Category: Ethics

by Benjamin Bjorkman

The Rains

Sous la pluie: La mère et les enfants by Théophile Alexandre Steinlen

I want to share what happened to me a few weeks ago. Here in northern California, we’ve had an extremely wet winter; storms have been “on” more than they’ve been “off.” In an evening of respite, while expectant clouds painted the night sky, I visited the old town grocery store to fetch my daily bread. As I passed by, I noticed what appeared to be a homeless man shuffling through shopping carts by the entrance. If he was homeless, I mused, he might appreciate a meal. It was too late for the store to serve anything warm, so I fetched … Continue reading “The Rains” →

by Daniel Sutkowski

Utilitarianism’s Lack of Utility: Part II

John Rawls’s theory of ethics begins with an experiment he calls the veil of ignorance. The veil attempts to justify the principle “that free and rational persons concerned to further their own interests would accept in an initial position of equality as defining the fundamental terms of their association” (Rawls, 10) [1]. In this experiment, Rawls recognizes that information about race, wealth, and our general background will influence us in our ethical outlook. To counteract our bias, he has us imagine a “situation in which everyone is deprived of this sort of information” (17). From this experiment, Rawls argues that … Continue reading “Utilitarianism’s Lack of Utility: Part II” →

by Sarah Michalak

Why Abortion Must Be Dismantled Culturally

Abortion is the greatest injustice of our time. Over 3,000 children are aborted every single day in the United States. Pope Saint John Paul II taught that the deliberate destruction of human life is a symptom of a deeper loss of human respect. It is jarring to hear abortion called a symptom and not the central difficulty. For the past two years, I have been working full time in the pro-life movement and after having thousands of conversations on campus, I realized that not only is Saint John Paul’s assessment correct, it is essential to understanding the pro-abortion mindset. The … Continue reading “Why Abortion Must Be Dismantled Culturally” →

by Benjamin Bjorkman

Neighbors and the Ninth Commandment

The Ten Commandments are a mainstay of modern Christian doctrine, if not Christian doctrine through all times and places. They are a solid set of rules that echo in nearly every Western culture. That isn’t to say that their interpretation hasn’t degraded over the years. The most common point of contention is the third commandment, but the misinterpretation that intrigues me the most is that of the ninth. See, most Christians speed through the final five commandments as a list of things not to do: no murder, no adultery, no stealing, no lying, and no envy. While that’s certainly true … Continue reading “Neighbors and the Ninth Commandment” →

by Daniel Sutkowski

The Power of Forgiveness

We take many things for granted in our post-Christian world. Consistent with our human nature, we can be given the Son of God as a sacrifice for all of our faults, and get used to it. Moreover, we can gloss through many of the lessons Jesus teaches us to enact as cliche phrases with little change in our lives. One of these teachings—that we forgive those who trespass against us—is the subject of what I wanted to write about today. Recently I watched and reread sections from the book and screen adaptation of Silence, by Shūsaku Endō. The story follows … Continue reading “The Power of Forgiveness” →

by Z S

Nazi Death Camps: Blurring the Lines Between Life and Death

We are publishing this article for Holocaust Remembrance Day. May their memories be for a blessing. Death camps represent, perhaps, the most important evidence for the planned extermination of the Jewish people. The death camp manufactured a single product: the speedy and efficient murder of world Jewry. Because of this, the Nazis blurred the lines between life and death. “Life” became an optimistic way to describe an animated dying process, while “death” was normalized into everyday expectation. Nazis sought to turn humans into animals, taking away all semblance of the dignity of human life. Meanwhile, the actual act of murder … Continue reading “Nazi Death Camps: Blurring the Lines Between Life and Death” →

by Benjamin Bjorkman

The Role of Natives and Migrants

Migration is a fairly tricky subject, and arguably uniquely so in our day and age. There have certainly been migration patterns, even involving thousands of people, but economic migration and border-length border control have rarely been so prevalent. With both sides of the aisle slapping the Christian faith on their political perspective, or, rather, slapping their political perspective on the Christian faith, I think that a thorough analysis of immigration would be useful. It’s worth highlighting the difference between the New and Old Testaments. Christianity by design has no nationality, culture, or boundaries. Missionaries travelling across continents are the norm, … Continue reading “The Role of Natives and Migrants” →

by Z S

Abortion and the Utility Monster

Morning Walk is hosting a trip to the annual March for Life at the National Mall on January 18. This is the first in a series of articles focusing on the issue of abortion. This article does not make a case against abortion per se. Rather, it counters a common argument in support of abortion.