Four Scenarios

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Scenario One: I am an atheist. I am in the mall and I see an elderly woman drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill and return it to the woman who dropped it; why?

Scenario Two: I am a Christian. I am in the mall and I see a young man drop a $10 bill on the ground. I pick up the bill, and instead of returning it to the man who dropped it, I slip it into my pocket; why?

Scenario Three: I am a Christian. A woman cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I honk my horn for a long while and I yell out some choice words; why?

Scenario Four: I am an atheist. A man cuts me off in traffic. Frustrated, I grip the wheel, muster a smile, and carry on with my journey without angst; why?

Theists and atheists are welcome to contribute. Feel free to respond to any or all scenarios as you are lead. I’m still working out some details of the “moral dilemma“ and I would appreciate any and all input. Thanks.

fff

Just a few comments:

1. The first 4 words of each scenario have, in my experience, no bearing on the rest of it. I seen people behave well or badly from all walks of life.

There are times when I attribute any apparently morally good action of mine to selfish motives.

In the case of returning $10 to the old woman that dropped it I know that will make me feel good about myself all day. Cheap at twice the price.

The question then becomes - suppose she had dropped more? What is the point where not feeling good about myself could be worth the money. I haven't yet found that amount but from a similar experience I can tell you it is more than 18,357 euros.

OK - I'll explain the above but its not quite the same thing as I would have had to beat up an old woman to get it.

As follows:

Evening: queuing at the cash point. Old woman in front of me obviously struggling with the machine. I am waiting and waiting. Eventually I ask if she is OK. She turns, looks at me and asks me where I'm from (this is in Athens). I tell her I am English.

She's delighted (why?) and then asks me for help. Her card has just ejected from the machine. She hands me the card and says: "My pin number is XXXX." I am trying to take out 350 euros. Can you do it for me?

So I go up to the machine- put the card in, request "fast cash", enter the pin, and hit the 350 euro button. A moment later out pops the card, the money and the receipt. On the receipt it says "Available Balance - 18,357"

I hand the lot over to her and then tell her that what she just did was incredibly risky and that she really ought to learn how to use these machines - I could have been anyone. She was quite nonchalant about the whole thing and wandered off happily.

The funny thing is - I didn't feel good about myself that day - I was really too angry that she was taking such a stupid risk.