Religion

Moral responsibility – Wikipedia

Moral responsibility – Wikipedia

In philosophy, moral responsibility is the status of morally deserving praise, blame, reward, or punishment for an act or omission in accordance with one's moral obligations. Deciding what (if anything) counts as "morally obligatory" is a principal concern of ethics.

Philosophers refer to people who have moral responsibility for an action as moral agents. Agents have the capability to reflect upon their situation, to form intentions about how they will act, and then to carry out that action. The notion of free will has become an important issue in the debate on whether individuals are ever morally responsible for their actions and, if so, in what sense. Incompatibilists regard determinism as at odds with free will, whereas compatibilists think the two can coexist.

Moral responsibility does not necessarily equate to legal responsibility. A person is legally responsible for an event when a legal system is liable to penalise that person for that event. Although it may often be the case that when a person is morally responsible for an act, they are also legally responsible for it, the two states do not always coincide.

Questions and answers about indulgences, with special reference to Martin Luther’s objections

Questions and answers about indulgences, with special reference to Martin Luther’s objections

1. What is an indulgence?

An indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment for sins after the sinner confesses and receives absolution. Under Catholic teaching, every sin must be purified either here on earth or after death in a state called purgatory.

2. How did the practice of dispensing indulgences begin?

The first known use of plenary indulgences was in 1095 when Pope Urban II remitted all penance of persons who participated in the crusades and who confessed their sins. Later, the indulgences were also offered to those who couldn't go on the Crusades but offered cash contributions to the effort instead. In the early 1200s, the Church began claiming that it had a "treasury" of indulgences (consisting of the merits of Christ and the saints) that it could dispense in ways that promoted the Church and its mission. In a decretal issued in 1343, Pope Clement VI declared, "The merits of Christ are a treasure of indulgences."

It’s Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion | FiveThirtyEight

It’s Not Just Young White Liberals Who Are Leaving Religion | FiveThirtyEight

Only 47 percent of American adults said they were members of a church, mosque or synagogue, according to recently released polling that was conducted by Gallup throughout last year. It marked the first time that a majority of Americans said they were not members of a church, mosque or synagogue since Gallup first started asking Americans about their religious membership in the 1930s.

I am pro-Jesus

I am pro-Jesus. ☦

Lately it seems like everything has become so political and ideological. But I like Jesus because he was the ultimate rebel, the organizer against the state, who wasn’t afraid to say what is right and fight against evil through his organization of the public.

Do Jews Run the World?. Why Jews are overrepresented in… | by Allison J. van Tilborgh | Interfaith Now | Medium

Do Jews Run the World?. Why Jews are overrepresented in… | by Allison J. van Tilborgh | Interfaith Now | Medium

Although Jews only occupy 2% of the United States population, these innovations have increased their social capital in American life. They do not occupy the arts because the arts are the easiest way to control popular culture, but because the arts presented themselves while they existed on the fringes of popular culture.

That's an important point. Much of our best cultural innovations come from the creative arts by people pushed to the fringes. We should welcome diversity and new ideas, give all more chances to succeed. 

Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters – The Atlantic

Trump Secretly Mocks His Christian Supporters – The Atlantic

“They’re all hustlers,” Trump said.

The president’s alliance with religious conservatives has long been premised on the contention that he takes them seriously, while Democrats hold them in disdain. In speeches and interviews, Trump routinely lavishes praise on conservative Christians, casting himself as their champion. “My administration will never stop fighting for Americans of faith,” he declared at a rally for evangelicals earlier this year. It’s a message his campaign will seek to amplify in the coming weeks as Republicans work to confirm Amy Coney Barrett—a devout, conservative Catholic—to the Supreme Court.

But in private, many of Trump’s comments about religion are marked by cynicism and contempt, according to people who have worked for him. Former aides told me they’ve heard Trump ridicule conservative religious leaders, dismiss various faith groups with cartoonish stereotypes, and deride certain rites and doctrines held sacred by many of the Americans who constitute his base.