Christian Moral Principles Essay Plans Flashcards
Intro to Are Christian Ethics personal or communal
Christian Ethics have many different approaches on moral decision making and how one should lead a moral life, that distinguishes itself from other religions and cultures.
State three different approaches:
- Theonomous – Bible is the only source – deontological following Bible
- Heteronomous – Bible; reason; conscience – deontological
- Agape – emphasis on love and Sermon on the mount – pragmatic
However, it is clear that Christian Ethics are more communal than personal, as the foundation narrative for Christianity is found in the Bible, which is a book of the people of God rather than having an emphasis on the individual.
Para one point to C+P
A follow of Theonomous Ethics may claim that Christian Ethics are communal.
Book of Timothy ‘All scripture is inspired by God’ – This emphasizes a propositional approach to Ethics, which accepts that the messages from the Bible are messages from God.
This scripture within contains many stories from apostles, which shapes a community’s traditions and cultures
Para one argument to C+P
Some scholars may argue that you cannot examine scripture without reference to the communities and traditions in which it functions, when individual interprets the Bible they do so through a particular tradition, which shows that Christian Ethics would have to be more personal
Yet, whilst this makes a valid point, the community of faith is the central community in which a Christian belongs and that community has a claim over the individual Christian, which shows Christian ethics as communal
Para two C+P
Autonomous approach would argue that Christian Ethics are individual as each person should look to Jesus as a model and reflect his teachings of agape on the Sermon on the Mount.
Fletcher ‘set our principles aside and do the right thing’ – Jesus’ main teaching on Sermon on the Mount was this and thus ethical values should be based off this teaching
which shows that each individual must be pragmatic and using reason and love and act individually within each situation, showing how Christian ethics are not communal.
NT further reflects this in Mathew ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’ – love is the only source and is individual for each Christian to use within each personal situation.
Para two C+P argument
However although it is convincing as it uses Biblical evidence, it forgets Bible also teaches of OS and human corruption – humans are too selfish and Bible needs many humans to use rationalism to decipher the words of God in the Bible
Clearly to be Christian a more absolute approach needs to be taken as autonomous ethics is to subjective, and does not follow Gods Divine law in the Bible, and gives the corrupt individual too much power
Clearly this portrays that Christian Ethics have to be communal as we are too corrupt to use individual reason alone
Para three C+P
A Roman Catholic, heteronomous approach would disagree. The Church is before the Bible, as the Church has a place on informing Catholics of their morality, and thus this emphasizes Christian ethics as being communal
Catechism ‘the church…has the solemn command of Jesus through the apostles to spread the scared truth’
The Church does this through the magisterium, a series of meetings of Church leaders where they publish the papal encyclical, which informs a Christian on how to live a moral life- and thus for a Christian to be moral they must follow the Magisterium’s guidance within a community.
Para three C+P argument
Whilst convincing as papal encyclical can reflect modern values and following can make Christian Ethics distinctive within the modern world, an Anglican Christian may argue that this the Church controlling people.
Papal enclyidcal not always reflecting words of Bible and may be people pushing their own rules and morals on others, which does not make match with Christian values
Radford – magisterium is shaped almost entirely by men – may be unintendedly sexist – go against God of man and woman being equal.
Clearly, whilst Christian ethics are communal, it is only when the Bible is put before the Church otherwise the ethics will not be distinctly be Christian
Are Christian Ethics distinctive
Introduction:
Christian Ethics have many different approaches on moral decision making and how one should lead a moral life, that distinguishes itself from other religions and cultures.
State three different approaches:
- Theonomous – Bible is the only source – deontological following Bible
- Heteronomous – Bible; reason; conscience – deontological
- Agape – emphasis on love and Sermon on the mount – pragmatic
Overall, Christian Ethics are only distinctive through the Protestant Heteronomous approach, where reason is needed to interpret the Bible. This is due to the other approaches either being too flexible or too literal when following the Bible, and thus render themselves as not distinctively Christian.
Paragraph one: D
A follow of Theonomous Ethics may claim that Christian Ethics are only distinctive when an individual strictly follows the Bible.
Book of Timothy ‘All scripture is inspired by God’ – This emphasizes a propositional approach to Ethics, which accepts that the messages from the Bible are messages from God, and thus without following the Bible exactly the follower would not be distinctively Christian as they would not be following the words of God.
Clearly, as the Bible belongs to only Christianity and is there only source for morality, indeed it conveys how Christian Ethics are distinctive.
Paragraph one: D argument
No one can read Bible at face value, ‘if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.’
- Not literal but a metaphor for changing the way one sees thing, and if taken literally misses the point of the message.
This demonstrates how the Bible cannot be the only source for morality as reason would have to be needed to know when to take a passage metaphorically, thus Christian Ethics cannot be what distinguishes Christian Ethics, as other sources are needed.
Reason undermines the words of God, and takes the Divine Status of the Bible to be a book interpreted at will.
Without the Bible being the only source for morality Christian Ethics are not distinctively Christian as the individual does not follow Gods direct authority
Although this argument makes a valid point that using reason to interpret no longer makes absolute as many diff interpretations, forgets that Bible was written hundreds of years ago and many cultural values have changed
- 21st Cent – St. Paul ‘ women should be in silence in the Church’
Clearly, whilst Bible is useful, does not fit with changing values of 21st Century, and for a Christian to be moral they need to fit with modern values, thus the Bible alone cannot be what makes Christian Ethics distinguished.
Paragraph two: D
Autonomous approach would argue that Christian Ethics are only distinctive when using pragmatism and Jesus teaching of Agape love on The Sermon on the mount.
Fletcher ‘set our principles aside and do the right thing’ – in which an individual must be pragmatic within each situation and that Christian ethics are only truly distinctive when we respond in the moment and perform the most loving action as this is what Jesus would have done
NT further reflects this in Mathew ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’ – love is the only source for morality and the only principle that a Christian should follow to truly be Christian
Paragraph two: D argument
However although it is convincing as it uses Biblical evidence, it forgets Bible also teaches of OS and human corruption – humans are too selfish and the only way to be distinctively Christian is to use a moral guidebook, and follow the Word of God.
Clearly to be Christian a more absolute approach needs to be taken as autonomous ethics is to subjective, and does not follow Gods Divine law in the Bible.
However although convincing as Bible gives humans a clear guide , we can still see corruption in Businesses within the modern world – Reason is needed when interpreting the Bible to show the person as Christian. Each apostle wrote in the context of their time and for this to be applied to the modern world reason is needed, to decipher Gods words, as best we can although corrupt.
Clearly this portrays that too be distinctively Christian one must use reason to decipher the Bible, to reflect the values of the modern world
Paragraph three: D
A Roman Catholic, heteronomous approach would disagree. The Church is before the Bible, as the Church has a place on informing Catholics of their morality, and thus the Church is the only way a Christian can be distinctively Christian.
Catechism ‘the church…has the solemn command of Jesus through the apostles to spread the scared truth’
The Church does this through the magisterium, a series of meetings of Church leaders where they publish the papal encyclical, which informs a Christian on how to live a moral life- and thus for Christian Ethics to be distinctive an individual must follow the Church before the Bible
Paragraph three: D argument
Whilst convincing as papal encyclical can reflect modern values and following can make Christian Ethics distinctive within the modern world, an Anglican Christian may argue that this the Church controlling people.
Papal enclyidcal not always reflecting words of Bible and may be people pushing their own rules and morals on others, which does not make Christian Ethics distinctive as it does not follow Gods law in the Bible.
Radford – magisterium is shaped almost entirely by men – may be unintendedly sexist – go against God of man and woman being equal.
Clearly to be distinctive Christian a more absolute approach needs to be taken as RC biased.
However reason still needed to interpret properly. Otherwise too literal and not interpreted properly which does not make Christen ethics distinctive as it is not following Gods intention meaning.
Is the principle of love sufficient to love a good life
The principle of love focuses on the NT and Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon of the mount of agape. However, one may argue that the Bible is needed as moral absolute guidance for a Christian to love a good life.
-Theonomous – Bible is the only source – deontological following Bible
-Heteronomous – Bible; reason; conscience – deontological
Overall, the principle of love is not sufficient to live a good life and both the Bible and reason is needed to live morally.
