May 7, 2006 at 12:44:51

A Summary Of Golden Rule Ethics: The Underlying Rule For All Right And Wrong

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By Rev. Bill McGinnis (about the author) Page 2 of 3 page(s)

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1. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

2. "Treat others as you would like to be treated."

3. "Treat other people the way you would like to be treated."

4. "Treat other people the way you want to be treated."

5. "Whatever you want people to do to you, do that to them."

Some People Believe That The Golden Rule Embodies All Of God's Law For Mankind, And If We Follow The Golden Rule, We Have Done Everything God Requires Of Us.

I, myself, am a "Bible Christian." I believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, sufficient to guide all human action. And according to the Bible, as the Holy Spirit leads me to understand it, The Golden Rule embodies all of God's Law for mankind. The Biblical reasons I believe this are found here => http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/pearl-goldenruleembodies.html

Other people do not believe that the Golden Rule embodies all of God's law. (Some don't even believe in God.) But they can support the Golden Rule nevertheless, because of the good it obviously accomplishes. It is truly the worldwide standard for human behavior.

The Golden Rule, "Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated," is the foundation of Democracy, because the Golden Rule directs us to give the same power to others as we would like to have for ourselves, namely, the power to make decisions in matters affecting our lives. How much power? The same as we have ourselves, and this leads immediately to the idea of "one person, one vote," with all votes being of equal weight. So, Democracy is the natural result of applying the Golden Rule to the question: "What kind of government should we have?" Similarly, the Golden Rule leads directly to the idea of equality of all people under the law.

When it is applied to Politics, the Golden Rule leads to policies which create "The Greatest Good For The Greatest Number, With Basic Rights For All." Thus, total good is maximized and none are denied the basic needs of life. This is a perfect formula for happiness and social stability anywhere!

Here is a list of ways to promote the Golden Rule: http://www.loveallpeople.org/waystopromote.html

A Draft Resolution To Adopt The Golden Rule: suitable for adoption by legislatures, school boards, boards of directors, various other organizations: http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/resolution.html http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/resolution.txt

Websites Which Promote The Golden Rule - see list at http://www.goldenruleethics.com

John Bigelow's Essay On The Golden Rule: http://newearth.org/frontier/grmain.html

List of Recommended Books About The Golden Rule: (Links at http://www.goldenruleethics.com) -Jeffrey Wattles GOLDEN RULE ISBN# 0195110366; Harry J. Gensler FORMAL ETHICS ISBN# 0415130662; Harry J. Gensler ETHICS: A CONTEMPORARY INTRODUCTION ISBN# 0415156254; Richard M. Hare FREEDOM AND REASON ISBN# 019881092X

A Call For Workers: We Need You! http://patriot.net/users/bmcgin/workers.txt

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http://www.LoveAllPeople.org

Rev. Bill McGinnis is an Internet Christian minister, writer and publisher. He is Director of LoveAllPeople.org, a small private think tank in Alexandria, Virginia, and all of its related websites, including (more...)

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