Christian Moral Principles Flashcards by Trinity Smith-Brooking

What 4 things do Christians believe we can use to work out what is the right thing to do?

The Bible
Church teachings/traditions
Reason
Our conscience

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Why can the Bible be seen as a source of morality?

• Because it is a collection of writings that help guides Christians

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Who argues there are 3 different views of the Bible?

• Messer

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What 3 different view of the Bible does Messer believe there are?

Biblicist
Classic
Word of God and words of humans

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What do biblicists believe?

•They believe that the Bible is the word of God written down
- This means they believe that God told human authors what to write
* This means the Bible should be taken seriously and that all rules should be followed

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Who believes that “the Bible is a book written by 30 secretaries”?

•Graham
- This means he supports biblicists as he believes the Bible is directly from God

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How does the Bible support biblicists?

•It declares that “all scripture is God-breathed”

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What does the classic view of the Bible believe?

•It believes that the Bible is like other great works of literature
- This means they believe that the Bible gives profound insight into what it means to be human and also provides different ways to approach ethical dilemmas
* This approach shows the importance of tradition in shaping Christian beliefs and the Bible

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Who supports the classic view of the Bible?

•MacNamara

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Who argues “we must have an understanding of scripture in which the divine word and human words are not confused, divided, changed or separated”?

•Verhey
- This means that he supports the Bible as the word of God and the words of humans

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How does Barth support the view that the Bible is the word of God and the word of humans?

•He believes the Bible is a unique witness to God’s revelation of himself in Jesus
- This means the words are written by humans but tell us about God

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What do Roman Catholics believe about the Bible?

•They believe that the Bible was formed by the Church which means Church tradition precedes the Bible
* This means Church tradition is important as well as the Bible

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What is the Roman Catholic belief of ‘sacred tradition’?

•It is when traditions are passed on orally
- This is displayed by Jesus telling the Apostles God’s will and then the Apostles telling the first Christian Leaders, etc.

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How does the Bible support ‘sacred tradition’?

• It states that “I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you”

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What is the Roman Catholic belief of magisterium?

•It is the authority given by God to the Popes and Bishops of the Catholic Church
- This means they have been appointed by God so speak with God’s authority

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What does it mean when the Pope speaks ‘ex cathedra’?

•It means that what the Pope says is infallible

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What was the Reformation?

•It was the attempt to reform and change the Catholic Church
- This happened due to Catholics relying on church traditions and teaching too heavily, instead of the Bible

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What is the Protestant belief of ‘sola scripture’?

•It means ‘only scripture’
- This is when they believe only the Bible contains the truth about God

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What is the alternative belief to ‘sola scripture’?

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•’Prima scripture’
- This means that the Bible is the most important source of truth, putting Church traditions and teachings second to the Bible

What did biblicists believe about our reason?

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•They believe it plays a very limited role in ethical decision making
- They believe this due to the Bible already providing the rules God wants us to follow

What do other theologians believe about reason?

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•They believe that reason plays an important role and it allows us to interpret scripture, develop Church teachings and apply Jesus’ greatest commandment to our individual situations

What does Aquinas believe about reason?

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•He believes that faith is more important than reason, but also believes reason can be used to prove some of our beliefs about God, illustrate/explain our beliefs about God while also arguing against false beliefs

Why do some scholars believe reason is not objective?

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•They believe reason is not objective due to it actually being shaped by the individual and their context
- This means using reason for morality is not straightforward due to everyone coming to different conclusions, which goes against Aquinas’ belief that everyone has the same reason

What example supports that reason is not objective?

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•The fact that all churches have different ethical and moral teachings displays how they did not come to the same conclusion when applying reason to the Bible and Church traditions/teachings

What are the 4 reasons why the Bible should be the only source of morality?

1. The Bible is the word of God (this means it’s a reliable guide) 2. The Bible is a proportional revelation (a series of statements that tell us the truth about God) 3. Human nature is sinful (this means we cannot trust our reason, only God’s word) 4. Church traditions/teachings can be wrong (the Reformation)

Who supports that human nature is sinful?

•Augustine

Why is it impossible to read the Bible objectively?

•Because everyone has a different interpretation of the Bible based on their own experiences - For example, “God is our Father” would mean something completely different to someone who was abused as a child

What quote supports that the Bible always needs interpretation?

•”If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away”

What does the Bible having different styles of writing display?

•It displays how there were different authors for the Bible who brought their own interpretations - This is because if the Bible was fully the word of God it would be consistent the whole way through

What is an example of the Bible having contradictory teachings?

•In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus say we should now “turn the other cheek” rather than seeking “an eye for an eye”

Why is reason needed to use the Bible?

•It is needed when rules in the Bible clash to decide the best one to follow for that situation

What is an example of a rule in the Bible being ignored by Christians?

•The rule that Christians cannot wear clothes if they are made from 2 different types of material

What 4 reasons explain why the Bible should be used with Church teachings/traditions and our reason?

1. The Bible needs interpretation 2. The Bible is actually a non-propositional revelation 3. The Bible was created by the Church 4. Our reason was given to us by God

Who supports that the Bible needs interpretation?

•Hays - He argues that “the interpretation of scripture can never occur in a vacuum” - This means everyone brings their own experiences when they are reading the Bible so everyone will read it differently

What does it mean if the Bible is a non-propositional revelation?

•It means the Bible is a collection of stories about people’s experiences with God (how he revealed himself to us through his actions rather than the Bible)

Who supports that our reason is given to us by God?

•Aquinas

What are 4 criticisms of the Bible being used with Church teachings/traditions and our reason?

1. Church tradition can be wrong and Church leaders are fallible 2. Jesus was against Church tradition being seen as more important than the word of God 3. Feminists theologians argue the Church and Bible are patriarchal 4. Reason should never be seen as more important than faith

What example is there of Church tradition being wrong?

•Some churches’ view on homosexuality and women can be outdated/wrong

What did quote supports that Jesus was against Church tradition?

•He questioned why the Pharisees “broke the command of God for the sake of tradition?”

Who is a feminist theologian?

•Reuther - She supports that the Bible and Church traditions/teachings exclude women’s experiences and believes new feminist interpretations are needed

Who supports that reason should never be seen as more important than faith?

•Aquinas

What are the 4 reasons for why agape love should be the only guiding moral principle?

1. The Bible emphasise the importance of agape love 2. The ethical theory of Situation Ethics supports 3. It maintains autonomy 4. It is important to not just follow rules

Who argues that autonomy is central to decision making?

•Kant

What does Küng argue about Christian ethics?

•He argues that Christian ethics must be “an ethic of the responsible shaping of life”, rather than focusing on “prohibitions and sanctions”

How does Tillich support the importance of not just following rules?

•He believes there are 3 ethical principles that should guide Christians: 1. Love 2. Justice 3. Wisdom - He believes that love is the most important and that rules should come second to agape love

Christian Moral Principles Flashcards

(45 cards)