Christian Moral Principles

Question 1

3 approaches to Christian ethics

Answer 1

The bible - divine law

Bible and reason - natural law

Decide what’s best for each circumstance, no different from non religious ethics - Situation Ethics

Question 2

Christian ethics suggests

Answer 2

Man is essentially sinful and ignorant and needs God to reveal what is the best way to behave

Question 3

Laws in the Old Testament showing how to act

Answer 3

Ten Commandments
Sermon on the mount

Question 4

How did the bible come about

Answer 4

Bible was inspired by God he spoke to the prophets who wrote his teachings down

Question 5

The Bible is

Answer 5

Infallible, it cannot be wrong

Question 6

Dangers with the Bible

Answer 6

Jesus says ‘if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out’

Can be taken too seriosupt

Question 7

Contradictions with the Bible

Answer 7

Says do not kill
But God supports his chosen people in battle where many are put to death

Advocates the death penalty, yet in Gospel says ‘turn the other cheek’

Question 8

Debunking the criticisms of the Bible

Answer 8

Some words are metaphors, reason must be applied

Jesus teachings will show what life will be like in the kingdom of God, in the meantime we live in an imperfect world

Question 9

Roman Catholics using reason when they apply NL

Answer 9

Divine Law and Primary precepts.

Question 10

Working out ethical decisions is called

Answer 10

Synderesis

Question 11

What is the official teaching of the Catholic Church

Answer 11

Magisterium

Question 12

Magisterium

Answer 12

The authority that the Catholic Church has to teach, held by the bishops (with the pope as the leader of the bishops)

Question 13

Stanley Hauerwas

Answer 13

Suggests a Protestant ethical heteronomy - there is no magisterium in Protestant churches

Question 14

What does Stanley believe

Answer 14

Ethical decisions should be something decided by the church community based on the Bible and reason

Question 15

What example does Hauerwas give

Answer 15

Pregnant teenager, we cannot say abortion is a sin

Question 16

Autonomous Christians would say about right and wrong

Answer 16

Theres nothing distinctively Christian about right or wrong

Question 17

The Church has authority over an individuals Christian ethics

Answer 17

May become too subjective and simply a matter of individual preference

The church is not an individual to people it’s a ‘collective wisdom’

Receivers the process of Jesus

Question 18

The Church does not have authority over an individuals Christian ethics

Answer 18

The Bible is Gods word and on its own should be sufficient

The church exists just to bring the bibles message to people

God gave reason to people and we should use our conscience to work out the most loving thing to do in any situation

Question 19

Situation Ethics is an example of

Answer 19

Autonomous Christian Ethics

Where what is right or wrong will depend on the circumstances

Question 20

The basic guiding principle of SE

Answer 20

Agape

Question 21

Fletcher argues goodness is

Answer 21

Goodness is not peculiar to Christians but is a basic part of everyone’s human nature

Question 22

Hans Kungs views as a liberal Catholic

Answer 22

Although euthanasia goes against the magisterium it is not contrary to recognise the great distress someone is kept in being alive as morally right

Question 23

Pope Benedict XVI on Kung

Answer 23

Undermining the authority of the magisterium

Question 24

Critics of Autonomous Christian Ethics argue

Answer 24

It’s distinctive from other forms of ethics because

Christians believe in things like sin, redemption and being saved, these influence decisions made

Jesus was to show us how to carry out the laws

At odds with society’s values ‘sell everything he has and give the money to the poor’ more than just agape that makes someone a Christian