The Relationship Between Ethics and Sanctions in Proverbs 1-7

      Proverbs Chapter 1 verses 8-9 say, "My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck." As far as sanctions go in the Old Testament, this one is clearly positive, with such language as "an ornament of grace unto thy head and chains about thy neck" illustrating just how positive it is. Ornaments worn on the head and chains around the neck were symbols of status and wealth in the Old Testament world; to be adorned with such jewelry told the world that you were somebody important or well-off. In this proverb, a son (which could be applied to any child) is admonished to listen and abide by his parents' instructions, because if he did then good things would befall him, as opposed to evil ones. An ornament for the head and chains for the neck: positive sanctions that relate directly to the biblical ethics of heeding one's parents.

      Proverbs Chapter 6 verses 9-11 say, "How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man." This is an example of a negative sanction – misfortune befalling those who do not hold to the ethics of God's Word. The person illustrated in this proverb is depicted as sleeping – specifically a person too lazy to work, too lazy to pick himself up out of his rest and do as he ought. Poverty sneaks up on him when he does not expected, and our lazy man becomes a poor one as well. This is a negative sanctions: evil happening to those who do not pay heed to the ethics of the Old Testament.

Aristotelian Liberals and Spartan Society

      How have libertarians, or "Aristotelian liberals," argued for liberty on the basis of Aristotle's ideas?

      Although we have no record of Aristotle ever saying or writing anything that directly relates to the libertarian (or "Aristotelian liberal") worldview, and despite the fact that for a long time historians assumed that Aristotle did not believe in libertarian values, arguments have been brought up and considered that Aristotle was, in fact, libertarian-minded. Aristotle's worldview was founded on the belief that happiness is achieved through virtue, and that virtue must be taught in the early years of life but will eventually become a habit that we fall into when faced with any life situation at all. Aristotelian liberals have begun to spread the idea that this worldview illustrates how libertarian Aristotle's thinking actually was, based on the argument that while a man practicing virtue still benefits society, if he is practicing virtue only because he is being threatened with a gun to his head, it is not true virtue because he did not choose to do this himself. Aristotle assumed that all men would practice virtue because it was primarily good for themselves (not to mention to the rest of society), and so a man coerced into virtuous behavior isn't virtuous at all. It has to be his own decision to be virtuous; himself, and no "higher power" in the form of a government or watchdog. Because of this argument, Aristotelian liberals make a very good case that Aristotle did have libertarian ideas.

      What was Spartan society like?
      Spartan society was cruel and hard on its citizens, a warrior society based off the need to have a strong military force to control the vast populations of slaves (called "helots") that the Spartans possessed for labor. Every citizen, make or female, was required to participate and serve the state of Sparta for as long as they lived. Men were trained by separating boys from their families at age seven and taking them away to training camps, where they spent the next thirteen years of their lives being trained and serving in the military. Camp life was hard for these boys. Allowed hardly any clothes and only a single cloak to keep them warm, they suffered trying to stave off the cold and their bitter hunger, for they were only allowed a small amount of food to eat. Stealing was expected of these boys; they were not punished unless they got caught, and if they were caught then punishment was severe. At age 30 men were allowed to return home and marry, and although they could live with their families, all Spartan soldiers were required to eat their meals in a common mess hall in order to reinforce the idea that their fellow soldiers were their real family.
      Girls were also trained in fighting and fitness, being allowed to stay at home with their mothers but also taking part in sports and physical instruction. Childbirth was considered every woman's battle, and a woman who died in childbirth was honored on the same level as a man who died fighting for Sparta. Spartan government was divided into four parts: two kings, a council of elders, a group of five officials known as ephors, and an assembly composed of every Spartan man over the age of 30.
      Although Spartan society was hard on its citizens, it was effective at producing one of the best trained, most dedicated society of soldiers that the world has ever seen.

Reasons Given in the Psalms For Long-Term Optimism

      The Psalms offer many reasons for long term optimism – optimism for the future, even if everything around you now seems dark and your fortune looks grim. God's promises in the Psalms are our reason for long-term optimism. In the Book of Psalms, David (and many other psalmists) sing praises to God in spite of their difficulties, because they have reason to put their faith in Him and they rejoice at his promises to them. The greatest of God's promises is the guarantee of life after death, an eternity in heaven with Him. This is a great promise indeed, but it will only come to pass after our deaths, which must inspire us to keep our faith and hope in Him until then.

      A fantastic example of the long-term optimist is David, who time and time again came up against his enemies, both enemies of the flesh and enemies of his own sin, and time and time again he finished all of these trials with a song of praise to God, in whom he had put his faith and trust. David relied upon God to bear him through his hardest times, and God did not abandon his servant. God never abandons those who put their faith and hope in Him, and this is why we are to have long-term optimism.

Socrates and Plato

      What was the disagreement Socrates had with the Sophists?

      Around the time when Socrates was a philosopher in Ancient Greece, there was a school of philosophical thought which called itself the Sophists. Socrates had made it his life's mission to discount the Sophists and their arguments, primarily because he believed the worldview that they taught was twisted and corruptive. The Sophists were a type of school specializing in rhetoric and the art of persuasive argument, which was a highly prized skill in the mob-democracy government of Athens at the time. The Sophists did not, however, teach persuasive argument for the right or truth; instead, they taught how to argue any case from any point and make it sound reasonable, no matter how wrong or untruthful it may be.

      The Sophists were some of the world's first most famous cynics, teaching that there was no such thing as an ultimate "Good", and that all laws and rules of society were mere convention: for example, laws against murder and theft being in place only because a society will run better in an atmosphere without murder or theft. This was the basis upon which Socrates disagreed with the Sophists. He (along with most of Athens) believed the Sophists were corrupting Athenian youth and diluting basic morals, and so Socrates made it part of his life's work to discredit this party.

      What was Plato's point in his allegory of the cave?

      In Plato's Republic, in which he stages a dialogue held between characters in order to get his own views across, he explains his idea of the Forms. Essentially, Plato believed that for every object that exists, a perfect "essence" of that object must also exist on an immaterial plane, and that is how we recognize every object by its nature – for instance, we recognize every chair as a chair, no matter what kind or style of chair it is, because there exists a perfect Form of a chair, encompassing all that it is which makes a chair a chair.

      Plato's allegory of the cave was meant to illustrate his idea of Forms. In the cave, he says, is seated a row of people, who are all chained facing the cave wall, their heads bound in place so they can only look at the wall. Behind them there is a great fire and objects moving in front of the fire, casting shadows upon the wall. Because the people can only see the wall and the shadows that are cast upon it, they begin to name the shadows they see. "That is a book," they say, looking at the shadow of a book as it crosses the wall. Because the person has never seen a real book, they do not know that it is only a shadow of a book that they are seeing, and that the real book is actually in front of the fire that burns behind the chained people.

      This is Plato's idea of Forms. The objects moving in front of the fire, he says, are the Forms – perfect essences of things that exist in the world, but we cannot see them no matter how hard we try because our heads are chained by the ability of our eyes to only see material things. The shadows dancing across the wall that the chained people must face represent the physical things in our world – but in Plato's work, these are only shadows of the perfect Forms.

The Significance of Historical Sanctions in the Psalms

Historical sanctions are a very important concept in the Psalms. They act as both a promise and an assurance – the assurance that God will punish evildoers, and spare no mercy for the wicked. A concept like that must have had great significance in the days of the Jews in Israel, and that still holds true today. The sanctions are a promise by God to keep His people safe from those who would do evil to them. For those who know that they have a future life in heaven with God, this ought to be very comforting indeed! For those who do not have that assurance, the sanctions can serve as a motivator – a guarantee of what will happen to them if they continue to practice wickedness.

           Historical sanctions are rife within the Psalms. David, whom many recognize as the primary Psalmist, constantly cried out to God for help against His enemies who wish to do His servant David harm. David relied utterly on God's protection under His sanctions, and God answered David's prayers for help and protection. God always answers the prayers of those who have faith in Him, and His sanctions are a promise for those He has chosen to be His people.

Homer's Odyssey: Odysseus and the Cyclops

      Read Homer's description of the Cyclopes (plural) in Book 9 of The Odyssey. Would you describe them as having a civilization? Why or why not?

      The Cyclopes described in Book 9 of The Odyssey were a monstrous people that lived together on an island where Odysseus and his men landed. Although the Cyclopes lived together on one island, they cannot really be described as having a proper civilization. They were shepherds, and each Cyclops kept largely to himself, not bothering with his neighbors. There was no central government – no government at all, except for the self-governing practiced by each Cyclops. The Cyclopes, though they lived together and practiced the same occupation, had no real civilization, according to The Odyssey.

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      What happens between the Cyclops and Odysseus and his men? How does the story end?

      When Odysseus and his men are first trapped by Polyphemus, the Cyclops, Odysseus tries being reasonable – bargaining to let the men go. Polyphemus refuses, and just to punctuate his refusal, he kills and eats two of Odysseus's men. Then Odysseus begins to scheme. Knowing that Polyphemus will never let them go willingly, he has some of his men fetch a great quantity of wine from their ships for Polyphemus to drink. While Polyphemus is getting drunk on Odysseus's wine, the Greek hero has meanwhile been sharpening a great stake, which he heats to a red-hot point in Polyphemus's cookfire. While this is happening, a drunken Polyphemus asks for Odysseus's name, saying he will give him a gift if he answers. Odysseus replies by telling the Cyclops his name is "Noman", or "Nobody", and Polyphemus tells "Nobody" that his gift is that he will be eaten last of all. Then the Cyclops falls into a drunken sleep.

      While Polyphemus is asleep, Odysseus drives the fire-hardened stake into the Cyclops' one eye, blinding him instantly and driving him awake with pain. Polyphemus's neighbors hear his shrieks and call out to find out what is the matter, but when Polyphemus shouts that "Nobody" is hurting him, his fellow Cyclopes decide that it must be divine punishment and advise Polyphemus to pray. Meanwhile, Odysseus has been working on his escape plan. He ties his men into the thick wool on the undersides of Polyphemus's sheep, and ties himself underneath the ram of the flock, so that when the Cyclops lets the beasts out to graze then the men will be free. As Odysseus planned, Polyphemus lets his sheep out to graze, and the men with them. But the Cyclops suspects that all might not be well. Unable to see, he feels the backs of each of his sheep as they leave the cave in case there are men riding atop them. But Odysseus's cleverness pays off as Polyphemus doesn't think to check the beasts' undersides, and the men go free.

The Importance of Ethics and God's Sanctions During Noah's Flood

      Ethics and the sanctions of God play a major role throughout the entire Bible, and one place where this is shown particularly clearly is in the story of Noah and the Flood. The Bible teaches that mankind had fallen into a state of total depravity, and that in all the world there was literally only one man and his family who found favor in God's sight – Noah. God's justice could not allow the majority of sinful man to go unpunished, and yet in His mercy He decided to let one man and his family be saved. The Flood was God's way of wiping clean the slate, so to speak – and yet, afterward He promised to Noah that He would never again destroy all the world as He had just done. Sin was destroyed for the most part, and yet there was mercy, too. God's attitude towards sin is one of absolute intolerance, and so when He is depicted showing mercy in the Bible, He appears more holy and glorious because of it. Noah recognized this when the Flood was over that God had saved him and his family because of His righteousness, not the other way around. The reason ethics and God's sanctions play such an important part in the Bible's story of man is because man is flawed and God is perfect, and it is only through God's grace and mercy that man is saved – like Noah and the Flood.