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

Question 1

What are the features of situation ethics?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What is legalism?

Answer 2

rules by which people can make every moral decision

Question 3

What is antinomianism?

Answer 3

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

Question 4

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

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What is the middle way SE aims for?

Answer 5

between legalism and antinomianism

Question 6

What is the name of Joseph Fletcher’s book?

Answer 6

Situation Ethics: The New Morality (1966)

Question 7

What key teleological principle is SE based on?

Answer 7

agape

Question 8

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

Answer 8

• 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

Question 9

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

Answer 9

reason (link back to ANL)

Question 10

What was Fletcher’s conclusion?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

How is SE similar to ANL?

Answer 11

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

Question 12

What are the features of the middle way?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

How is SE different from ANL?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

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

Answer 14

• 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

Question 15

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

Answer 15

• 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

Question 16

Who are some authors that influenced Fletcher?

Answer 16

• Reinhold Niebuhr (moral man)
• Emil Bruner (divine imperative)

Question 17

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

Answer 17

1. legalistic
2. antinomian
3. situational

Question 18

What is a legalist approach?

Answer 18

applying set principles rigidly without consideration of context

Question 19

What is an antinomian approach?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What is a situational approach?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Why did Fletcher reject legalism?

Answer 21

• 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’

Question 22

Why did Fletcher reject antinomianism?

Answer 22

• 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

Question 23

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

Answer 23

• 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

Question 24

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

Answer 24

• “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

Question 25

How did Fletcher understand conscience?

Answer 25

as a 'function, not as a faculty'

Question 26

What is the difference between a function and a faculty?

Answer 26

- function: what you do - faculty: what enables you to do it - example: sight is a function, eyes are a faculty

Question 27

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

Answer 27

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

Question 28

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

Answer 28

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

Question 29

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

Answer 29

morality is not something set in stone

Question 30

What IS conscience according to Fletcher?

Answer 30

- practical - problem solving - creative - flexible - forward looking

Question 31

What is conscience NOT according to Fletcher?

Answer 31

- 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

Question 32

Why is agape attracted to Christians?

Answer 32

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

Question 33

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

Answer 33

- 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

Question 34

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

Answer 34

- 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

Question 35

What did Fletcher argue the gospels suggest about Jesus?

Answer 35

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

Question 36

What language is the OT written in?

Answer 36

Hebrew

Question 37

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

Answer 37

Chesed

Question 38

What does chesed mean?

Answer 38

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

Question 39

What does aheb mean?

Answer 39

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

Question 40

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

Answer 40

love, boss, norm

Question 41

What is the Parable of the Good Samaritan?

Answer 41

- 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

Question 42

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

Answer 42

- 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

Question 43

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what is love?

Answer 43

patient, kind, greater than hope and faith

Question 44

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what is love not?

Answer 44

envious, boastful, irritable, arrogant, rude, resentful

Question 45

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

Answer 45

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

Question 46

According to 1 Corinthians 13, what does love do?

Answer 46

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

Question 47

Verse from Luke 6:27 supporting SE?

Answer 47

"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)