The Banker and the Beggar
Moral Dilemma #1: A Wrinkle
Introduction:
The reaction to the first installment of BustedHalo’s newest feature, “Moral Dilemmas,” has been incredible. Over the course of just a few hours, more people responded to it than any other single story since the debut of our site. The discussion it has sparked has been equally impressive.
Now we’d like to complicate the story just a bit more by telling you what happened next…
THE WRINKLE
What Should Jason Do Now?
-Give him the money and walk away?
-Buy the homeless man some food and leave it next to him in case he changes his mind and decides to eat?
-Call an ambulance?
-Walk away?
-Walk away and decide to give a larger donation to a homeless charity in the future?
- None of these sound right to you? What do you think Jason should do now?
Jason takes a deep breath and tells the man that he’d be willing to buy him some hot food and call to make sure he gets taken to a shelter that night.
The homeless man says that the shelters are more dangerous than the streets and that he doesn’t want to lie to him: what he needs is some money so he can buy a cheap bottle of whiskey that will help keep him warm during the cold winter night.
Time for you to decide again. What’s the right thing for Jason to do now?
Read our moral theologian’s analysis of the dilemma and our readers’ responses.
Please note that the editorial staff reserves the right to not post comments it deems to be inappropriate and/or malicious in nature, as well as edit comments for length, clarity and fairness.