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Religious Studies: Ethics > 1A: Rejection of Other Forms of Ethics and Acceptance of Agape as basis of morality > Flashcards

1A: Rejection of Other Forms of Ethics and Acceptance of Agape as basis of morality Flashcards

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1
Q

What are the features of situation ethics?

A

teleological (aims towards a purpose) and consequentialist (pays attention to outcome)

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2
Q

What is legalism?

A

rules by which people can make every moral decision

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3
Q

What is antinomianism?

A

against law. people are not under the obligation to obey the rules of ethics

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4
Q

Why does situation ethics advocate some kind of system for making moral decisions?

A

to avoid moral anarchy (against rules. no one is in charge)

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5
Q

What is the middle way SE aims for?

A

between legalism and antinomianism

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6
Q

What is the name of Joseph Fletcher’s book?

A

Situation Ethics: The New Morality (1966)

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7
Q

What key teleological principle is SE based on?

A

agape

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8
Q

What did Fletcher say we had to do to make a meaningful decision?

A
  • consider the situation first
  • once considered, deciding what to do depends on the practical application of agape because what is right to do in one situation might not be for the other
  • each situation should be considered independently
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9
Q

What principle did Fletcher insist we must still use to make an ethical decision?

A

reason (link back to ANL)

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10
Q

What was Fletcher’s conclusion?

A
  • the use of absolute principles when applying them to real situations was not Christian
  • too many problems, inconsistencies and contradictions
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11
Q

How is SE similar to ANL?

A
  • has a place for reason in ethical decision making
  • teleological (ANL - beatific vision. SE - serving agape love)
  • both use the bible
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12
Q

What are the features of the middle way?

A
  • no strict rules
  • influenced by Jesus’ teachings
  • compassionate
  • mature and sophisticated
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13
Q

How is SE different from ANL?

A
  • prioritises people over law
  • rejects absolutism - context and situation are relevant to ethical decision making
  • consequentialist
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14
Q

How did social change challenge previous moral norms in the 60s?

A
  • women became more prominent in work force
  • anti war protests were a strong movement
  • JFKs assassination led to distrust of government
  • sexual revolution: freely available and reliable contraception allowed them individualism
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15
Q

What was the British Council for Churches attitude in its response to the social changes in the 60s?

A
  • they appointed a working party that set out to ‘prepare a statement of the christian case for the abstinence from sexual intercourse before marriage’
  • wanted to convey a ‘sane and responsible’ attitude towards love and marriage
  • observed that there was a general lowering of moral standards, especially among Christians
  • they wanted to reassess where Christian moral truths lay
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16
Q

Who are some authors that influenced Fletcher?

A
  • Reinhold Niebuhr (moral man)
  • Emil Bruner (divine imperative)
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17
Q

What three possible approaches did Fletcher argue there were for making a moral decision?

A
  1. legalistic
  2. antinomian
  3. situational
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18
Q

What is a legalist approach?

A

applying set principles rigidly without consideration of context

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19
Q

What is an antinomian approach?

A

to champion the freedom of the individual without reference to any rules

20
Q

What is a situational approach?

A

considering each situation on its merits before applying the Christian principle of agape

21
Q

Why did Fletcher reject legalism?

A
  • legalism requires rigidly set principles & no consideration of context - goes against Fletcher’s belief that situations needed to be considered first
  • saw it as restrictive to put rules before people
  • described legalism as a ‘choking web of rules’
22
Q

Why did Fletcher reject antinomianism?

A
  • antinomianism is the idea people are under no obligation to obey the laws of ethics/morality presented by religious authorities
  • Fletcher believed there is one certain principle: agape
  • he didn’t think people should have no principles; where would we start? you need some to help make decisions
23
Q

Why can Fletcher’s approach be called a ‘middle way’ between legalism and antinomianism?

A
  • there are no strict rules
  • it’s influenced by Jesus’ teachings: compassionate and more sophisticated. the consequences are analysed
  • Jesus understood when to follow the law and when to break it
  • selfless love and putting people before rules were what mattered
24
Q

What did Fletcher mean when he called his middle way a ‘principled relativism’?

A
  • “love is the only true principle”
  • no fixed rules: relativist (no universal moral norms; an action should be judged right or wrong)
  • principle is agape love
25
Q

How did Fletcher understand conscience?

A

as a ‘function, not as a faculty’

26
Q

What is the difference between a function and a faculty?

A
  • function: what you do
  • faculty: what enables you to do it
  • example: sight is a function, eyes are a faculty
27
Q

What are Fletcher’s four traditional ideas of conscience that he rejects?

A
  1. it is an innate built in faculty
  2. guided by the holy spirit
  3. internalised value system of culture and society
  4. reason making moral judgements
28
Q

In what way does Fletcher think the church has made a mistake about the role of conscience?

A

Fletcher thinks the church sees conscience as an internal part of yourself through which communicates fixed rules that inform decisions.

29
Q

What does Fletcher believe about morality being a manual for conscience?

A

morality is not something set in stone

30
Q

What IS conscience according to Fletcher?

A
  • practical
  • problem solving
  • creative
  • flexible
  • forward looking
31
Q

What is conscience NOT according to Fletcher?

A
  • god’s voice/supernatural guide
  • intuition or radar that instinctively knows what is right or wrong
  • backward looking
  • assessing things you’ve done provoking guilt
32
Q

Why is agape attracted to Christians?

A

it gives guidance and protection, and it’s consistent with Jesus’ behaviour

33
Q

What should people consider when making decisions about how to behave?

A
  • stick to society’s laws unless it seems more loving to break them
  • have agape love as the main goal of every moral action
  • don’t confuse any other type of love for agape
34
Q

Why did Fletcher feel that agape was the best way to make moral decisions?

A
  • it does not discriminate between people
  • shows compassion to all people equally
  • it is a firm principle upon which to base behaviour, so avoids the chaos of antinomianism
  • it’s flexible, shows love to people in different ways depending on the situation. avoids the rigidity of legalism
35
Q

What did Fletcher argue the gospels suggest about Jesus?

A

he was neither legalist or an antinomian. he demonstrated agape love

36
Q

What language is the OT written in?

A

Hebrew

37
Q

What is the word for the loving relationship between God and his people?

A

Chesed

38
Q

What does chesed mean?

A

love that is faithful and strong. it incorporates the idea of commitment and kindness

39
Q

What does aheb mean?

A

spontaneous and impulsive love. outward looking and embraces all. origins of agape
- universal in application
- not exclusive to gods loving relationship with hebrews

40
Q

Fletcher: “What a difference it makes when ____, understood agapeically, is _____; when love is the only ____. how free and responsible we are!”

A

love, boss, norm

41
Q

What is the Parable of the Good Samaritan?

A
  • story told by Jesus where a man is robbed on his journey from Jerusalem
  • a priest, a Levite, and a Good Samaritan each pass by him
  • the first two ignore him and pass on the other side - the third shows him mercy and takes care of him
  • Jesus instructed to ‘do likewise’ to the questioner
42
Q

How does the Parable of the Good Samaritan demonstrate the same approach to ethics as Fletcher advocated?

A
  • Jesus mirrors Fletcher approach by talking about love being the most teleological principle and if followed it leads to the highest good
  • Jesus also considers the conditions and situations, helping to spread the best result of agape by “showing mercy” to the “injured neighbour” - emphasises how SE is only centred around the key principle of agape, highlighting its significance and indicating the rejection of absolutism because its neither flexible or compassionate
43
Q

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what is love?

A

patient, kind, greater than hope and faith

44
Q

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what is love not?

A

envious, boastful, irritable, arrogant, rude, resentful

45
Q

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what does love not do?

A

rejoice in wrong doing, insist on it’s own way

46
Q

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what does love do?

A

bear all things, believe all things, hopes all things, endure all things, never end

47
Q

Verse from Luke 6:27 supporting SE?

A

“love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”
- love is kind and endures all
- reinforces positivism (acting in the most loving way is the right things to do)

Religious Studies: Ethics (20 decks)

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