What Are The Christian Ethics – Christians use many different ways to support them in making difficult moral and ethical choices in life. In the 1960s, Joseph Fletcher and other thinkers believed that the way Christians thought about morality needed updating – thus Situation Ethics developed
Traditional sources of moral authority for Christians: Bible: for a literalist it is the word of God. Absolutist Bible: for a liberal it may be wrong as written by men. Can be interpreted and useful in modern times Relativist Church – Priests have authority to guide using words of God. Absolute Consciousness – God gave humans a conscience. Relativistic Reason and Natural Law – there is a natural law that is God-given. Blessed with the logic to understand this natural law. Authoritarian
What Are The Christian Ethics
St. Augustine Paragraph on the Authority of the Bible in Moral Choices Luther Paragraph on the Authority of Conscience to Help Us Make Moral Choices St. Aquinas Assignment: Research each area and write a paragraph to explain what Christians think about each Stretch: Try to include the thinker (in red) Challenge: Try to assess a possible problem with each (A02)
Solution: Christian Ethics
5 Situation Ethics Key Thinker: Joseph Fletcher was an American Christian minister ( ) He renounced his faith in later life and became an atheist. His book Situation Ethics was published in 1966. Fletcher believed that the traditional ways in which Christianity had made moral choices were too absolute and irrelevant to modern society. (see your research paper!) Develop situation ethics to be more consistent and relevant to the situation. The One Rule – “Love”
Legal Ethics: There is a code of ethical law. Your task is to follow this code no matter how difficult it is. Anti-legal Ethics: There are no rules. Do whatever you want to do. Moral of the situation: Only one rule: take the most loving course of action. This is what Fletcher believes is the best approach. Evaluation Give possible pros and cons for each in pairs – then in your notes Which is best for society and why? Why does Fletcher believe that situation ethics offers a middle ground between Legalism and Antilegalism?
Historical review How has society changed? Where does Christianity fit in? “Greater independence. more money in their pockets and wallets. the weakening of family ties and religious influences; the development of early maturity, physically, emotionally and mentally. the impact of modern books, television and magazines’ (Sex and Morality, SCM, 1966) The above study blamed many things on the fact that many people were moving away from the rules of the Church (legalism) and more towards antinomianism (the abandonment of any rules). The world was becoming more secular (non-religious) and people had stopped listening to the Church and its teachings about what was morally right. Good to quote!
Fletcher and Robinson recognized the changes in modern society and sought a moral solution that would bring people back to Christian moral decision making, but which was devoid of doom and religion. Robinson said that the Ethics of the Situation was for “Man grown up.” In other words, it was for people who were moving away from having to be told what to do by God, and yet it had a Christian flavor. It was a slap in the middle of legalism and anti-legalism! Use this phrase Robinson: Little Thinker
Christian Ethics Are Derived From Christian Theology
Q: Give 2 things that caused people to start becoming secular A: war, contraception, television/communication, greater independence Q: What was the study that investigated what was happening and what year was it published? A: Sex and Morality, 1966 Q: What did Robinson mean by ‘man grown’? A: The idea that the time had come when people were turning away from God telling them what to do Q: What does deux ex machine mean? A: God is very important, but he no longer interferes with humanity
Fletcher said we can use the example of Jesus to see that a more relational and love-based approach to making moral choices is better. Task: Read the passage and answer the questions 1. Summarize the passage 2. Explain the legalistic element of this passage 3. How did Jesus respond? 4. How would the ethics of the situation respond to this scenario?
On Saturday he was forbidden to……work. To this day some Orthodox Jews will observe this rule to a very high degree. The lighting of lights would be prohibited on the Sabbath, for example. In this story, Jesus’ disciples are criticized for picking corn on the Sabbath as they walk through a field on their way to the synagogue. Technically, this is a harvest. Jesus’ response to this criticism from the Pharisees: Jesus says that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” This story shows that people should not follow the laws blindly, but should consider the most loving course of action in this particular situation.
The commandments are not to be followed slavishly The commandments exist for the benefit of mankind and that Jesus has discretion as to how they should be interpreted. Instead of following a rule, we should be more relative to the unique situation and do the most loving thing (love) Task: answer your books How do you think the Bible should be interpreted? (literal/liberal) Is the Bible too legalistic? How should it be used if used?
Philip Gibbs Quote: “lip Service To Christian Ethics Was Not Good Enough As An Argument For This. Either The Heart Of The World Must Be Chang…”
Assignment: (copy passage) In another passage, Jesus says this… “The most important thing,” Jesus answered, “is this: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater command than these. I think so? What does Jesus say about legalism? How would this passage have affected Fletcher’s approach to Christian Ethics? For Fletcher, this means a lot. For Christians all commandments must be seen in the light of love. When a Christian acts, he should follow the course of action that leads to showing the greatest love.
The only rule is that you must act in the way that results in showing the greatest love. Love is the law No two situations are exactly the same, this must be reviewed each time. In some cases you may need to tell the truth, in others you may not. It just depends on the situation. There are no absolute rules except to do the most loving thing.
Only one thing is intrinsically good, namely love: nothing else at all. The ruling rule of the Christian Decision is love: nothing else. Love and justice are the same, for love is justice dispensed, nothing else. Love wants the good of the neighbor, whether we like it or not. Only the end justifies the means, nothing else. Decisions of love are made on a case-by-case basis, not prescriptively.
Pragmatism For a course of action to be correct, it must be practical. It should work. If an action is not practical or cannot be achieved or bring about an amorous result, we should consider whether it is really right. Relativism – This means that rules (absolutes) do not always apply, they depend on the situation. Absolutes like “Thou shalt not steal” are made about love – if love requires you to steal food for the hungry, you steal. However, it does not mean that “something is wrong”. Positivism – Kant and Natural Law are based on reason – reason can reveal the right course of action. The moral of the situation argues, You must start with a positive choice – you must want to do good. There is no logical answer to the question “Why should I love?” Personification – The situational ethic puts people first. People are more important than rules. “Man was not created for the Sabbath.”
A Handbook On Christian Ethics
To operate this website, we collect user data and share it with processors. To use this website, you must agree to our Privacy Policy, including our cookie policy. Sometimes the variety and breadth of book choices makes it difficult to know where to start studying any subject. Whereas a few years ago we would have had to rely on the personal recommendations of a friend or acquaintance and what was available in our local library or bookstore, now the entire catalog of human knowledge is, seemingly, open to us at all points. This is really great if you have a starting position in mind or an existing framework to start from. For those just trying to get a new theme, the options can be overwhelming.
This post was written because I have had many people ask me what books I would recommend to begin the study of Christian ethics. The list is based on my own preferences and those I would recommend to people who are reasonably well read and who share at least some of my presuppositions about the nature of Scripture and the truth of orthodox Christianity. In other words, I’m going to make recommendations about it
