Editorial June 26, 1989 Issue

What does God require of us?

Ann Kenrick

Ethics is being nudged into center stage again as more and more people realize that societies work better where distinctions are made between right and wrong behavior. With increasing frequency, people are asking, What are our ethical obligations?

Michael Josephson, a law professor, has established in the United States the Josephson Institute for the Advancement of Ethics. He conducts one to three-day ethics programs for groups ranging from the Red Cross to senior staff aides of the United States Senate.

According to Josephson: "Ethics has two dimensions— one, not doing bad things, but it also has doing good things, doing the right things. Ethics are opportunities—not obligations." Josephson says: "Being ethical involves more than staying out of trouble. There is an affirmative dimension which focuses on producing good rather than forbidding bad."^{Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor, November 21, 1988; and from an interview on World Monitor: A Television Presentation of The Christian Science Monitor, February 2, 1989 .}

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

What does God require of us?

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access