Christian Moral Principles Flashcards
Sola Scriptura
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.
Theonomous Christian ethics
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.
The Bible
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.
Fundamentalist Christians
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.
love (agape) is the only authority for Christian ethics.
Some scholars argue that love (agape) is the only authority for Christian ethics. Agape a term for the unconditional love of God.
Jesus on love
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.’
Autonomous Christian ethics
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.
Situation ethics
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.
Jesus on love in regards to Situation ethics
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.
(John 15: 12-13).
‘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.’
Liberal Christians
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.
Sacred Tradition
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.
Sacred Tradition - origins
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.’
Matthew 16:18
‘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.’
Sacred Tradition - Holy Spirit
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.
Natural law as a method of ethical decision-making.
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.
Reason and consience
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.
Bible & Church
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.
Church & moralilty
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.
Reason
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.
Christian ethics are distinctive
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.
Christian ethics are undistinctive
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.
Christian ethics are undistinctive - 2
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
Christian ethics are personal
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.
