Ethics without Scripture: Creating a Code of Conscience

By Mary McCoy

The author offers wisdom gleaned from many years of experience in spiritual and organizational environments.  Realizing that life is complex and multifaceted, advice is divided into easily-digested segments, ranging from personal experiences to tips on navigating the modern world to mystical awareness.

At just over a hundred pages or so, this small book can accompany the reader anywhere and be available at any time. 

The typical reader of Ethics Without Scripture purchases the book for self-reading and self-awareness and as an important part of a search for meaning and balance in life.

Do you have questions about Life? 

Does your family think you question too much – or, even, "think" too much? 

Have you ever had a discussion about ethics and religion?

Have you ever said or thought that, while YOU are ethical, you're not so sure about your friends and relatives?

If so, then Ethics Without Scripture will help you in your search…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cedar Dove Publishing
• Release date: Dec 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9798985486209

Mary McCoy

Mary McCoy lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. She works as a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library. She is the author of Printz Honor Book I, Claudia.

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CEDAR DOVE PUBLISHING

Independence, MO

© 2021, Text by Mary Gibson McCoy

Published by Cedar Dove Publishing, Independence, MO

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the author.

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McCoy, Mary Gibson.

Ethics without Scripture: Creating a Code of Conscience—musings, advice, and poetry on how to balance spirituality, secularism, and ethics.

Mary Gibson McCoy—first edition

Editing & Interior Design: Tanya Brockett, HallagenInk.com

Cover Design: Damien Mayfield, DamienMayfield.com

ISBN: 979-8-9854862-1-6 (Paperback)

ISBN: 979-8-9854862-0-9 (Digital/E-Book)

Summary: The author offers wisdom gleaned from many years of experience in spiritual and organizational environments. Realizing that life is complex and multifaceted, advice is divided into segments, ranging from personal experiences to tips on navigating the modern world to mystical awareness. At just over a hundred pages or so, this small book can accompany the reader anywhere and be available at any time. The typical reader of Ethics without Scripture purchases the book for self-reading and self-awareness and as an important part of a search for meaning and balance in life.

This book is dedicated to YOU—

those who seek the Truth

with an open heart

and a discerning mind

CONTENTS

1. A Guide for the Journey

Part I - Relationships

Return To Self

2. The Self

3. The Family

4. The Community

Exercise: Rlationships

Part II - Lessons

The Lessons of Fog

5. The Search For Wisdom

6. Oran Mór: The Great Song

Exercise: The Lessons Of Nature

Part III - Developing A Life Philosophy

Who Am I to Change the World?

7. Evolving Spirituality

8. The Mystical Journey

9. Spiritual Appropriation

10. Balance

Exercise: Philosophy

Part IV - Putting It into Action

Traveling the Rainbow Road

11. Choosing Kindness in an Unkind World

12. Appreciation or Appropriation?

13. A New Paradigm

Exercise: Action

Epilogue

I Choose Angels

Acknowledgements

Sources/Suggested Readings

About The Author

1

A Guide for the Journey

In this book, certain words may be used both as capitalized terms and as lower-case terms. Think of the capitalized terms as Ideals and the lower-case terms as having the meanings of common parlance. One example is love and Love—when I speak of Love, I am speaking of a force for good in the world—what the Greeks would call agape—a universal, unconditional Love. The Greeks have many words for love, from sexual passion to universal peace, but it can be difficult to describe these differences in English. Suffice to say that in this book love (lowercase) will be distinguished from Love (uppercase) and Love is the unconditional agape.

Another term you will find often in this book is life philosophy—a term that I prefer to faith or faith tradition. Every person on Earth has a philosophy by which they live, a personal belief system that governs their every action and every interpretation. Using the term life philosophy is, I believe, more respectful of those differing ideals and more inclusive of agnostics, atheists, and secular thinkers.

What is meant by the phrase ethics without scripture? Are we saying that all scripture is bad and that we should not read or credit any of it at all? Of course not—the body of scripture or sacred texts have long been a source of wisdom and comfort for millions of people. The term refers only to the fact that such scripture is a source of wisdom, but one source only, and that there are many other sources of wisdom, as well.

One question that is often raised to those who hold to no mainstream faith is the matter of scripture or sacred texts and why it is that, while there may be credence given to many sages, there is no scripture per se. Followers of mainstream faiths hold dear the writings of their traditions that are considered to be direct divine communication, and they wonder how those of different life philosophies can know what to believe and how to live if there are no official scriptures to provide guidance. They do not understand what code of conduct is used to guide the lives of those of nontraditional belief if there is no retribution for infringement of such a code.

It is my belief and the premise of this book that conscience, based on respect for others, supplies such a code. There is a reason that nearly every religion contains a form of the Golden Rule (i.e., to treat others like oneself), and that rule effectively precedes and incorporates all other rules. We need no other rule than to respect All and to act in accordance with that respect. Respect for All means ALL—all people, all creatures, all life, the entire planet and, by extension, the entire universe. It means we do not use any other creature or resource solely for our own means and without regard to the effect upon that object of use. As will be mentioned elsewhere in this book, I am an interfaith minister with the Alliance of Divine Love—an organization with no dogma other than a belief in the power of Divine Love and a directive to live always in the Greatest Degree of Love. While both the Golden Rule and the Greatest Degree of Love are simple in concept, they can be difficult in practice: what is the Greatest Degree of Love in a specific situation? How should we treat others like ourselves? What, exactly, does that mean? The fact that we must sometimes interpret the Golden Rule or the Greatest Degree of Love doesn’t mean that there is a flaw in the idea of Respect—it means that no ethical action is simple. That is the very essence of a moral code of conduct.

I well remember many conversations with my mother, in the years after I left the Catholic Church, when she would state that it was so difficult to follow religious teachings and she would say how easy it was for me when I didn’t have to follow any preordained moral path. I say now, as I told her then, that it is actually more difficult to stake out a moral path and position when one must think for oneself and extrapolate the cause and effect of one’s actions, rather than simply pull a teaching and blindly follow it. I am constantly in awe of those who perform that process and arrive at an ethical conclusion.

It is totally possible for one to live a life of true balance and ethics without a scriptural basis. We not only have the natural world as teacher, but we also have the benefit of the wisdom of the teachings—even the sacred texts—of many religions and faith traditions. It is not necessary to consider a particular text to be the sacred and authentic word of God to learn wisdom from its teachings. Indeed, to learn from all sources and to be well-read in all philosophies is the mark of true education and true understanding. To be able to extract the core meaning of understanding from all