Christian Moral Principles Flashcards
What is meant by the “Bible as the only authority” in Christian ethics?
This view holds that the Bible is divinely inspired and therefore the sole and ultimate authority on moral matters. Based on 2 Timothy 3:16, scripture is seen as directly inspired by God and useful for teaching, correction, and moral guidance. Because God is the author, the Bible is considered infallible; any error in understanding is due to human misinterpretation. It is believed to teach through powerful examples and is to be read within the context of God’s covenant, fulfilled in Jesus.
What are two key biblical texts that exemplify Christian moral principles?
The Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The Ten Commandments highlight personal and social ethics within the covenantal relationship with God, while the Sermon on the Mount reformulates and deepens Old Testament teachings, focusing on inner attitudes and intentions.
Why can’t the Bible always be taken literally according to Christian thought?
Literal interpretation is cautioned against because some teachings use metaphorical language. For example, the command to tear out one’s eye if it causes sin is not literal but a metaphor encouraging deep change in perception and behavior. Literalism can lead to ‘bibliolatry’—worshipping the Bible itself—rather than seeing it as God’s inspired word communicated through human authors over time.
What is Karl Barth’s warning about literalism called, and what does it mean?
Barth warns against ‘bibliolatry’, the worship of the Bible as though it itself were divine. He emphasizes that while the Bible is God’s word, it is mediated through human history and context and should be viewed as inspired rather than infallibly literal.
How do Christians deal with moral contradictions between the Old and New Testaments?
They recognize that the Old Testament includes laws allowing violence, such as capital punishment and war (“eye for an eye”), while Jesus’ New Testament teachings promote love, reconciliation, and forgiveness. Some see these teachings as representing a future ideal, making room for necessary evils like war now (e.g., Augustine, Luther), while others interpret Jesus’ message as a strict call to pacifism.
What is heteronomous Christian ethics and how does it differ from theonomous ethics?
Heteronomous ethics includes multiple sources of moral authority—such as reason, conscience, and Church teachings—alongside the Bible. Unlike theonomous ethics, which relies solely on divine revelation (e.g., scripture), heteronomous ethics allows for broader and rational moral decision-making, particularly in the Roman Catholic and some Protestant traditions.
What role does Natural Law play in Roman Catholic ethics?
Natural Law is the idea that God’s order and purpose can be discerned through reason. Humans, by nature of their rationality, can understand moral truths embedded in creation. It is rooted in the belief that God’s will is for all things to flourish, and this can be known independently of scripture through conscience and the structure of the world.
How does Saint Paul’s teaching support Natural Law?
Paul affirms Natural Law by saying that people have a “law written on their hearts” and must act according to conscience. This shows that moral understanding is available to all humans, not just through scripture, but through internal moral awareness.
Who is the key figure behind the Catholic version of Natural Law and what does he argue?
Thomas Aquinas is the central figure. He argues that humans, unlike animals, are capable of reasoning, and through this reason, they can understand God’s eternal law. Ethics, then, is about aligning human actions with their God-given purpose.
What is liberation theology and why is it considered controversial?
Liberation theology, emerging in the 1960s, emphasizes the Bible’s message of liberation from oppression. It views Jesus as a liberator and draws from biblical stories like Moses’ liberation of the Israelites. It is controversial because it challenges traditional Church structures and sometimes adopts Marxist critiques of power, despite Marxism’s atheist foundations.
How do modern Anglicans interpret the authority of the Bible?
They see the Bible not as a single, timeless document but as a collection shaped by its historical and cultural contexts. Moral guidance comes not only from scripture but also from reason, conscience, and tradition—though without the binding authority of a central magisterium as in Catholicism.
What is Stanley Hauerwas’ view of Christian ethics and community?
Hauerwas emphasizes that Christian ethics must be lived out within a Christian community. He believes moral decisions are communal, not individual, and that the Sermon on the Mount calls for community-wide virtues like generosity, justice, and care for the marginalized.
How does Hauerwas apply his ethical views to real-life issues like abortion?
He argues that issues like abortion should not be seen as personal moral failures but as challenges for the whole Church. For example, the Church should support a pregnant teenager instead of condemning her, because baptism makes every person the community’s responsibility.
What are autonomous Christian ethics, and how do they view scripture?
Autonomous Christian ethics hold that there are no uniquely Christian rules, only general ethical principles followed by Christians. The Bible is viewed not as a revealed authority but as a source of moral inspiration, especially Jesus’ example and teachings.
What is agape, and why is it central to autonomous Christian ethics?
Agape is selfless, unconditional love, seen as the guiding principle for Christians. It is based on Jesus’ teachings and actions, encouraging believers to live lives focused on others rather than themselves.
Who is Hans Küng and what is his approach to Christian moral decision-making?
Hans Küng is a liberal Catholic theologian who promotes ethical autonomy, arguing that Christian values should align with universal human values. He advocates for a global ethic to address issues like environmental crises, based on love and reason, even if that means diverging from official Church teaching.
How does Hans Küng justify challenging official Church teachings?
Küng argues that moral reasoning and conscience, modeled after Jesus’ own challenges to legalism, can guide ethical decisions. For instance, although euthanasia is officially condemned, he suggests it may be morally permissible based on love and compassion.
What is situation ethics and who developed it?
Situation ethics is a moral theory by Joseph Fletcher that asserts that the only absolute is love (agape), and all moral decisions should be made based on what is the most loving thing to do in a given situation, rather than following fixed laws.
What are the four working principles of situation ethics according to Fletcher?
Pragmatism: Ethical decisions must work in practice.
Relativism: No fixed rules, only guidelines based on love.
Positivism: Faith in love as the most important principle.
Personalism: People are more important than rules.
What is a criticism of basing Christian ethics solely on love (agape)?
Some argue that love alone is insufficient to fully express Christian ethics. The Sermon on the Mount, for example, does not eliminate law but deepens it, connecting love with other key themes like forgiveness, human nature, community, redemption, and the afterlife.
