Journal 3: The Morality of Jesus

The Three Most Important Ideas:

I find that the key idea in the section is C. S. Lewis' first chapter in "mere Christianity."  Lewis explores the Laws of Right and Wrong, which he considers to be the Law of Human Nature.  Lewis explains that it is called the Law of Human Nature because everybody knows the "Law," and doesn't need to be taught it.  He goes on to say that any man who declares he does not believe in right and wrong is actually hyprocritical.  Lewis knows that these type of people will soon contradict themselves by declaring something is, "unfair."  Lewis concludes from his observations that all humans have a certain idea that they should behave in a particular manner.  Also, that even  though humans acknowledge this, \ they still disobey their "Law of Nature."

1.  During the Sermon on the Mount Jesus sheds some light on how people should respond to anger, impurity, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and enemies.  The uniqueness of Jesus' words are that they aren't what the religious elite of the period were preaching.  Jesus doesn't necessarily follow the literal execution of the commandments.  For example, instead of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," when retaliating to others, Jesus preaches to have no resistance to injury. 2.  William O'Malley writes on the Moral Practices of Jesus.  O'Malley discusses that in continuation with Jesus' trends of teachings, he is not as concerned with sexual sins as the official Church.  Instead, Jesus realizes that there is sin, but he thinks that forgiveness should be greater than punishment.  Jesus showcases this compassion in John 8:1-11, The Adulterous Woman.  Rather than condemning the woman Jesus disperses the crowd and simply tells her to go and avoid sin. 3. The story of Le Chambon is particullarily striking.  The inhabitants of this village were an affectionate, loving group of people.  Like others in their country, they saw the hardships that the Jews were going through; however the people of Le Chambon actually took action.  These people helped the Jewish people hide for the sole reason that they needed help.  They defied their nation and government by sheltering Jews, but it made no difference to them.

-An image that reminds me of the morality of Jesus is this image of Holocaust prisoners in a concentration camp.  These people are those who the inhabitants of Le Chambon strove to help.  Others neglected the Jews and even aided in their persecution, but Le Chambon welcomed Jews and felt this was the moral, selfless action that Jesus would do.  They helped the Jewish people simple because they observed that they needed help.

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-A Christian is a person that strives to live in the image and likeness of Jesus Christ.  It seems obvious that no human will ever be able to compare to Jesus, but we may strive to be more like Him..  Yes, I believe I'm a Christian, my pre-survey reveals that I try to live morally and I do in fact know Jesus' teachings and I do my best to follow them.  Christianity affects my morality because it makes me aware of Jesus' teachings it inspires me to follow in His footsteps.

-I can try to be a better Christian by being more aware of my surroundings.  When I notice people being made fun of, I must stand up for that person.  Many times, I simply ignore it and get past the situation without taking any action.