Initial Post InstructionsSt. Augustine in the 5th Century held that we are free to makechoices in life. This is the idea of free will. It may seem atfirst glance odd for a religious thinker to say that we have freewill. After all, if God exists, then God created all things. Godknows already what we will do. God can cause anything to occur. Ifwe cause things to occur, that seems to be a limitation on thepower of God and not make God all-powerful.
There are also religion traditions that say that we have no freewill. There are some theologians in Islam who seem to suggest thatis true. In order for this line of reasoning to hold true, onewould need to believe free will is an illusion and that we have nocontrol over how we live our lives, but rather that we are puppetsmoving and acting due to God's will and the powers of destiny andfate. And if this then in the case, how can we possibly beresponsible for our actions?
The considerations above show us to what degree our religiousbeliefs can shape us. For instance, someone who believes in freewill may experience way more guilt than someone who believes wedon't have free will and thus aren't responsible for the choices(and consequences) of the actions we take.
Personal struggles with religion and ethics occur in manyplaces, including in the healthcare arena. Consider the following:You are a nurse in a hospital. A 12 year-old was brought to thehospital by an ambulance. The parents have just arrived at thehospital. This 12 year-old has lost a large amount of blood andrequires a transfusion. The parents happen to be members of areligion that believes that blood transfusions are immoral. Theywant to remove the child from the hospital and prevent thetransfusion even if it means the death of the child. You have todecide whether or not you will participate in an action thatviolates the will of the parents and aid in providing blood for thechild. If you choose to participate, and even if you are able tolegally justify it, you have to think about the distress you arecreating for the parents. If you refuse to aid here, you may besubject to retaliation from the hospital. What is the moral thingfor the nurse to do here?
Initial Post InstructionsFor the initial post, address the following questions:
Initial Post Instructions St. Augustine in the 5th Century held that we are free to make choices in life. This is the id
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