Christian Moral Principles

Question 1

Sola Scriptura

Answer 1

is a doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations.
It states that the Christian scriptures are the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice.

Question 2

Theonomous Christian ethics

Answer 2

Theonomous Christian ethics place God at the centre:
God’s commandments are what is required for living morally.
Theonomists propose biblical law as the standard by which the laws of nations may be measured.

Question 3

The Bible

Answer 3

The Bible contains the 10 commandments. For example:
‘Do not bear false witness against your neighbour’.
‘You should ‘honour your father and mother’.’
The Bible is seen as having been dictated by God.
So, the Bible contains God’s own direct speech and it alone must be used for moral instruction.
Because it has been directly dictated by God, the Bible is seen as infallible. It cannot be in error.

Question 4

Fundamentalist Christians

Answer 4

Fundamentalist Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God.
They believe that the Bible was written by God as He is perfect and omniscient (all-knowing).
So, the Bible must all be true.
This type of understanding is often called a literal interpretation of scripture.
This is because the believers believe that every word of the holy book is literally true.

Question 5

love (agape) is the only authority for Christian ethics.

Answer 5

Some scholars argue that love (agape) is the only authority for Christian ethics. Agape a term for the unconditional love of God.

Question 6

Jesus on love

Answer 6

When questioned on what the greatest commandment was in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus replies:
‘”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’

Question 7

Autonomous Christian ethics

Answer 7

This type of ethical decision making is referred to as ‘autonomous Christian ethics’.
In this type of ethics, the authority is placed onto the individual.
Autonomous Christian ethics are often associated with situation ethics.
There are no absolute rules and commands like the Ten Commandments. The only real command is to love.
The most important thing is always to act out of love for others.
This understanding is associated with some modern liberal Protestants, especially Joseph Fletcher.

Question 8

Situation ethics

Answer 8

Fletcher believes that all human beings can agree on what is the most loving thing to do.
He describes this in his words saying ‘love is the only universal’.
Fletcher says that Christian love is ‘goodwill at work in partnership with reason.’
He makes it clear that agape is not like a desire we may have for another person but it is a giving love.

Question 9

Jesus on love in regards to Situation ethics

Answer 9

Jesus commands us all to love. Rather than giving a complex set of commands, he regularly preaches love:
‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’ (John 15: 12-13).
We must use our reason to try to find out what the most loving thing to do is.
This might change from situation to situation.
So, the version of this theory put forward by Joseph Fletcher is called situation ethics.

Question 10

(John 15: 12-13).

Answer 10

‘My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.’

Question 11

Liberal Christians

Answer 11

Liberal Christians believe that the Bible is inspired by God but written by humans.
Because humans wrote the Bible, they believe that it may contain some errors. Some parts may also be metaphorical.
They may also say that the Bible was written a long time ago and society has since changed since.
So, parts of the Bible may well be out of date and reflect the time that it was written in.

Question 12

Sacred Tradition

Answer 12

Catholics refer to tradition and Sacred Tradition.
They see tradition as having a precedent over the Bible.
This is because it was the Church community that decided what texts should be sacred and form the Bible.
Sacred Tradition is a means of coming to know the revelation of Jesus.
It follows the oral tradition handed down by Jesus to the first Christian leaders in an unbroken chain of Apostolic Succession.

Question 13

Sacred Tradition - origins

Answer 13

The sacred chain of Apostolic Succession chain begins with St Peter.
Jesus appointed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus says the following to Peter:
‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’

Question 14

Matthew 16:18

Answer 14

‘And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’

Question 15

Sacred Tradition - Holy Spirit

Answer 15

Tradition is seen as the way in which the Holy Spirit works in the world.
The task of interpreting the Bible is given to the Church.
The Church is the only authority that can give authentic interpretation of scripture.
This is because Church leaders are seen to be inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The council of Vatican II formally declared that Sacred Tradition is seen as binding authority on moral life.

Question 16

Natural law as a method of ethical decision-making.

Answer 16

The Catholic Church also draws on natural law as a method of ethical decision-making.
‘To the Church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles’. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para. 2032)
With this authority comes the assertion that there are moral absolutes: some things are simply wrong or right.
Humans are weak and sinful and so cannot rely on themselves to make moral decisions properly. The Bible and Church are required.
Catholics use reason alongside the Bible and Sacred Tradition in natural law ethics.

Question 17

Reason and consience

Answer 17

Reason is understood as a gift from God to enable humanity to access God’s revelation.
The most important area in ethics is understanding natural law as put forward by St. Thomas Aquinas.
Aquinas said that we use the conscience to reason what is right to do. In doing so, we identify the secondary precepts of natural law.
In the 19th century, John Henry Newman said that conscience has more authority than even the Pope (i.e. the Church).
This is because having a conscience predates the Church’s existence.

Question 18

Bible & Church

Answer 18

In Anglican ethics, the Bible comes first but it is not the only source of understanding.
Influences from the Bible and Church tradition are often combined.
This may be when making moral decisions, or decisions about practices within the Church.

Question 19

Church & moralilty

Answer 19

Over 2,000 years, the Church has interpreted the Bible and this interpretation should guide people in their moral lives.
Churches are often governed by councils or synods that guide people in how to live.
The Church is the bridge between the 1st century and today and its journey is as important as the journey of the 1st Christians.

Question 20

Reason

Answer 20

Reason is also required to understand the Bible in an ever-changing world.
But, it is also important to understand reason as trying to establish what would be in the Bible if it were being written today.
The Bible can speak into current situations if appropriately analysed.
Many protestants emphasise the importance of both:
Studying the Bible through Bible study groups.
Engaging in private reflection and listening to preaching.

Question 21

Christian ethics are distinctive

Answer 21

Fundamentalist Christians would argue human reason cannot come up with correct ethical behaviour.
Those who believe in using sola scriptura would agree.
According to St Augustine, since the Fall, human’s have become selfish in their nature and their will is corrupt.
So, only the Bible can help us find out what we ought to do.
Someone using the Bible alone is likely to say that people’s belief in any of the Ten Commandments is due to the continuing subtle influence of the Bible.

Question 22

Christian ethics are undistinctive

Answer 22

St Thomas Aquinas argued that humans do tend to agree that there is some form of natural law.
There are things that we would all consider to be good, bad, right and wrong.
There seems to be universal recognition of morality. In our view of the world, every sane and rational person would recognise and agree that certain things are good and others bad.
For example, all would agree cannibalism or paedophilia are bad.
In this sense, Christian ethics are not distinctive but available to all people.

Question 23

Christian ethics are undistinctive - 2

Answer 23

Joseph Fletcher does not think that ethics should be about absolute commands and rules.
He thinks each situation should be judged independently without any distinct guiding authority.
This means that Christian ethics are not distinctive and are available to all people at all times

Question 24

Christian ethics are personal

Answer 24

The Bible and Church teachings give individuals a way to live life according to their own needs.
Jesus spoke on individual circumstances – for example, the women with the flow of blood.
Equally, when he was challenged on the women caught in the act of adultery he treated it as an individual case.

Question 25

Christian ethics are personal - 2

Answer 25

Jesus also broke rules for the needs of people and out of love.
You could argue that if Jesus is a model for Christians, they must be willing to read the situation they are in.
The individuals should look to those who need care and love and respond in a loving way, rather than in a prescriptive or legalistic way.
Joseph Fletcher would argue that Christian ethics are personal. One of his four presumptions is personality.
He argues that the Bible should be read as a guide, not a rule book.

Question 26

Christian ethics are communal

Answer 26

Jesus spoke to groups more than individuals, for example in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’.
For some Christians, the Bible should be shared and studied in group situations.
Any interpretation of the Bible is done so in a community context. Interpretations have changed over time with different communities.
The community of faith is the central community to which an individual Christian belongs.
That community has a claim over the individual Christian.

Question 27

Love is sufficient

Answer 27

Jesus kept returning to the theme of love and so situation ethics seems to reflect his approach.
Jesus’ authority cannot be denied for Christians.
Love can empower the Christian to be able to put people first in challenging times.
This is especially true when mainstream society needs to be challenged.

Question 28

Situational judgement

Answer 28

Fletcher’s working principles of pragmatism and relativism show that we make decisions situationally.
His workings also highlight that absolutes such as ‘do not kill’ or ‘do not steal’ do not always bring about the most loving outcome.

Question 28

Love is not sufficient

Answer 28

It is over-simplistic to suggest that Jesus’ teachings were only about love.
In the same situation, different people might interpret love in different ways.
Thomas Aquinas believed love requires reason alongside it to understand how to live life.
It is too complicated to be the solution on its own.

Question 29

Love is not sufficient - 2

Answer 29

Joseph Fletcher’s theory of situation ethics can become an excuse for people simply doing whatever they want.
Many protestants would argue that the Bible is the only source of authority that we should use when making decisions on how to live a good life (sola scriptura).
The Church thinks that we need God’s revelation in the Bible (it is one of the Ten Commandments to ‘keep the Sabbath day holy’).
So, the Church uses the Bible and informs Christian how they should live their lives.

Question 30

The Bible is comprehensive

Answer 30

Many protestant theologians argue that we need to take a theonomous approach to Christian ethics.
The Bible is seen as having been dictated by God.
As it contains God’s own direct speech, it alone must be used for moral instruction.
It has been directly dictated by God, the Bible is therefore seen as infallible.
The Bible has provided a rich source of moral commands and principles.
The most famous of these are the Ten Commandments which cover many aspects of our day to day lives.

Question 31

The Bible is comprehensive - 2

Answer 31

When left to their own devices, humans can justify acting as they wish so the Bible is the only means of knowing how to behave morally.
Human-based morality leads to moral confusion and endless debates about what is right and wrong.
Augustine believed that human reason is not to be trusted.
For this reason, many would argue that only God’s Word as revealed in the Bible can provide a sound basis for Christian ethics.

Question 32

The Bible is not comprehensive

Answer 32

Catholic theologians would argue that the Bible is central but not the one and only comprehensive guide.
Thomas Aquinas said that natural law is another way in which we can be guided.
The tradition and teaching of the Catholic Church should also be used as a form of authority. This is because the Bible does not cover modern-day issues.
The official teaching of the Church is known as the Magisterium.

Question 33

The Bible is not comprehensive - 2

Answer 33

Many moral issues that are discussed within the Bible can be seen to be sexist and homophobic among other things.
So the Bible needs to be interpreted.
But different Christian denominations have interpreted this differently.
The Bible often contradicts itself and does not offer a clear set of moral principles.
Even conservative Christians have to use reason to decide whether biblical commands are:
Literal or symbolic.
Prescriptive or descriptive.