Final Project
Jesus
Upstander
Me
Reign of God
10/17/08
The Reign of God (reign, not "rein" or "rain") is around us. It is not a place, it is the presence of unconditional love among everyone. With every love-filled action, we are working towards it. It is already but not yet.
(my 10/17/08 notes)
NOW: individual loving people
in the world.
ROG: One big, loving world :)
Jesus and the Reign of God
Jesus' central message was the Reign of God. Some people say that love was his central message, but how what do we achieve by being loving people? That's right. The Reign of God. On 10/28/08, we talked about miracles in class. Miracles are signs of the Reign of God's existence. Jesus' miracles stopped suffering and evil. In the Reign of God, there is no suffering or evil.
"Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,  he said in reply, 'The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the kingdom of God is among you."
Luke 17:20
When we reach Reign of God, we may not even know it. But we know that it does not exist know, because pain and suffering still exist. By performing small actions of love, we make loving actions a habit (which eventually becomes part of our character, like in the character cycle). When we make love the motivation behind our personal decisions, we inspire others to do the same. Even if just a couple of people are solely motivated by love, it will 'snowball' into the whole world being happy and peace-filled.
Why the Reign of God is Important
Superstar Angelina Jolie works toward the Reign of God by frequently visiting the poorest parts of Africa and helping those who are suffering. International organizations like ONE, Red Cross, CRS and many more fight suffering in the world. These organizations are also working towards the Reign of God.
Universe of obligation
10/17/08
Universe of Obligation is the name given to the circle of individuals and groups toward whom obligations are owed, to whom rules apply and whose injuries call for amends.
(my notes from 10/17/08)
Gandhi and Universe of obligation
Mohandas Gandhi's Universe of obligation was centered around his fellow Indian people. He spent a huge portion of his life peacefully working for independence from Great Britain. There were no selfish reasons behind his fight. All he wanted was everyone around him and future generations to be able to live free lives.
What Influences People's Universe of Obligation?
Values
Experiences
Contact/Intimacy
Priorities
People in our lives
Faith/Beliefs
Religious membership
Gandhi's Universe of Obligation Influences
Values: Satyagraha (a method of action based on courage, nonviolence and truth)

Experiences: At a young age, Gandhi left India to study law in Britain. Upon his visit to then-British occupied South Africa he was treated as a second-class citizen, simply because he was Indian.

Contact/Intimacy: He himself was abused by the British government, even though he was an English-educated man. He could relate with common people and they respected him for it.

Priorities: His priorities were people in the immediate circle of his Universe of Obligation. He put others before himself.

People in his life: Gandhi married at 13 in a very successful arranged marriage.

Faith/Beliefs: Gandhi was Hindu. But above all, his faith lied in peace and justice for all.

Religious Membership: Hindu
Aoife Cullen
Block 7
Why Universe of Obligation is Important
Everybody's universe of obligation is different. Some people put themselves before others and vice versa. If the center of everyone's universe of obligation was others, there wouldn't be bad in the world. If everyone was more concerned about others than themselves, the world would be a much safer, more peaceful place. People like Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa and other peaceful human activists understood this, and worked for it.
Conscience
2/23/09
Conscience is 1) the ability to recognize the difference between good and evil and 2) the awareness of right and wrong and a sense of duty to do the right
(my notes from 2/23/09)
Conscience Formation is Key
One's conscience is based on their personal experiences, good and bad. People don't always make the right judgment, but everyone's personal conscience should be respected. We are responsible for forming a correct conscience. A problem with that is that sometimes one's surroundings make it much harder to form a correct conscience.
Off-track Consciences
Wrongly Formed
People are given information or assumptions about right and wrong that are mistaken.
Ex.: U.S. Slavery
Lax Conscience
Actions that once seemed wrong begin to seem less wrong, or not wrong at all. Conscience is distorted through habit.
Ex.: The Snowball Effect
Legalistic
When persons are so caught up in obeying rules perfectly that they cannot see the real needs of a situation.
Ex.: The blind obedience of the Nazi soldiers during the holocaust
My Personal Conscience Story
This story isn't actually about me, but my best friend. She is on a traveling sports team, and she often goes to different cities and sometimes different states for tournaments. When she travels, she rooms with other members of her team. This year, she did not like the people on her team, and would call me after practice, often very upset. At one tournament, the girls she was rooming with were having a conversation about all the "bad" things they had done. One girl claimed to have had sex with multiple boys, most of them she was not in a relationship with. Another girl bragged about how many drugs she frequently used. Yet another talked about crazy parties she went to simply to get drunk out of her mind. These girls then turned to my friend, and asked, "So what bad stuff have you done?" She, totally disgusted with their conversation, simply said, "I have morals and a conscience," and she walked out of the room. She then promptly called me and told me about what had happened. Her story made me think about what I would do if I had been in her situation. Would I have just brushed them off like that, or would I have tried to act like them? My friend earns people's respect by working hard at what she does, and I am so glad to call her my best friend. Surrounding myself with people like her has helped me form a correct conscience.