Christian Moral Principle Flashcards
The three approaches to morals within Christianity
Theonomous Christian ethics:
- places God at the centre: God’s commandments are what is required for living morally. Humans are sinful because of the Fall so they cannot make right decisions for themselves and thus need the direct word of God.
Heteronomous Christian ethics:
- there is a variety of sources of authority for morals. The Bible remains important, but, perhaps because it was written so long ago, morality requires additional support to be understood. This support can come from the Church or from reason.
Autonomous Christian ethics:
- the authority is placed on the individual. The idea behind it is that Christian ethics are ethical decisions that happen to be made by Christians; here we look at those ethics that use love as the guiding force that helps Christians make moral decisions.
The Bible as the only source of ethics
- this is the idea that the Bible contains all a person needs to live a good life - behind this is the idea that the Bible is a set of truth statements that reveal God’s message to the world: it is propositional revelation.
- some Christians see the Bible as not dictated by God but inspired and still accurate. This approach is borne out by the nature of the Bible: it is full of several different types of text, including stories of people which need to be understood as holding a message for life today.
- for this approach to work it’s important for people to embrace the whole Bible, rather than choosing favourite passages.
analysing theonomous ethics:
- some suggest the Bible contains contradictions, such as in its approach to revenge and violence between the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, theonomous Christian ethics might argue that the Bible looks at situations from different angles in different places and that much of the Old Testament was replaced by the New Testament. This still leaves the approach open to criticism because it seems that the interpretation is required, which could point to the need for the use of reason or the Church.
- another criticism is the Bible contains many different styles of writing, this would suggest that the Bible cannot have been written by one author (God). However, this point can be criticised as it seems to limit God to being like a human, only able to write in one way.
- a strength is that it provides clear guidance that cannot be questioned. However, some modern situations are not covered by the Bible and any attempt to apply Biblical content to these situations would be using reason, which us not true theonomous ethics.
Bible, Church and reason
- during the second century, Christian leaders gathered to choose which of the many books around had sufficient authority to make up the New Testament. The key criterion was that of apostolicity: it must have a direct link to an apostle. For some, this was simply the Church identifying which books were God-breathed, but for others it was a clear example of the Church using its authority to select the authentic tradition of Scripture.
Church authority:
their are different approaches to Church authority in Christian denominations:
- Churches are often governed by councils of synods that guide people in how to live (Protestant)
- over 2000 years, the Church has interpreted the Bible and this interpretation should guide people in their moral lives (Protestant)
- humans are sinful and therefore cannot rely on themselves to make moral decisions, so the Bible and Church are required (Roman Catholic)
- tradition comes from the spoken tradition given to the apostles and handed down over time. It therefore has the same criterion of apostolicity (Roman Catholic)
- these approaches lead to a number of issues, such as: how do we decide when to take the Bible at face value and when to interpret it through the Church? It is unclear how the Church is able to transmit God’s authority in a day-to-day basis.
using reason:
- for Roman Catholics, reason can be used to identify what God has revealed. The most important area in ethics is understanding Natural Law. God has a core understanding of the universe (eternal law) and had revealed some laws through the Bible (divine law). The next tier is natural law, which are the five primary precepts in which humans try to do good and avoid evil. Finally, secondary rules are made that are human laws that fulfil the primary precepts. These human laws are verified by the Church, but can be worked out through reason.
- Catholics also give authority to the conscience to help make moral decisions. Aquinas said the conscience was reason being used to work out what is right to do. Newman said that the conscience has more authority than even the Pope because having a conscience predates the Church’s existence.
- many Protestants would agree with some of these principles: reason is, at the very least, required to help distinguish between correct and incorrect interpretations of the Bible. It is required to understand the Bible in an ever-changing world.
- they believe that the Bible can speak into current situations if appropriately analysed. It is important to understand what the context of the Bible writers was and many Protestant communities emphasise the importance of studying the Bible through Bible study groups. Ultimately, for Protestants, reason still points back to the Bible, which holds ultimate authority.
analysing heteronomous ethics:
- it might suggest the Bible is a form of non-propositional revelation. Any heteronomous approach begs three fundamental questions.
1) What sources are the correct source of authority? (which Church or which Church leader)
2) Where there is disagreement, who or what has the ultimate authority? (Catholics = Church, Protestant = Bible)
3) Has the ability of God to reveal himself and to be recognised by faith be undermined?
Love as the only ethical principle
- Jesus summarises all the law as being about love. This is clearly a theme throughout the Gospels and so a starting point for many Christian approaches to ethics.
- Tillich saw love as a central precept. The laws if the Bible are wisdom from which we learn, but central to our ethical decision making needs to be an ultimate fairness for all, which is characterised by love.
- adapting this, Fletcher used love to determine his theory of situation ethics. In situation ethics, love is the central principle that prevents the Christian from falling inti over-reliance on laws or a life without rules. It tells Christians to follow the rules, unless its more loving to do otherwise.
- Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was not a replacement for the Ten Commandments or the whole Jewish law, but a set if illustrations of how to put love into practice.
analysing autonomous ethics: is love sufficient to live a good life?
- yes, love is the only force that can fully recognise the ever-changing moral situations we find ourselves in.
- yes, love us a fundamental and extreme human emotion and so God could well have expected that to drive us.
- no, in the same situation, different people might interpret love in different ways.
- no, love can become an excuse for people to do whatever they want.
Christian ethics: distinctive, personal, communal
are christian ethics distinctive?
- Christianity is underpinned by belief in the incarnation and resurrection, which means that it is coming from a distinctive starting point from other religions: God reaches down to humans, not humans needing to reach up to God.
- the emphasis on Jesus Christ also leads to the idea for some Christians that personal faith and grace are the primary ways to get to heaven. If this is true then Christian morals might come less from a central teaching authority than in other communities.
- some Christians take a deontological approach, following the rules of the community. Others respond in the moment which is similar to a pragmatic approach.
- the Bible is a distinctive text which perhaps makes Christians apart from others, it is always part of the mix in moral decision making
- this sets Christian moral action apart from utilitarianism, which begins with human desire. Kantian ethics also has no place for the Bible, although there is a place for moral law and the power of reason. This is also true for Natural Law, which acknowledges the Bible but does not require it to interpret the moral messages available through reasoned reflection on creation.
personal or communal
- some argue you cannot examine scripture without reference to communities and traditions in which it functions.
- communities and traditions are shaped by the Bible, and these communities express the stories and moral convictions that shape the character of their members.
- the community of faith is the central community to which an individual belongs and that community has claim over that individual.
- communities are structured by rules, be the rules of tradition or the Bible, perhaps the Bible is the guidebook of the Christian community. However, others might point to Jesus’ own argument within his community - his debate with Pharisees and his willingness to break rules.
- perhaps if Jesus is a model for Christians, then they as individuals must be willing to read the situation they are in, look to those who need care and love in and respond in a loving way.
- however, the foundation narrative of Christianity is found in the Bible, arguably it is this book that should guide action, not the individuals of God.
