Good conduct and key moral principles Flashcards
Importance of good moral conduct
Christians should obey teachings contained in the bible
Kingdom of god will be realised by way christians treat one another
christians give glory to god by the way we live
individual good conduct will be rewarded with eternal life in heaven
Justification by faith
‘to be justified’: counted by god as righteous and so able to have a relationship with god
eschatological term, which means its concerned with ultimate fate of humanity
justification by faith: paul
pre conversion: frustrated with having to obey jewish law to maintain relationship with god
original sin:impossible for humans ti earn a good relationship with god
gods grace can make this possible
humans invited this offer of salvation through faith
faith doesn’t justify believer
faith response to gift of grace
human then at peace with god
has always been the case
eg abraham
Genesis: ‘abraham believed the lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness’
justification by faith: martin Luther
based on scripture and the personal faith of individual believer
proclaimed doctrine of sola fide (by faith alone)
taught that faith of the believer is passive; justification comes by what god achieves through the atoning death of jesus
good conduct was expression of persons faith, no saving value however
sola scriptura:’by scripture alone’
sola gratia: ‘by grace alone”
sola christus: ‘through christ alone’
justification by works
basis on the letter of james in NT:
author points out:
faith alone is useless because it doesn’t keep a poor person warms and even demons can believe in god
faith is expressed through works:
abraham willing to sacrifice his son isaac
seen in protection of joshua’s spies ny a prostitute in order to assist the israelite conquest of jericho
parabel sheep and goats:
judgement is based on individual humans help or failure to help those in need
no mention of faith; judgement will be carried out is universal ‘before him will be gathered all nations
james 2:26
as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead
matthew 7:21
referring to kingdom of heaven “only the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven”
justification by faith and by works
RC church
justification is gods gift to humanity
given through atoning death of jc on the cross and through baptism
power of holy spirit enables us to love good lives
responding to gods grace by living in a way that pleases god is an integral part of the process of salvation
“this righteousness is given through faith in jc to all who believe” matthew 7:21
predestination
god has decided who will be justified and who will not be, on the basis that god is omnipotent and omniscient
predestination in the teaching of augustine
belief that god infallibly knows who will be saved
predestination is an act of grace; human goodnesss is the result and not the cause of election
humans cannot understand the will of god
god predestines some to his kingdom whist leaving others out, who are consigned to hell as a punishment for their sinful actions
Pelagius opposes this view as incompatible with belief in free will but church sided with augustine
predestination in teaching of calvin:
double predestination
god decided before creation who would be saved and who would be damned to hell
orignal sin all humans deserve damnation, so gods act of electing some is entirely an act of grace
assessment of doctrine of predestination
doctrine makes god unjust
calvin: evil actions of the damned show that gods decision was just
cannot be reconciled with jc portrayal of gods unconditionally merciful, forgiving and loving
calvin: noone merits salvation, so god saving anyone is display of his mercy and forgiveness
cannot be reconciled with concept of free will. if foreknows our actions then we have no choice to obey or disobey his will
sanctity of life
refers only to human life and it has intrinsic value
eg severely disabled infant has same value as awarded athlete
gen 1:26 :’,an was made in the image of god’
gen 2:7: ‘god breathing the breath of life into man and coming a human living.
strong sanctity of life
all humans have an absolute right to life that must never be taken away by eg abortion euthanasia
personhood begins at conception
point of conception new life comes into existence with a complete genetic blueprint
continuous development of each life from conception to birth
from conception there is an absolute right to life and protection
“i knew you before you were born”
intentions of embryo research = good, cannot be justified
- exploits inability of embryo to give consent
- disobeys teaaching to protect societies most vulnerable
- destruction of embryo= murder
- pgd= discrimination and could lead to designer babies
direct abortion is grave offence as killing of a person
weak sanctity of life
from fertilisation, newly conceived being has right to respect because of its potential for life
- potential person rather than actual one
- right to life become stronger as it develops
before 14 day cut off embryo research is allowed
- extention of jc healing and a responsible use of a god given skill
- pgd acceptable for medical reasons ie. preventing spread of genetic diseases eg tay sachs
abortion= great moral evil but states can sometimes be lesser of two evils
permissible when
women life is at risk or serious detriment to health
pregnancy has resulted from rape
child would suffer life limiting condition
strengths of sol
promotes respect fro human life
encourages protection of the vulnerable
true to jc teachings on agape
weak form recognises that moral decision making is complex issue
weaknesses of sol
ignores modern science which states humans just evolved animals
promotes anthropocentric view of universe
view of abortion promotes patriarchal view of society in which women are not equal
unloving and lacking in compassion
just war theory
underlay by sanctity of life
aquinas and augustine
ius ad bellum
when to fight
- just cause
- proportionality
- legitimate authority
- right intention
- probability of success
- proportionality
ius in bello
how to fight
discrimination
proportionality of means to end
WMD
eg atomic, biological and chemical
1945 hiroshima and nagasaki
1986 chenobyl incident
heat, blast and radiation would prove lethal over a wide geographical area
eniormental damage lasting hundreds of years
chemical weapons eg syria v deadly
biological agent orange vietnam etc
wmd therefore not fulfil just war criteria
Xtian views oppose WMD:
intrinsically evil
pope francis urged the abolition of nuclear weapons
uk churches oppose the replacement of the trident
Xtian views accept WMD:
modern conventional warfare just as bad
weapons should be reduced in number by international agreement
cannot be uninvented
important to renew trident and deterrent
fletcher: 1945 nuclear attack was most loving in that situation
dominion
humans having power over the rest of the created world
“i give you dominion”
virtually unlimited power over creation
- environmental damage of industrial rev and after
- intensive farming
- animal testing and blood sports
aquinas:
“no harm in using a creature for that which it was intended”
irrational, had no souls and existed solely for purpose of humanity
opposed cruelty only because he thought it would reflect negatively on human relationships
animas=property
psalm 8:
humans described as little less than angels with control over all living things
‘you made them rulers over the works of your hands’
noah:
after the flood new covenant with god where he gave all animals fish and plants to noah for use
‘..all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands’
literal view, gives humanity absolute right over rest of created world
humans in image of god gives humans anthropocentric view that god is actually like humans
stewards
responsible care for the rest of the created world
guardians of creation, caring for it on behalf of god
role entails responsibility rather than privilege
intrinsic value of animals and the natural environment
goodness of creation eg genesis: after each stage of creation gos ‘saw and it was good’
Andrew Linzey: sees created world as theocentric (god centred) versus anthropocentric
global environmental crisis
action must be taken to deal with
- burning of fossil fuels
- pollution on land oceans and space
pope francis addresses this by rejecting an anthropocentric attitude and urging responsible care in Laudato Si
promotion of eco-theology (right relationship between nature and religion) eg A Rocha international christian enviormental organisation
sallie Mcfague
christian feminist
environmental crisis a result of patriarchal christianity
transcendent god= encourages humanities subjection of nature
develop new model of god eg immanent ro that we see the world as literally gods body
augustine principle of plentitude:
rejects that dominion is caring for the environment instead humans are stewards within gods creation and are caretakers
lyn white jnr
roots of many problems are from judo christian tradition
by belief of dominion
ethics have not kept up with technological ability
st john damascene
the whole earth is a living icon of the face of god
st chrysostom
nature is our best teacher
