Religious Ethics

Question 1

What ethical theories are considered christian ethics?

Answer 1

Natural Law
Situation Ethics
Virtue Ethics

Question 2

Why is Natural Law considered to be part of Christian ethics?

Answer 2

Within Catholic theology, Natural Law holds a dominant position. The Church encourages a range of different approaches, but when it comes to offical church teaching, the vast majority of statements, encyclicals etc. are strongly in-line with Natural Law.
Within other denominations, Natural Law theology still has a significant impact. Many Christians adopt deontological positions and think we should act according to God’s design or purpose for our lives. They may be less influenced by Aquinas in this, and Protestants tend to be less sure about moral absolutes. However, there is still a strong sense of following rules within most Christian denominations.

Question 3

Why is Situation ethics considered to be part of Christian ethics?

Answer 3

It is difficult to guage the influence of Situation Ethics. Even before Fletcher wrote his book, many theologists supported a ‘love ethic’:
“There is only one ultimate and invariable duty, and its formula is “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”. William Temple, 1917
“The law of love is the ultimate law because it is the negation of law.” Paul Tillich, 1951

Question 4

Why is Virtue ethics considered to be part of Christian ethics?

Answer 4

Virtue ethics sits very comfortably next to Natural Law - Aristotle was a proponent of both theories, as was Aquinas. Within the Christian traditions there has been great support for the ‘cardinal virtues’, listed on this site as wisdom, judgment, temperance, and courage. It is common to see them called prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude, although they refer to the same virtues. Christianity added to the virtues.

Question 5

What are the 7 capital virtues?

Answer 5

Humility
Virtue
Liberality
Brotherly Love
Meekness
Chastity
Temperance
Diligence

Question 6

What are the 7 deadly sins?

Answer 6

Vice
Pride
Avarice
Envy
Wrath
Lust
Gluttony
Sloth

Question 7

What is Proportionalism?

Answer 7

The challenge of situation ethics is so great that some Catholic theologians believe there needs to be a compromise between Natural Law and Situation Ethics. ‘Proportionalism’ (the title of a book by Brtitish philosopher Bernard Hoose) accepts, as Natural Law does, that certain acts are wrong or evil acts in themselves. However, it says that it might be the right thing to do, if there is a proportionate reason, to perform such acts.

Question 8

What do proportionalists believe?

Answer 8

Proportionalists claim that doing a ‘bad’ action out of love makes an action morally good but not morally right. A ‘bad’ action is only morally right if it is proportionate. This is familiar from Just War thinking

Question 9

What three things is christian ethics derived from?

Answer 9

The bible
The Church
The Holy Spirit, Conscience, Prayer, Religious Experience etc,

Question 10

How is the bible used to derive ethical practices?

Answer 10

The Bible clearly has a significant role in shaping Christians’ ethical responses. Within the Catholic tradition, the Bible’s authority is the same as the church. In practice this means that Catholics tend to listen to the church on ethical issues as the church interprets the Bible in the modern world.
Within Protestant churches, a much greater emphasis is put on the Bible. Without a God-given authority to put faith in, Christians are expected to read the Bible for themselves and make their own decisions about important ethical issues.

Question 11

What is the problem with using the bible for ethical purposes?

Answer 11

without the ability to read scripture in the language in which it was written, Christians have to put faith in the translators. On issues such as homosexuality, the translators’ bias comes through in the translation, with words such as ‘abomination’ used with no justification. Reading the Bible raises other issues. Is it the literal word of God, or merely inspired by God? Is it possible to dismiss large chunks as having been written for people in an entirely different society?

Question 12

How should the bible be read?

Answer 12

The best way to read the Bible is to look at the context of any passage. What is that passage meant to mean to the person who was going to read it? While parts of the Bible have a clear meaning, and are inspiring to many Christians, there will always be debate about the true meaning of some difficult passages.

Question 13

How does the Church impact ethical teaching in Catholic churches?

Answer 13

Catholics believe Jesus gave His authority to Peter, and it has been passed down ever since, currently lying with Pope Benedict. The Catholic Church has a magisterium - its teachings have a God-given authority that is equal to the authority of scripture. The Pope has even got the power (rarely used) to make infallible statements - statements that cannot be questioned.

Question 14

How does the Church impact ethical teaching in Protestant churches?

Answer 14

Within Protestant churches, the church has an advisory role. It can recommend one action over another, it can condemn certain actions entirely - you can even be kicked out of the church for certain actions. However, the individual is still left to decide where to stand in relation to church teaching. In Protestant churches, the Bible has a much greater authority than the church.

Question 15

How can The Holy Spirit, Conscience, Prayer, Religious Experience etc, be used to derive ethical teaching?

Answer 15

Christians can get inspiration from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Many Christians believe the conscience to be ‘the voice of God’. The vast majority of Christians pray for guidance even when they wouldn’t pray for intervention. Some Christians have had a direct, life-changing experience of God, which may mean seeing a vision, hearing a voice or feeling God’s presence. All of these factors can have a profound effect on the individual and can contribute significantly to the ethical decision-making process.

Question 16

What is the problem with The Holy Spirit, Conscience, Prayer, Religious Experience etc,?

Answer 16

Relying on prayer, the conscience, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, religious experiences etc. can give very subjective results. For Christians, their relationship with God is central to their faith and impacts on every decision they make. However, this means that two Christians within the same church, reading the same Bible translations can respond in completely different ways to dilemmas such as euthanasia, genetic engineering, IVF etc. .

Question 17

What is the advantage of using the Church to derive ethical teaching?

Answer 17

For Catholics, the church plays a much more central role than in other denominations. This makes Catholic ethics less subjective.

Question 18

What are the disadvantages of using the church to derive ethical teaching?

Answer 18

the church continues to be criticised for being inflexible and out-of-touch with the modern world. The Church still prohibits the use of condoms in all circumstances; homosexuality is seen as a tendency towards ‘intrinsic moral evil’ (Pope Benedict) etc.

Question 19

Why is relying on scripture for ethical teaching been widely criticized?

Answer 19

Firstly, many people see the Bible as a collection of writings from a patriarchal, homophobic era, written by people whose ethical thinking is now outdated. The Bible is also criticised for contradicting itself; the ‘God of the Old Testament’ is different from the ‘God of the New Testament’. A different sort of criticism of the Bible is that it is so large (66 books in the non-Catholic Bible; more if you count the Apocrypha) it can say anything you want it to say.

Question 20

How can scripture be used to teach about homosexuality?

Answer 20

Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.” Leviticus 18:22
This is an ambiguous set of words in Hebrew. As well as understanding the social context at the time it was written, we also need to be aware of the translator’s situation. A different translation of the same passage read:
“Two men must not engage in sexual activity on a woman’s bed; it is ritually unclean.”

Question 21

Why can you argue that scripture is not suitable to teach about homosexuality?

Answer 21

There are several passages that seem to rule out any homosexual act, but if read in context, they can be seen to be dealing with specific acts, such as the behaviour of Greeks in temple worship (a passage from Romans).As well as having been written at a time when being gay was seen as something freely chosen (a view that some Christians still hold to), many Christians argue that the bible doesn’t deal with the sort of committed homosexual relationships that gay Christians might choose today.

Question 22

What does the Catholic Church say about homosexuality?

Answer 22

The Catholic Church encourages greater tolerance of those with a homosexual orientation (they now recognise this is not something that is chosen), but class any homosexual acts as sins.

Question 23

What does the Church of England say about homosexuality?

Answer 23

The Church of England is less specific, but clearly draws a distinction between those who have homosexual intercourse (they will not be allowed positions of authority) and those who remain celibate.

Question 24

What do some Evangelical churches say about homosexuality?

Answer 24

Some evangelical churches condemn homosexuality more strongly, treating it as a chosen behaviour rather than an unchosen inclination or orientation.

Question 25

Why are some Christians pacifists?

Answer 25

(Jesus said ‘love your enemies’ and ‘turn the other cheek’), and that the old testament seems to be against war (‘do not kill’ and ‘turn swords into ploughshares). Quakers are entirely pacifist.

Question 26

Why do most christians agree with war?

Answer 26

do not kill’ is clearly about murder and not about war. The swords were changed into ploughshares after a successful military conflict, a conflict sanctioned by God. The church itself was pacifist at first, but this changed when the Roman Emperor converted to Christianity. Since then there has been the crusades and the Spanish inquisition. However, it was from the Catholic church that the Just War criteria emerged (Augustine, Aquinas and more recently the Catholic bishops).

Question 27

Why should Christians look after the environment?

Answer 27

In Genesis, where God looked at what he made and ‘saw that it was good’. These support a pro-environment response.
However, Genesis goes on to say that God put people in charge – humans have ‘dominion’ over the earth and all the animals. This idea of stewardship was meant to be a positive, caretaker role – ‘the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it’ – but it has been used to imply that humans, the superior species, have been given all creatures and plants for their benefit.

Question 28

What do the churches say about the environment?

Answer 28

The Church of England has emphasised our role as stewards. The Methodists focus on the interdependence of all of nature. The Catholic Church sees the earth as a gift to be used in a positive way, not destroyed.

Question 29

What ethical principles can be derived from Jesus?

Answer 29

Throughout the Gospels Jesus is portrayed as non-judgemental except where He encounters injustice. In the Passion Narratives Jesus is shown visiting the Temple. He finds stalls set out to provide the sacrificial animals, but engaged in cheating the worshipping public. In particular, the poor were being “ripped off” by the money lenders who converted their roman currency into temple coinage fit for making donations to the temple coffers. His anger drives him to throw the traders from the Temple, and to overturn the stalls.

Question 30

Where do the rules of Christianity come from?

Answer 30

The Torah (the first five books) includes the Decalogue (10 Commandments)
The Nevi’im (Prophets) includes stories of the consequences when God’s law is broken, as explained by God’s messengers.
The Ketuvim (Writings) includes poems, stories and sayings that encourage the “right” way of life.
The old and New Testament

Question 31

Why did christianity turn away from strict rules?

Answer 31

In its infancy, Christianity continued to follow the rules of the Torah, until discussion and debate persuaded them to adopt a less legal approach. The key point Jesus appears to be making is that the Law is best fulfilled by behaving with compassion towards the needy. In other passages, Jesus is quoted as saying that the Law is subject to Humanity – it is there for the service of Human Beings. Jesus replaced the entire body of the Torah with a single maxim, arguing thatit summed up the Law. This has become known as The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you.

Question 32

How is Christianity put into action?

Answer 32

1. Christians will try to do as much as they can to support the more vulnerable in the community.
2. Christians will try to manage their affairs in an equally compassionate manner.
3. Christians will “fight” against injustice wherever they find it
4. Sometimes Christians feel forced to adopt more violent responses to perceived evil.