Natural Law

There is a very good summary/handout on Natural Law here which I heartily recommend you use in your ceaseless quest for knowledge.

Thomas Aquinas was like the chief Christian boffin vis a vis Natural Law and there's an entertaining (and mercifully short) video here (and it's a cartoon!  Yay! It's like watching 'Toy Story' (but not as technically proficient) or Manga (but not as violent/perverted)!  Cartoons FTW!  LOL! ROFL! ETC!  ETC!)

Here's an essay I found on the internet that tells you all about NML:

Amy found it, I didn't. Sorry Amy, please don't call the Feds

Religion and Morality: The need for religious guidance in atheist China?

An article that argues that moral standards in China are falling due to lack of religious guidance.  A toddler was in a 'hit and run' incident and many people ignored her as she lay in the road.  The writer suggests this would not have happened if the atheist government changed its attitude to religion.

Read the article here, I advise against watching the video on the same page.


Another, more comprehensive, article on the subject here:

Again, I advise against watching the video on this page.

And one from the Guardian/Observer

Here

Religion and Morality - The King James Bible

Melvyn Bragg has gone and written a book about the King James Bible and the influence it has had on society. 

'Bragg's central claim is that the King James Bible has been a catalyst for "positive achievement", spurring political radicalism and epochal social changes. He identifies it as a wellspring of democracy and the source of Mary Wollstonecraft's convictions about the importance of women's education. He makes a case for its influence on Thomas Paine and William Wilberforce, on the moderate socialism of James Keir Hardie and the non-violent activism of Martin Luther King. He also touches on the odious ways it has been deployed, such as in justifying homophobia, though he could have reported these at greater length'

You can read a couple of articles about it here:

Interview in The Daily Telegraph

Review in The Guardian

He's also gone and done a documentary about it but I can't find a video of that so here's a BBC documentary about it instead.  Haven't watched it so don't blame me if it's rubbish...

Making of the King James Bible - Part 1

Essay Writing Skills and whatnot

There's an interactive diagram here that gives advice on how to construct an Ethics A-Level Essay.  In my day, (I went to school in the 1850's, just after The Great Fire of London and just before the Spanish Inquisition) we didn't have electronic fripperies like this, we had to make do with books and occasional inspiration from God/Buddha. You are very fortunate to live in the 21st Century (except for the massive rate of youth unemployment, general economic meltdown and the existence of Louis Walsh) so make good use of the space-age resources that are available to you via the electronic dustbin that is the internet. Anyway, here's the link to the essay diagram...

Welcome to the future, space-monkeys!

A very good website

There's a lot of information here for AS and A2 topics, well written and presented.  I'd take a look if I were you...

Philosophical Investigations site

The God Who Wasn't There - DOCUMENTARY

This is not strictly relevant to A-level but it's an interesting documentary trying to show that Christians are wrong about Jesus, that his story is in fact a myth based on earlier Roman/Greek Myths.

Watch it here

Nietzsche

Useful essay/guide to Nietzsche on Religion

Here