If only....

I was surfing the internet last night when I came across the shooting at Virginia Tech. 33 people were killed (plus the gunman). It came not a shock to me, it was horror!!

Is there any explanation to such a crime? I quoted the gunman's words from http://news.yahoo.com

"Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats," he said. "Your golden necklaces weren't enough you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfill your hedonistic needs. You had everything."

"I didn't have to do this. I could have left. I could have fled," he said. "But no, I will no longer run."

"It's not for me. For my children, for my brothers and sisters. ... I did it for them."

Apparently, the news reported that there were early warning signs that indicated he was indeed problematic. In one section of the report, people referred to him as "the question mark." The reason being was, instead of writing his name on the paper, he wrote a question mark.

The quest for Self-identity - the question of "Who Am I" will always keep us guessing for the rest of our lives. It is not much of a problem if you accept yourself the way you are. The problem is, when you start to compare yourself with other people-what they have and what you don't have. My friends are richer than me, my sister is prettier than me, my parents are well-liked by others, my uncles are so fortunate...the list goes on and on and on. In the end you will discover that nothing will ever satisfy your needs, desires, etc.

I think of these people who were killed mercilessly, what kind of life would they have enjoyed if they were still alive? What would they sacrificed to get back their lives? What would they do to save their lives? What about their parents, husbands/wives, girlfriends/boyfriends that they left behind mourning for them..If only...

And I said to myself last nite, I am happy to still be alive.

Moral And Religion- A Reflection

It is undeniable that religion is related direcly with moral. In our everyday situations, our strongest motivation to act morally is influenced by our religion. Based on questions such as "why can't I do this or why do that?", most of the time, the answer is, because that is what religion says. Simple example is, when we are deciding against premarital sex, our common justification is, "it is wrong for me to commit such an act, as it is prohibited in my religion." If all of us does this, there will be no problem. How we choose to lead our lives is determined by our religious background.

All religions consist of moral guidance. If we were to compare between MORAL and RELIGION, the differences are there, but is not such a big matter. Morals which are found in religion comprise of 2 things:
1) How we communicate with other people
2) Ethical guidelines such as, no killing, no lying, no stealing, etc. In Christianity, this is also known as the Ten Commandments.

The second guidelines are more important and is accepted by all religions. Since this is accepted by all religions, therefore, our moral perspectives are also similar.

Why is it moral teachings in this religion is very important? Because it comes from GOd. We can rationalize why we shouldn't kill another person, or rape another person. In other words, it is justifiable. In ethical philosophy, we need to use rational for our moral behaviour.

This is how philosophy is different from religion. The crucial point in ethics and morals is rationality. They only accept facts based on arguments. In order for an act to be right, it must be accompanied by logical reasons that is well understood and accepted by other people. In religion, immorality is a sin. In philosophy, it is considered as you breaking the ethical rules. This is known as inconsequential rationals. However, a religion philosopher will be influenced by his/her belief system. This is normal since other factors such as our socio-economic status, culture, and past experience determines our views of morality.

To conclude, religion is used as a guide to derive to ethical principles. Therefore, religion is not exclusively owned by ethics.

(Translated from: Bertens, K (2003) Etika dan Moral: Untuk Pengajaran Tinggi. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit University Malaya.)

Degree : Project Sem 2/2007

To respective boys & girls!!

Based on the class unanimous agreement on the 2nd August 2007, it is confirmed that you will continue our tradition of conducting a charity work with the "not so fortunate people" in our community.

We will collaborate with the GAMERZ Club who will assist us in terms of meeting the people's needs.

I look forward to this project!!

Hope you will enjoy it!

Welcome Students! Semester 2/ 2007

Dear ladies & gentlemen :-),

Welcome to the Moral Studies blog!! This blog is created especially for you. I hope you find it useful.

This semester, I have created a special project for all of you. The theme for the project is: LIFE IN MY HAND.

Based on this theme, you are required to create a special "performance" that reflects this theme.

Guess what? You get to showcase your 'hidden' talents.

Good Luck! Looking ahead to another enjoyable semester!

Thanks.