christian moral principles Flashcards
(37 cards)
Theonomous Christian ethics.
Ethics are governed by God’s law or commands (from the Bible).
Biblicism.
Belief the Bible is the revealed word of God and writers were inspired directly by God.
The covenant in the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments.
Focuses on ethics as a social and personal thing, with emphasis on social justice and treatment of the poor.
The covenant in the New Testament, the Sermon on the Mount.
Maintaining Old testament laws alongside internal laws on love, peace and faith which pushes focus externally rather than on ones own desires.
Karl Barth warning against literalism.
Bibliolatry, falsely worshipping the Bible as divine when God is the only divine being.
Karl Barth criticism of biblicism.
The Bible’s words are witness to the Word but not the Word, so must be read critically and as a form of inspiration.
Violence in the Old testament.
- Capital punishment is part of God’s judgement/plan
- The death penalty is permitted against those who undermine divine order.
- The rules of war in Deutoronomy permit Israelites to murder forgein women and children.
Violence in the New Testament.
- Instruction to love ones enemies.
Biblicists reconciliation of the contradiction of violence in the Bible.
Jesus stresses the ideals of the future Kingdom of God whilst acknowledging in the Bible that war and violence is a necessary means in a Fallen state.
Heteronomous Christian ethics.
Ethics are governed by serveral sources of authority and law; human reason, Church and the Bible.
Four Laws according to Aquinas.
- Eternal.
- Divine.
- Natural.
- Human.
Catholic heternomous ethics.
Ethics are found in the Bible but also accessible in the natural world, reason, conscience and Church teachings.
Pope St John Paul II’s ‘Veritatis Splendor’.
Moral law is knowable for all people as human reason and conscience can lead people to divine law; but humans are inherently sinful and weak so require the guidance of the Church and Bible.
Protestant heteronomous ethical perspective on the Bible.
The Bible evolved over time between places from the needs and worshipping of communities, so ethics could continue to develop in the worshipping communities with reason to guide it.
Stanley Hauerwas on Christian ethics.
Can only develop within the Christian community as ethics develop out of the Bible and continue through Christian history; the virtues jesus expresses in the Sermon on the Mount are unique to Christians and can only be adopted by them in the way Jesus meant.
Stanley Hauerwas on the role of the Christian community.
To question societal values by living and practising Biblical virtues as a community, not an individual.
Issue of ‘sources’ in Christian heteronomous ethics.
- Sources can be different, e.g. reason, nature, Marxism, etc.
- Is there a hierachy of source value and meaning.
Autonomous Christian ethics.
Ethics are self governed and the Bible is a ‘classic’.
John 15:12-13.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
Global ethic.
Hans Kung’s emphasis on the necessity of the globally agreed ethical value, love, to tackle global issues.
Biblical support of autonomous Christian ethics.
Jesus encouraging his disciples to make individual judgements and take personal responsibility, as well as challenging the religious and political views of his time.
Catholic Autonomous ethics Christian.
Hans Kung.
Joseph Fletcher on goodness.
An condition of humans, not revealed or part of natural law.
Fletcher’s situation ethics.
All situations are judged relativley with the principle of love.
