Good conduct and key moral principles Flashcards
1
Q
Good conduct
Justification by faith in the thinking of Paul
A
- Before his conversion, Paul believed that he had to earn a good relationship with God through keeping the Jewish law- he was continually frustrated by his inability to do this, the more he tried the more he seemed to fail
- Because of original sin, it is impossible for humans to earn a good relationship with God
- Only God’s grace makes this possible
- HUmans are invited to respond to God’s offer of salvation and eternal life with faith
- It is not faith that justifies a believer: God alone can justify. THe faith of a believer is simply the response to the gift of grace
- The believer is then at peace with God and is able to live a life pleasing to God, but this arises out of the new relationship with God; it is not a way of earning that relationship
2
Q
Good conduct
Justification by faith in the thinking of Martin Luther
A
- Martin Luther set the Reformation in motion in 1517, attacking the corruption in much of the medieval Church
- He set out a simpler religion that was based on scripture and the personal faith of the individual believer
- He proclaimed the doctrine sola fide
- He taught that the faith of the believer is passive, justification comes by what God achieves through the atoning death of Jesus
- For Luther, good conduct was the expression of a persons faith, but it had no saving value whatsoever
- ‘Thus a Christian, being consecrated by his faith, does good works; but he is not by these works made…more of a Christian. That is the effect of faith alone’
3
Q
Good conduct
Justification by works
A
- The biblical basis for this belief is the NT letter of James
- The author pointed it out that:
1. Faith on its own is useless- it doesn’t keep a poor person warm, even demons believe in God
2. Faith is expressed through works- this was seen in Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God and it was also seen in the protection of Joshua’s spies by a prostitute in order to assist the Israelite conquest of Jericho - Many Christians accept the need for works because of Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the sheep and the goats
- Judgement will be based on the individual humans help for or failure to help those in need
- No mention is made of faith; indeed the judgement being carried out is universal; ‘before him will be gathered all nations’
- In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus also stressed the importance of doing God’s will
4
Q
Good conduct
Justification by faith and works
A
- This was the position taken by the Catholic church at the counter-reformation, which was its response to the Protestant Reformation
- It stated that some human effort had to be put into the process of justification
1. Justification is God’s gift to humanity
2. It is given through the atoning death of Jesus and through baptism
3. The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to live good lives
4. Responding to God’s grace by living in a way that pleases God is an integral part of the process of salvation - ‘The divine gifts of faith, hope and charity come over us and make us able to live in the light and to obey God’s will’- Youcat 337
5
Q
Good conduct
Biblical roots of predestination
A
- The root of the belief in predestination is a relatively literalistic reading of some of the key theological ideas in the letter of St Paul
- Firstly, human beings cannot attain the righteousness needed to go to heaven by their own good works. Their fallen, sinful nature makes this impossible. Instead, salvation comes through the ‘gift’ of faith- faith in Jesus’ atoning sacrifice- where God attributes to the believer of the righteousness of Christ
- Romans 8: ‘Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith’
- So, if humans are too depraved and corrupted to make good choices and the faith that brings salvation is a gift from God, the implication is that God, in his infinite wisdom and sovereign omnipotence, chooses who will be saved- this is predestination
6
Q
Good conduct
Predestination- Augustine
A
- Augustine turns Pauls writings into a systematic account of human nature
- In a restricted sense he still believes in ‘freewill’, but we are limited in our current ‘fallen’ state to make only bad choices. Our essential human nature, capable of free choice, was lost at the Fall. Now, our second sinful nature controls us
- God sends first ‘operating’ or prevenient grace to convert some from their state of depravity- they are The Elect
- The God sends ‘co-operating’ grace so that they have the moral and spiritual strength to become obedient to God’s will, ‘choosing’ freely to do good. The grace that sets humans free and ultimately saves them from hell, comes not by choice but by election
- The rest of humanity remains unaffected by God’s grace. They are ‘The Remnant’- this is Augustines concept of predestination
7
Q
Good conduct
Predestination- Calvin
A
- With a greater emphasis on both God’s omnipotence and human depravity, Calvin’s interpretation of Paul’s writing takes us to the next, and most extreme step theologically
- For Calvin, there is nothing humans can freely choose that will bring about their salvation. Those chosen are not more receptive to God or more influenced by the consciences, for example. Humans are so corrupt that they are incapable of deciding or being persuaded to follow god; God must powerfully intervene to save them. This is ‘unconditional election’
- Most of the human population Calvin referred to as ‘The Damned’: they continually remain in a state of sin. A minority of people- ‘The Elect’- are given the grace required for their salvation. This is a demonstration of God’s benevolence and love
- Calvin reminded people that no one was able to know which group they belonged to and that all should attempt to live by the Elect. He was certain, however, that it would be obvious who was in this group as they emerged from the evil masses by God’s grace and favour
- Calvin ends up with a very deterministic picture- either your actions are determined by your sinful nature or by God’s intervention through a ‘powerful impulse of the Holy Spirit’ making you good and electing you for salvation
- We must continually receive grace in order to walk ‘the path of righteousness’. If grace is removed, we return to our depraved nature. In fact, Calvin does not preclude good actions by non-Christian ‘unregenerated’ poeple
- At the root of Calvin’s theological determinism is his belief in the absolute soverignty of the omnipotent God. Nothing happens outside of God’s control- everything we see must have been willed by God and must be part of His divine plan- and that includes the sinful ‘choices’ of the unregenerated ‘reprobates’. For Calvin, all human beings are predestined from eternity in all their ‘choices’, good or bad
- This is clearly double predestination- Calvin puts the onus on God, the omnipotent creator, who chooses who will be saved and who will be damnes
- Calvin could not accept that some people might naturally choose to reject Christ- Jesus would be able to attract everyone to himself if He wished. So, God must have ordained some for damnation
- Similarly, only some are saved because God only desired to save some. Grace is ‘irrestible’- it is impossible to reject the saving grace of God
8
Q
Good conduct
Strengths of predestination
A
- If faith is a gift and humans are too corrupted for good choices, our reliance on God is absolute, if Paul has interpreted Romans correctly, predestination is logically correct
9
Q
Good conduct
Weaknesses of predestination
A
- Eager to point out the error of his own past Pharisee views, Paul emphasised the ‘gift’ of religious status through faith in Christ’s sacrifice. Augustine and Calvin misinterpret this as a removal of free will
- Pelagius argued that predestination makes God responsible for evil: sin is not sin if it is what God wills. Without the freewill to disobey, God appears to be the real cause of evil. In Augustine’s predestination (leaving sinners to sin), God appears to perform evil y omission. Arminius says this makes God the ‘author of evil’
- Augustine argues that predestination is an expression of God’s justice (condemning the damned) and benevolence (saving some). This is unfair and arbitary. Pelagius points to unbaptised infants as evidence that this is not just. Arminius points out that this means God created people just to condemn them
- Predestination means that ‘doing good’ is simply doing what God willed you to do. Pelagius argued that this could lead to a lazy attitude to morality. Arminius points out that Calvinist predestination requires ‘no virtue or effort’
- This is inconsistent to the call to moral action in the Bible. The parable of the sheep and the goats makes nonsense without the concept of moral choice
- Moral responsibility also falls apart, making us more like slaves than people
10
Q
Sanctity of Life
The concept of sanctity of life
A
- The concept of sanctity of life is central to Christian thinking about many ethical issues
- For most Christians, this refers only to human life, and gives it instrinsic value
- This means that the life of a severely disabled newborn baby or a severely demented old person has the same value for god and should be shown the same respect by other people as that of a Nobel-prizewinner or a world record breaking athlete
- It is based on Genesis 1:26-27 and 2:7- the first of these states that humans are created in the image of God and the second states that when God breathed the breath of life into him, the man became a living being
- In Christianity, the Sanctity of Life principle takes 2 forms: the strong principle and the weak
- According to the strong sanctity of life principle, all humans have an absolute right to life that must never be taken away e.g. abortion and euthanasia
- According to the weak form of the pinciple, all human life is indeed sacred, but it is not absolutely so
- In exceptional circumstances, potentially life saving or preserving treatment may be omitted or withdrawn
- The weak form of the principle is often combined with the Quality of Life principle, which takes into account a persons capacity for self-fulfilment and dignity of life etc
11
Q
Sanctity of life
Strong Sanctity of life principle
A
- This view is held by the catholics and some protestants- link Thomist NL: God’s potential and foetal design and final cause/purpose of the foetus
- In this view, personhood begins at conception
- This is because at the point of fertilisation, a new life comes into existence with a complete genetic blueprint
- There is a continuous development of each life from conception to birth
- From conception, there is an absolute right to life and protection
- This view is supported by scripture, such as when God told Jeremiah that he knew him before he was born- ‘Before I formed you in the mothers womb I knew you’
- Although the intentions of embryo research are good, they cannot justify an act that in itself is wrong, the end can never justify the means. Embryo research is considered sinful for the following reasons:
1. It exploits the inability of the embryo to give consent
2. It disobeys the biblical teaching to protect the most vulnerable in society
3. The destruction of embryos is tantamount to murder
4. The use of PGD is an act of discrimination and could lead to designer babies
5. Direct abortion is a grave offence because it is the unlawful killing of a person
12
Q
Sanctity of life
Evaluation of strong SofL
A
- Strong SofL is essentially deontological- use ethics algorithm to evaluate
- It offers universal objective guidelines for the morally ignorant. It treats actions as intrinsically right or wrong depending on defence/violation of SofL principle. It defends the intrinsic value of humans- especially innocent foetuses
- It can be inflexible/legalistic and lack compassion. When duties clash e.g. mother and foetus, it is unable to advise. It doesn’t offer the flexibility the real world requires and ultimately, when its metaphysical basis is questioned- belief in a creator God is rejected- the objectivity is dissolved
13
Q
Sanctity of life
Weak Sanctity of life
A
- This view is held by the Church of England and many protestants
- In this view, from fertilisation, the newly conceived being has the right to respect because of its potential to become a living human being
- It is a potential person rather than an actual one
- Its right to life becomes stronger as it develops
- Providing strict controls, such as the 14 day cut off point (primal streak- beginning of a nervous system) are in place, the CofE teaches that embryo research is morall acceptable
- It is an extension of Jesus’ healing ministry and a responsible use of God-given skills
- PGD is acceptable providing it is used for medical reasons only i.e. preventing the transmission of serious genetid diseases
- The CofE views abortion as a great moral evil, but states that sometimes it might be the lesser of 2 evils:
1. When the womans life is at risk or there would be serious permanent harm to health
2. When the pregnancy has resulted from rape
3. When the resulting child would probably suffer from a terrible life limiting condition
14
Q
Sanctity of life
Weak SofL evaluation
A
- LIke proportionalism, weak SofL is an attempt to combine the strengths of strong SofL with an element of consequentialism
- Compassion and flexibility- a response to difficult circumstances e.g. lesser of two evils
- Too much responsibility given to the individual to decide, requires infallible omniscience
15
Q
Just War Theory
Just War Theory
A
- Belief in the sanctity of life underlies the Christian version of the Just War theory
- In its very early history, the Church was largely pacifist
- Over the centuries, the Just War Theory was developed, largely by Augustine and Aquinas
- There are 2 main parts to this theory: ius ad bellum and ius in bello
