Christian Approaches to Moral decision Making Flashcards
What are the 3 main approaches of christian moral decision making?
-Theonomous ethics
-Heteronomous ethics
-Autonomous ethics
What is the theonomous ethics approach?
-God’s commandments and the bible alone are able to help live a moral life.
-The fall has caused humans to be inclined to sin and so it damaged the possibility of humans living a moral life without God’s guidance.
What is the heteronomous ethics approach about?
-Belief that there are several sources of authority
-The bible is the main source of authority
-However other sources are needed to be able to interpret the bible accurately
-e.g church or reason
What is the autonomous ethics approach?
-Individual is guided by the law of christian love (Agape)
-autonomous as authority is entirely on the individual.
What christian denomination supports the theonomous ethics referring the the bible as Sola Scriptura?
Protestants (Calvinist tradition)
Which protestant denomination supports heteronomous ethics and refer to the bible as prima scriptura?
Anglicans
Why does the Catholic tradition believe the church has equal authority to the bible?
Apostolic Succession- It is believed that the authority of the pope and bishops can be traced back to the apostles.
what are quotes which support Theonomous christian ethics?
-‘i have put words in your mouth’
-‘all scripture is God-breathed’
Why can’t humans live a moral life with there reason alone?
As humans by nature are sinful and ignorant.
(St Paul and Augustine)
What is Propositional revelation?
Theonomous
A set of truth statements that reveal God’s message to the world.
What is non-propositional revelation?
Autonomous + Heteronomous
God does not reveal himself through truth statements so revelation needs interpretations
What did Biblicist believe?
-The writers of the bible were directly inspired by God
-‘All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching’
Why is it believed that God is basically the author of the bible?
As its believed that God spoke to the Prophets and writers.And so this means that the bible is infallible and anything not understood is not due to the the text but us.
What is an example where biblicist would not take the bible at face value?
When Jesus’s said ‘if your right eye has cause sin tear it and throw it away’.
Repentance and change
What is a Covenant?
A sacred agreement between God and humanity.
Who does God make the Five foundational covenants with?
Noah,Abraham,Moses,David and Jesus
Which covenant establishes that the notion of ethics is both social and personal?
The Mosaic Covenant.
What are two examples from the ten commandments that are personal ethics?
-You shall not make idols
-You shall have no other God’s before me
What are two examples from the ten commandments which are social ethics?
-You shall not murder
-You shall not commit adultry
What was the focal point of his moral teachings?
Jesus Sermon on the Mt
What does Jesus teach to be moral?
It is important to have inner purity and correct moral motivation.
What does St Paul describe the moral life of christian like and why?
He describes it as a ‘living Sacrifice’
due to Jesus’s teachings leading to his Crucifixion and Sacrifice.
Gives 3 examples of moral guidance within he bible.
-Sermon on the MT ‘love your neighbours and hate your enemies but i tell you love your enemies’
-Homosexuality ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman it is e detestable sin’
-Parable of the sheep and the goats,those who lived a good life and believed in God go heaven
Explain the strength of Theonomous ethics that the bible is a moral guide.
-God is omniscient and perfect so has give use everything we need to live a moral life
-Your able to find many examples of how God responded to moral dilemma’s
-Bishop Rowan Willams bible is like a parable
-able to see horrendous acts done by God and by people to recognise bad and good.
What are two more strengths of Theonomous ethics?
-ethics is shown through real life examples for example king david’s affair with Bathsheba and impregnates her and then abuses his kingly powers to murder her husband.
-Using the bible means there are clear guidelines for morality
Explain the disadvantage of Thenomous ethics about contradictions.
-for reconcile there are contradictory commands
-there is a apparent shift of the attitude in the OT and NT
-OT=Permits war and retributive Justice
-NT=Retribution replace with reconciliation
What are two other disadvantages
of Thenomous ethics?
-There are also contradiction within the NT as Jesus says that divorce is not permitted however Mathew says that it is if there is adultry
-Problems with interpretation God words in the Human language