CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCPLES ESSAY PLAN Flashcards
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL ETHICS PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL?
INTRODUCTION
- Should christians base their moral principles on the opinions and practices of the community around them
- Or should they trust in a single idea of principles that they should make sense of themselves e.g love
- ultimately, christians should believe Christian moral ethics are communal
DUCK
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: Bible + Church
- Some scholars such as Richard Hays believe you cannot examine scriptre without references to the church communities and traditions in which it functions
- In this case we shouldn’t focus on individual interpretations of te bible when trying to figure out what’s moral
- Instead Christians should work together as part of a living community and tradition to interpret the bible
BULLET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: BIBLE + CHURCH
- If the bible is the word of God, it shouldnt need a church to interpret it- christians could interpret it themselves
- Phillip Turner argues that traditions were sometimes criticised by Jesus
- Similarly, St Paul criticises Jewish traditions as distracting from the Son of God
VET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: BIBLE + CHURCH
However, it solves the issue of the Bible being hard to use and understand with hard to grasp issues to do with context and contradictions
- e.g: Jesus ‘those who live by the sword die by the sword’; also Jesus: I CAME NOT TO BRING PEACE BUT A SWORD’
- The Church can help to solve this and make it easier for Christians to understand
DUCK
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: BIBLE ONLY
- Some Christians see the bible as the only authority for Christians. This is called ‘sola scriptura’ and it stands for the idea that the bible is the supreme authority in all matters of doctrine and practice
- ## Behind this belief is the idea that the scripture is self authenticating- the bible is its own interpreter
BULLET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: BIBLE ONLY
- The moral laws derived from sola scriptura are clear, comforting and simple for Christians e.g Commandment not to kill
VET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: BIBLE ONLY
- Ultimately, interpreting the bible on its own and using that to get your moral principles is absurd
- There are laws in the bible which do not work in the modern day due to the context they were written in.
- e.g deuteronomy
DUCK
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: ANGLICAN + CATHOLIC
- ANGLICAN: bible comes first (prima scriptura) but it’s not the only source. Tradition is an interpretation of scripture that should also be listened to and practised
- Church tradition is how the community of the Church worships and prays using scripture
- CATHOLIC: sacred tradition is a separate stream of moral guidance- it was the authority of the church that decided what the bible was- tradition precedes the bible
- The Catholic Church has a strong senese of the magisterium- the teaching authority of the Church expressed in the Pope, Bishops and the Church Councils
BULLET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: ANGLICAN + CATHOLIC
- ## Jesus criticised religious authorities
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: ANGLICAN + CATHOLIC
- Ultimately Anglican and Catholic traditions keep Bible relevant
- Catechisms in the Catholic Church can be very helpful for modern life and is a summary of how the church intergrates tradition and scripture together
DUCK
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: LOVE
- There are 3 ethical rules for Christians to follow: justice, love and wisdom. Love is the most important ethical norm (Tillich)
- Paul Tillich was criticial of the Christian morals which follow fixed rules
- ## Instead, agape is person-centred that binds people together
BULLET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: LOVE
- His definition of love is coherent- it makes sense and is universal
VET
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: LOVE
- ultimately, it is naive, unrealistic and impractical
- Love is subjective- people understand it differently
- You can’t just ignore biblical commandments
ARE CHRISTIAN MORAL PRINCIPLES PERSONAL OR COMMUNAL: CONCLUSION
Ultimately they are communal
