Olivia Cholewa

Ms. Kline-Kator
Christian Morality
Semester Project Part IV – Using the Decision-Making Process Outline
I. What is your moral issue? Rainforest destruction. What is the big moral question
that your group has been contemplating? Is it okay to destroy the rainforests for
human manufacturing?
II. Awareness/Look for the Facts, Imagine Possibilities
1. What facts are important for your decision making? (What facts did your group
find that are important to know in making your decision. List the most important
– at least 3-5 - and explain why they are important.)
I. By limiting deforestation, we can limit the greenhouse
effect by absorbing CO2, for deforestation increases CO2
emissions.
II. Rainforests serve as a natural habitat to almost 2/3 of all
Earth's species, therefore acting as a stronghold to
safeguard biodiversity.
III. Experts agree that by leaving the rainforests intact and
harvesting its many nuts, fruits, oil-producing plants, and
medicinal plants, the rainforests have more economic
value than if they were cut down to make grazing land for
cattle or for timber.
2. What are all the possible decisions you could make regarding this issue (even the
negative ones)?
I. Deforestation is okay in all circumstances.
II. Deforestation is not acceptable, but we should still be
allowed to harvest items from them that don’t involve
chopping them down.
III. Deforestation is never acceptable.
3. Who will be affected? Is the person doing the action important to your decision?
I. The animals that live there will be without a home and CO2
will be emitted more into the air we breathe. So, decision
#1 affects animals and people around the world
negatively.
II. People will still get products they like, animals will still
have a home, and the CO2 will be put to good use. So,
decision #2 will affect people and animals positively.
III. We lose a lot of the products sold that are from the
rainforests, including foods and medicines. So, decision #3
 will affect people around the world negatively and animals
positively.
IV. The person doing the action does make a difference. Oil
companies and timber companies will destroy all
rainforests if they can for profit, while food harvesters will
only take what they need.
4. What are consequences for possible decisions?
I. See above answers.
5. What motives and intentions are important to consider? If someone is
destroying the rainforests just for their own profit, it is
unacceptable. If they need to get the products or wood from the
rainforests to better the health of a person of group of people, it
is okay as long as they restore what they cut down.
6. Are the methods used or the means to the goal important to consider? Yes; if
someone destroys an acre of rainforest by cutting down everything down, they
should have to replant everything. Also, no one should be allowed to burn the
rainforests down in order to clear land, because they are burning useful resources
and habitats.
7. What circumstances are worth considering? You should consider who or
what is being harmed by your actions in the rainforest before you
do anything.
III. Development/Seek Insight Beyond Your Own, Turn Inward
1. What value did your articles and/or interviews have in helping you understand
your issue? What comments influenced you the most? Did the Church view help
in any way?
I. My interview with Dr. Joy Schochet really helped me
understand deforestation. She helped me realize that
people are only destroying the rainforests for their own
needs, not for the common good. My favorite comment of
hers was that deforestation “is a short term “fix” but
environmentally disastrous.” The church also contributed
to my views by showing me that no matter what, life is
valuable. So, we shouldn’t destroy any animals’ habitat.
2. What are pertinent laws or moral principles? In 1964, the Wilderness Act
was passed, which preserved wilderness areas in national forests and federal
areas. An important moral principle is that “life is valuable.”
3. How do your own personal experience and personal values help you in
considering the issue? My personal values tell me that we shouldn’t
be destroying habitats and increasing CO2 emissions just to be
able to sell products to the public.

IV. Judgment/Expect God’s Help, Name Your Decision

1. How might you pray about this issue? How does considering Jesus’ example and
teaching (including the Beatitudes) affect your judgment? Does this tie in to
topics we have studied in class (costly grace)?
I. I can pray to God to ask him to guide companies and the
government to choose a healthier approach to the
rainforests in order to preserve life and the Earth.
II. When I ask myself “What would Jesus do about
deforestation?”, I realize that He would be against cutting
down a natural part of the Earth that can only end
negatively for humanity.
III. The only way we can fix the problem of deforestation is
through costly grace. God has presented us with this
seriously destructive problem, and we need to answer His
call by protecting the Earth He created for us.
2. What is your decision? (Arrive at an answer for that big moral question.) Write a
paragraph which clearly states your judgment about the morality of your issue,
giving reasons to support your issue. What values are lived out in the decision you
have made?
I. I have decided that rainforest destruction is unacceptable, but we should
still be able to harvest important products without cutting them down.
Experts agree that by leaving the rainforests intact and
harvesting its many nuts, fruits, oil-producing plants, and
medicinal plants, the rainforests have more economic
value than if they were cut down to make grazing land for
cattle or for timber. Cutting down the rainforests would
only create more problems by eliminating habitats for
many of the world’s animals and increasing CO2 emissions.
My decision is living out the value that states “life is
valuable,” because preserving the rainforests will save the
animals and life in them that don’t exist anywhere else.