I was asked what I believe beyond the subject of beneficial behavior and although it reaches into the realm of philosophical beliefs I will give it a shot:

We all have a sense of right inside of us. There is a target everyone is trying to hit. To say otherwise would make conversations about justice nothing more than babble. Justice is the part inside of us that wants to make things equal. It wants to make amends for the times we have missed the mark. Any honest person will admit to these mistakes and sometimes deliberate actions. This is where ethical studies leave off. We can point to the right marks but it becomes a religious study when the subject becomes who we are accountable to and what we have to do to pay for the injustices we may have caused. In the same way we set up a court system and have penalties for disobeying the law, inside of us we have to admit to a knowledge that there must be a higher court. It can’t be society because we are all human and no one really has the authority or ability to handle this responsibility. Judges and counselors make mistakes and cannot resolve innate problems. Paying one’s debt to society doesn’t resolve the debt one feels in the soul. That is where I go to the Bible and the redemption it teaches. There are religions that are more than glad to take the project of penance on. I have seen people fall into the trap of thinking that belonging to a particular one is the answer. But nothing makes as much sense to me as a perfect person, out of love, paying the penalty for our imperfections. Maybe I am too practical or maybe it has the romance I desire. Rather than some impartial mysterious force, lighting candles, confession, or meditation, redemption should be more personal. To be justified by a friend is a great experience. Why focus on injustices and wrath when a more sensible belief is that we have a friend that is standing up for us in the ultimate court of justice….