Morality & Ethics: Making Choices That Matter
Course Description
This search for higher values, being the conscious or unconscious search for the will of God, is a foundational religious experience. The persistent practice of seeking religious insight to inform moral awareness and to conscientiously apply that moral consciousness to decisions in the world constitutes the basis for the acquirement and growth of a noble, righteous character. Such a character will, over time and in eternity, ever more clearly show to the universe a personality revealing the will of God in the world.
The significance of morality and moral decision-making is consistently threaded throughout The Urantia Book. As participants in this Fifth Epochal Revelation, we hope and pray to make the world a better place by the time of our departure. We know the primary effort in doing this is by improving ourselves, having meaningful loving relationships, being positive social examples, and being dutiful to the Supreme Being by bearing the fruits of the spirit.
Format: Weekly online meetings using Zoom video conferencing.
Participants are expected to attend all the weekly meetings. Under extenuating circumstances, a video recording of the Zoom meeting will be made available if you have to miss a session.
How do I access the materials? Course materials will be accessed using UUI's Online Campus
Level: There are no pre-requisites for the course.
Language: English
Weekly Outline
Every week, we will examine various moral dilemmas that we all encounter in our daily lives. We will consider these topics during the week leading up to the live Zoom class, where we will have large group discussions about the moral issues. We will also participate in small breakout groups where each person can share their thoughts more privately.
In the first week, we will examine conventional morality and ethics, including moral relativism, and contrast them with the cosmic morality presented in the Urantia Book that elucidates the universal principles that are aligned with the divine will.
In the second week, we will explore Jesus’ “Rule of Living” found in Paper 147, which is the highest expression of morality ever taught by anyone in the history of our world. In this set of six levels of
conduct, Jesus lays out a system of moral thinking that advances to the highest level of supreme action, which is doing for others what you conceive God would do for them. This radically shifts our
perspective from human-centered to God-centered morality and ethics.
In the third week, we take a close look at the family as the foundation of morality and gain a deeper understanding of how different parenting styles influence the child’s moral development.
When parents demonstrate wise love toward their child, as Jesus did with his siblings, the child is more likely to develop a wise moral compass in life. In the absence of wise love, a child may
flounder and suffer emotional and behavioral issues that hinder moral decision-making.
During the fourth and fifth weeks, we will examine the various impediments to moral decision-making, as well as practices that enhance reflective moral decision-making. So, you will gain valuable content knowledge and practical experience in navigating real-life moral and ethical dilemmas that arise in contemporary society. You may also choose to bring examples of moral conundrums to class from your own lives, if you wish. The instructors will offer short talks on ways to think about moral and ethical issues, but we want to make it clear that this course is not about telling you what to think or how to resolve
specific moral issues.
It is our hope that you and all of us will become more effective, wise, and loving moral, spiritual decision-makers in ways that help us to grow spiritually and in God-consciousness.
Learning Outcomes
The learning objectives for students in this course are to:
Enhance your understanding of morality and ethics as portrayed in the Urantia Book
Develop an increased awareness and appreciation of the moral decision-making process -- living out one's spiritual convictions (spiritual truth)
Practice moral decision-making guided by Jesus' "Rule of Living" (Paper 147).
Expand your awareness of the inner life in order to move beyond selfish decision-making (What's in it for me?) toward altruistic decision-making (What's the best for everyone involved?) and how this contributes to soul growth.
Improve your ability to balance personal interests (including self-compassion) and group needs (selfless loving service).
Become more aware of the thoughts and feelings that influence your moral decisions.
Develop your own prayer and worship practice to enhance the quality of moral decision-making.
Instructors
Arlene and Buck Weimer
After three years in the paratroopers, a motorcycle trip through Central America, and two transatlantic sailboat crossings, Buck Weimer finally met Arlene, his future wife, in the Caribbean on St. Thomas. They married five years later and embarked on two years of travel around the world, at the end of which they were introduced to the Urantia Book in 1973.
Buck and Arlene both finished their first reading of the Urantia Book on a mountain top in Costa Rica, which inspired them to return to their home culture in the U.S. where they began their careers and raised a family of three sons to adulthood in Pueblo, Colorado. They started the first Urantia Book study group in Pueblo in 1975 and have continued to host a weekly study group in their home, which is now taking place on Zoom.
Buck and Arlene have been actively involved in Urantian organizations for many years. Before joining Urantia University Institute, they were both members of the Urantia Book Fellowship General Council where Buck served for seven years as Chair of the International Fellowship Committee (IFC). In this capacity he traveled to several countries in Asia, Africa, and South America to promote the Urantia Book and give support to local study groups. He and Arlene are now enjoying the harvest of a lifetime of service and parenting, especially their vital role as grandparents to the newest generation.