Christian moral principles Flashcards
What are the main approaches to moral decision making?
The Bible
Tradition (Church)
Reason
Situational love
What is it called to use the Bible ONLY for ethics?
Sola Scriptura
What is the Bible to people that abide by sola scriptura?
- Supreme authority in all matters of doctrine.
- Self-authenticating.
- Doesn’t need interpretation.
- Clear and obvious in its meaning- ‘propositional revelation’ (literal word of God).
- Writers are ‘scribes for God’s word’.
- Jeremiah, ‘I have put my words in your mouth’.
What is revelation?
Truth revealed through God.
What are the different kinds of revelation?
Propositional
Non-propositional
Explain propositional:
- The words of the Bible are true messages from God.
- Teachings of the Bible should be taken literally.
Non propositional:
- Belief or faith in God.
- We gain knowledge in God through a sense of God’s presence and nature (teleological).
- Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
Strengths of sola scriptura:
- Doesn’t need to be interpreted, absolute, which is good for our fallible human nature.
Weaknesses of sola scriptura:
- Many things in the Bible need interpretation.
-Surely we cannot take Balem’s talking ass literally? - Over 300 translations. Why are there also so many different styles of writing?
- Conflicting texts, talks of agape, but then ‘Binding of Isaac’.
- Many things in the Bible are no longer relevant today, beheadings of John the Baptist.
Examples of different styles of writing:
Psalms- poetry.
40% OT is narrative.
Also law in the 10 commandments.
Critique of sola scriptura:
Hays- ‘the interpretation of scripture can never occur in a vacuum’.
Scriptura has been wrote by mainly men and has been over 300 translations. Cannot base our thinking on this and completely ignore others.
Rosemary Radford Ruther- the Bible is androcentric, not universal.
Questioning of Rosemary Radford Ruther:
- The Bleeding Woman.
- She cherry picks.
- Can be interpreted Mary Magdalene was a disciple.
- But their experiences aren’t spoke of.
- Virgin Mary, seen as a ‘vessel’.
Agape:
Christians have a ‘fundamental core value’ in New Testament- love.
- Love is the focus throughout.
Quotes from Bible about love:
1 Corinthians, ‘love is patient, love is kind’.
Tillich views on love:
- Eros (love of goodness and beauty).
- Philia (love of friendship).
- Libido (sexual love).
Not strict rules, depend on the situation and person (Fletcher’s situation ethics).
Pope Francis on Christian moral principles:
- We need a more compassionate method.
- Should not strictly follow rules.
- ‘nor is it helpful to impose rules by sheer authority’.
What quote of Fletcher’s disagrees with sola scriptura?
‘Sometimes you have to put your principles to one side and do the right thing’.
Principles= bible.
What is it called for the writers to act as a ‘scribe’ for God?
Amanuensis- someone writing for another person.
What is the fancy term for focus on tradition?
Heteronomous.
Who agrees that the Bible is outdated?
Richard Mouw.
Examples of outdated nature of the Bible:
Leviticus, ‘thou shall not lie with a man as with a woman, it is detestable’.
Who is most prominent for having the heteronomous viewpoint?
Roman Catholic Church
Why do the Roman Catholics focus on tradition?
- They decided the canon of the Bible.
- Believe in Apostolic succession, (there Pope is a predecessor from Peter).
- Tradition is seen in the catechisms of the Catholic church.
Why do Protestants criticise the Catholic Church?
- Cause for disputes over centuries.
- Used indulgences to ensure salvation of Catholics, Marxist idea that religion is the ‘opiate’ of the people.
Misogyny in the Catholic Church:
- Rosemary Radford Ruther:
Corinthians 14:34, ‘women should remain silent in churches’.
What is Agape? Quote:
‘the highest form of good, charity’.
How can Bonhoeffer link into agape?
To strive for ‘costly grace’, we are to be more loving.
What does Tillich think love does?
Drives ‘the unity of the separated’.
How does Pope Francis agree with love?
He has said that Tradition should revisit agape and strive to be more loving.
Why does Richard Mouw criticise love?
People love different things.
What does Reason link into?
Conscience and Natural law of Aquinas.
Who agrees with the use of reason?
Emil Brunner:
‘the good exists in doing what God wills at any particular time’.
Reason is suitable for each situation.
What is a real life example of the use of reason?
‘Menendez brothers’- killed parents but one of the commandments is to respect parents.
They had raped them however, used reason to identify that they should thus not respect parents.
What does reason combine?
Tradition, agape, bible. You can infer what is most suitable for that time.
