradictions. I choose the title The Broken Compass to suggest our struggle to navigate our life's journey with our moral compass that doesn't always point to the North Star. We live in a world of many voices. Some of those voices bellow out to us from a landscape of moral relativism and post modernism. Money, culture, power, and celebrity are the voices that overpower the quieter but persistent voices of traditional notions of right and good. But the paradox is that sometimes the louder voices are those voices to which we should listen. For popularity isn't always wrong and tradition isn't always right. That's the enduring challenge for all of those trying to live the ethical life. It pervades the way we choose our leaders, raise our families, and live our lives. Ethics is at the core of our humanity. Here are the chapters and chapter sections.Chapter One: Moral DilemmasThe Sinking LifeboatSituational EthicsEasy AnswersCapital Punishment as a Moral GoodAbortion as a Moral GoodChapter Two: A Theory of MoralityThe Moral InstinctWhere Do Morals Come From?The Categorical ImperativeAn Objective Basis for the Categorical ImperativeMeans and the Kingdom of EndsAnswering Moral QuestionsMy Answers to Some Moral QuestionsMoral HumilityThe Morality of SelfishnessMy Readers are SkepticalChapter Three: Extremist EthicsThe True BelieverJim Jones and the Temple of DoomModerationFanaticismYahweh, Yeshua, Yoda, and YogaThe Great DivideChapter Four: Religious EthicsA Defense of Theistic MoralityPatient ZeroGay and Gender IdentityThe Christians of KokomoA Christian Understanding of MarriageReligious AbsolutistsMoral LicentiousnessNecessary LiesJudge NotNonconformityTithingTheistic MoralityThe Golden RuleRewards-Based MoralityOriginal SinThings AboveReligion and ChildrenChapter Five: Military EthicsJust and Total WarThe Morality of NagasakiPreemptive WarDespotism Under the LawThe Morality of TortureMay Christians Torture?Standing on PrincipleMoral CowardsMoral CourageChapter Six: Everyday EthicsGamblingToleranceEthical PivotsPassive EthicsStrip Club MoralsA Defense of FidelityLoving People, Hating PersonsKindergarten Isn't EnoughAlien EthicsRobot EthicsAnimal EthicsWhat's Wrong With the World?On Criticizing OthersAlways Take SidesCompensationChapter Seven: Final ThingsRemember DeathDid My Mother Kill herself?Reverence for LifeDeath of a ChristianA Christian View of Death"We Are Born to Die"Final ReflectionsHope