Module 1--C. Abe

Personal Reflection to "Nailed"/Summary of article "Ethical Relativism"

The film “Nailed” was about a woman named Lucy from the Philippines who claimed that she was “possessed” by the baby Jesus, or Santo Niño. Lucy said that the Santo Niño appeared to her in a dream, telling her that she must crucify herself to the cross as he did, and that she was to bear the sins of her people. When she woke up, she had scars on her hands, further causing her to believe that she must carry out her dream. People believed that Lucy had supernatural powers to bear pain. They came to this conclusion after looking at the scars on her hands.

Throughout the film, the narrator repeated the phrase: “‘I’m not part of this trance’ the words were always at the tip of my tongue.” The narrator presented Lucy’s story in such a way that although Lucy and her duty to the Santo Niño intrigued her, she did not feel that it was overall beneficial to Philippine society. “The umbilical cord stretches 14, 000 miles across water, across history, across routines that are rituals.” She was simply referring to Catholicism as a religion with such rituals.

As the narrator read through the Ten Commandments from the Bible, she quoted the first commandment that God had commanded us to follow: “You shall have no other gods before me.” This caused me to picture Lucy and her belief that she was to be crucified. It angered me. I do not believe that it is possible to be “possessed” by Jesus, as she claims, nor do I believe that He would tell her to crucify herself. According to dictionary.com, to possess (of a spirit, esp. an evil one) means “to occupy, dominate, or control (a person) from within.” Possession of spirits always has a negative connotation, for example, being possessed by demons or the devil. It is not possible for Jesus to possess our lives because He does not control our lives, but rather gives us free will to choose our actions. Therefore, Lucy was not called by Jesus but probably an evil spirit.

Her whole crucifixion goes against the first commandment because it causes people to “worship” her and not God. In reality, Jesus died on the cross more than 2,000 years ago to forgive us of our sins. He bore the punishment for our sins, being whipped and beaten, and then nailed to the cross. God never intended for anyone else to have to go through such a violent punishment, but allowed Jesus to suffer so that, after bearing our sins, we would be redeemed and welcome to be in God’s presence, and ultimately, that we would be welcomed into Heaven when we die.



Summary/Reaction: “Ethical Relativism” by Velasquez, Andre, Shanks, and Meyer

According to the article, cultures differ widely in their moral practices. Different people groups have different beliefs as to what is morally or ethically correct. Ethical relativism is the idea or theory that a culture’s moral system is based upon the beliefs or values of the culture itself. For example, in some cultures it is ok to commit suicide, while in others including American society, it is not. In essence, ethical relativism is the attempt to justify the wrongdoings in a particular society, as a means to support the culture’s uniqueness and traditions.

However, most ethicists argue that ethical relativism is not theoretical. The article states, “Simply because some practices are relative does not mean that all practices are relative.” Moreover, ethical relativism implies that as individuals we are all entitled to our own beliefs of what is morally and ethically correct. If this were true, then what would prevent people from doing as they pleased, as they deemed appropriate? This would create havoc in the society.