In a personal reflection of 1,000–1,250 words, consider how a Christian might benefit from a study of other religions by addressing the following:

1. Can Christian dialogue with other religious traditions be a part of the calling to proclaim the Gospel?
2. What can Christians learn from other religious traditions?
3. Can religious experiences or teachings in other faiths be validated?
4. How can Christians think critically about their encounters with members of other faiths?
5. Be sure to support your personal reflections with examples and constructive thought

In a personal reflection of 1,000–1,250 words, address the following:

1. What are some misunderstandings that Jews and Christians may have about each other?
2. How can a study of Judaism help to overcome those misunderstandings?
3. Reflect on several ways in which the contemporary nation state of Israel may be viewed by various Christian communities.

This final assignment is designed to involve all of the main skills that you have learned during this course. In particular, your paper should demonstrate the ability to construct a deductively valid or inductively strong argument, clearly and accurately explain your reasoning, use high-quality academic sources to support the premises of your argument, fairly and honestly evaluate contrary arguments and objections, and identify fallacies and biases that occur within the arguments or objections presented.

You will continue to build on the arguments that you are presented in your previous two papers. In particular,, you will present a final improved version of your argument for your thesis that you begin for the Week One Assignment and fully address the objection that you developed for your Week Three Assignment. You will need to research a minimum of three scholarly sources from the Ashford University Library. (For further information about discovering and including scholarly research, take a look at the FindIt@AU Tutorial (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. instructional resource.)

Write: in your paper

• Explain the topic you are addressing and your position on it. Provide a preview of your paper and a statement of your thesis in your opening paragraph. [Approximately 100 words]
  • For help crafting a good thesis statement (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site., go to the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
• Present your main argument for your thesis in standard form, with each premise and the conclusion on a separate line.Clearly indicate whether your argument is intended to be inductive or deductive. Follow up the presentation of your argument by clarifying the meaning of any premises that could use some explanation. [About 150 words]
  • If your argument is deductive, then it should be valid (in the strict logical sense of the word); if it is inductive, then it should be strong. Make sure to avoid committing logical fallacies within your argument (e.g., begging the question). Additionally, the premises should be true, to the best of your knowledge. If one of your premises has a pretty obvious counter-example, then you should either fix the argument so that it does not have this flaw, or later, in your paper (steps three through five) you should address the apparent counter-example (showing that it does not really refute the truth of your premise). Arguments that are not valid, not very strong, commit fallacies, or that have counter-examples that are not adequately addressed will not receive full credit.
  • Pay special attention to those premises that could be seen as controversial. Evidence may include academic research sources, supporting arguments (arguments whose conclusions are premises of the main argument), or other ways of demonstrating the truth of those premises. This section should include at least one scholarly research source.

• Provide supporting evidence for the premises of your argument. [Approximately 350 words]
• Explain a strong objection to your argument. [Approximately 250 words]
  • Study what people on the other side of this question think about your reasoning and present the best possible objection that someone could have to your argument. Do not commit the straw man fallacy here. Reference at least one scholarly research source. See the “Practicing Effective Criticism” section of Chapter 9 of the course text for more information.
• Defend your argument against the objection. [Approximately 200 words]
  • Once you have presented the objection, indicate clearly how you might respond to it. It is acceptable to admit that reasonable people might disagree with you or that there might be an area in which your argument could be further strengthened, but you should do your best to explain why your argument is sound or cogent despite the objections.
• Provide an appropriate conclusion. [Approximately 75 words]

Fallacies and Biases Discussion #2: Media and Bias

The media we consume affects us, but we also affect it. Most people think that they perceive truth objectively, as it is. However, we all see things from a point of view. Furthermore, people tend to seek media that supports their points of view. This can serve to further entrench us in a more narrow way of looking at things while at the same time making us feel more certain that our point of view is objective and neutral. We also learned in Chapter 8 that people have biases (such as the confirmation bias) that make it hard for them to embrace ideas that contradict with their own points of view. This week’s discussion seeks to explore how we can free ourselves from these tendencies.

Applying an Ethical Theory

Please read these assignment instructions before writing your paper, and re-read them often during and after the writing process to make sure that you are fulfilling all of the instructions. Please also utilize the assignment guidance and the outlined model provided.

Overview
The following short essay assignment is designed to help prepare you for an important part of the Final Paper. In this essay, you will do the following:

• Choose either the same ethical question you formulated and introduced in the Week One Assignment, or a different one based off the list of acceptable topics.
• Choose either utilitarian or deontological ethical theory to apply to the ethical question.
• Explain the core principles of that theory.
• Demonstrate how the principles of the theory support a certain position on that question.
• Articulate a relevant objection to that position.

Instructions
Write a five-paragraph essay that conforms to the requirements below. The paper must be at least 1,000 words in length (excluding title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The paragraphs of your essay should conform to the following guidelines:

• Introduction
  The introduction should clearly state the ethical question under consideration, and define the essential issues. You may build upon the question and introduction you provided in the Week One Assignment; or you may choose a different question, but it must be based off the list of acceptable topics. Your introduction should include a brief remark about the kind of theory you will be using to approach this question. The last sentence of the introduction should briefly summarize the or position on the issue you think is best supported by this theory and succinctly state what the objection will be. Bear in mind that your essay will not be concerned with your own position on this issue, but what someone reasoning along the lines of the chosen theory would conclude; this may or may not be the position you took in the Week One Assignment.

• Body Paragraphs
  Each paragraph in the body should start with a topic sentence that clearly identifies the main idea of the paragraph.
  • Theory explanation
    Explain the core principles or features of the deontological or utilitarian theory and the general account of moral reasoning it provides.You must quote from at least one required resource other than your textbook that defends or represents that theory. Refer to the list of acceptable resources.
  • Application
    Demonstrate how the principles or features of the deontological or utilitarian theory apply to the question under consideration and identify the specific conclusion that results from applying the reasoning characteristic of that kind of approach.Your application should clearly show how the conclusion follows from the main principles and features of the theory as addressed in the previous paragraph. Please see the associated guidance for help in fulfilling this requirement.
  • Objection
    Raise a relevant objection to the argument expressed in your application. An objection articulates a plausible reason why someone might find the argument problematic. This can be a false or unsupported claim or assumption, fallacious reasoning, a deep concern about what the conclusion involves, a demonstration of how the argument supports other conclusions that are unacceptable, etc. You should aim to explain this objection as objectively as possible, (i.e., in a way that would be acceptable to someone who disagrees with the argument from the previous paragraph).Note that this does not necessarily mean that the objection succeeds, or that the conclusion the theory supports is wrong. It may be an obstacle that any adequate defense of the conclusion would have to overcome, and it may be the case that the theory has the resources to overcome that obstacle. Your task here is simply to raise the objection or present the “obstacle.”

• Conclusion
  The conclusion should very briefly summarize the main points of your essay.

Resource Requirements

• You must use at least two resources to support your claims.
• At least one of the resources should be one of the Required or Recommended Resources that represent the theory you have chosen, and must be drawn from the list of acceptable resources available in your online classroom.
• The other source should pertain to the particular issue you are writing about and should be drawn from the required or recommended readings in the course, or be a scholarly source found in the Ashford Unversity Library.
• You are encouraged to use additional resources, so long as at least two conform to the requirements above.
• The textbook does not count toward satisfying the resources requirement.