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Christian Moral Principles - Coggle Diagram

- - - - it is too complicated to be the solution on its own
      - can become an excuse for people doing whatever they want
      - in the same situation, diff people might interpret love in different ways. Aquinas believed love requires reason alongside it to to understand how to live life
      - many protestants would argue that Bible is the only source of authority we should use when making decisions on how to live a good life (sola scriptura)
      - it is over simplistic to suggest that JC's teachings were only about love
      - the church thinks that we need God's revelation in the Bible (it. is on elf the 10 commandments to 'keep the Sabbath day holy')
        
        so it uses the Bible and informs Christians how they should live their lives
    - - F's working principles of pragmatism and relativism show that w make decisions situationally. his working highlight that absolutes such as 'do not kill' or 'do not steal' do not always bring about the most loving outcome
    - - JC's authority cannot be denied for Christians
      - love can empower the Christian to be able to put people first in challenging times - esp true when mainstream society needs to be challenges
      - JC kept returning to the theme of love so situation ethics seems to reflect his approach
  - - - many moral issues that are discussed within bible can be seen to be sexist and homophobic among other things. so Bible needs to be interpreted. diff denominations have interpreted this differently
      - bible often contradicts itself and does not offer a clear set of moral principles
      - the tradition and teaching of the CC Church should also be used as a form of authority because Bible doesn't cover modern day issues. official teaching of Church is known as Magisterium
      - even conservative christians have to use reason to decide whether biblical commands are: literal/symbolic and prescriptive/desriptive
      - T Aquinas said that NL is another way in which we can be guided.
      - catholic theologians would argue that Bible is central but not the one and only comprehensive guide
    - - the Bible has provided a rich source of moral commands and principles, the most famous are 10 commandments which cover many aspects of our day to day lives
      - when left to their own, humans can justify acting as they wish so the bible is the only means of knowing how to behave morally
      - it has been directly dictated by God, the Bible is therefore seen as infallible
      - human base morality leads to moral confusion and endless debates about what is right and wrong
      - the Bible is seen as having been distracted by God. as it contains God's own direct speech, it alone must be used for moral instruction
      - Augustine believed that human reason is not to be trusted. for this reason many would argue that only God's word as revealed in the Bible can provide a sound basis for Christian ethics
      - many protestant theologians argue that we need ot take a theonomous approach to Christian ethics
- - - - JC spoke on individual circumstances - eg the bleeding woman, equally when challenged on the women caught in the act of adultery he treated it as an individual case
    - - could argue that if jC is a model for christians they myst be willing to read the situation they're in . these individuals should look to those who need care and love and respond in a loving way, rather than in a prescriptive or legalistic way
    - - one of his 4 principles is pragmatism
        
        argues that they Bible should be read as a guide, not a rule book
  - - - does not think that ethics could be about absolute commands and rules. he thinks each situation should be judges independently without any distance guiding authority
    - - there are things we would all consider to be good, bad, right and wrong. seems ot be a universal recognition of morality. in our view of the world, every sane an rational person would recognise and agree that certain bad things are good and others are bad
        
        eg all people would agree cannibalism or paedophilia are bad
        
        in this sense, christian ethics are not distinctive but available to all people
  - - - so only Bible can help us find out what we ought to d. someone using Bible is likely to say peoples belief in any of the 10 commandments is due to the continuing subtle influence of Bible
    - - those who believe in using sola scripture would agree
- - - - situation ethics
        
        he describes this his words saying 'love is the only universal'
        
        F says that Christian love is 'goodwill at work in partnership with reason' - he makes it clear that agape is not like a desire we may have for another person but it is a giving love
        
        F believes that all human beings can agree on what is the most loving thing to do
      - autonomous ethics
        
        no absolute rules and commands - only real command is to love. most important thing is always to act out of love for others
        
        often associated with situation ethics
        
        this understanding is associated with some liberal Protestants ,especially Joseph Fletcher
        
        this type of ethical decision making is referred to this - authority I placed on individual
      - Jesus on love
        
        we must use our reason to try to find out what the most loving thing to do is
        
        commands us all to love. rather than giving a complex set of commands he regularly preaches love: My command is this; Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friend'
        
        this might change from situation to situation - so version put forward for this : situation ethics
        
        •When questioned on what the greatest commandment was in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus replies:
        'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbour as yourself." All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'
  - - - the Bible
        
        is seen as having been dictated by God thus contains God's own direct speech and it alone must be used for moral instruction
        
        because it has been directly dictated by God, the Bible is seen as infallible. it cannot be in error
        
        contains 10 commandments
        
        eg 'you should 'honour your father and mother'.'
      - fundamentalists
        
        this type of understanding is called a literal interpretation of scripture because believers believe that every word of holy book is true
        
        believe that Bible was written by God as He is perfect and omniscient
        
        believe that Bible is the Word of God
      - sola scriptura
        
        theonomous ethics place God at the centre: God's commandments are what is required for living morally
        
        it states that the Christian scriptures are the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice
        
        (scripture alone) is a doctrine held by some Protestant Christian denominations
        
        theonomists propose biblical law as the standard by which the laws of nations may be measured
- - - - humans are weak and sinful = cannot rely on themselves to make moral decisions properly thus Bible and Church
      - Catholics use reason alongside Bible and Sacred Tradition in NL ethics
        
        reason & conscience
        
        understood as a gift from God that enables humanity to access God's revelation
        
        the most important area in ethics is understanding NL as put forward by St T Aquinas, said we use conscience to reason what to do. in doing so we identify the secondary precepts of NL
        
        In 19th C, John Henry Newman said that soncience has more authority than even the Pope(ie the church). because having a conscience predates Church's existence
      - with this authority comes the assertion that there are moral absolutes: some things are simply right or wrong
      - Catholicism also draws on NL as a method os ethical decision making: 'to the church belongs the right always and everywhere to announce moral principles'
    - - sacred tradition is a means of coming to know the revelation of Jesus
      - it follows the oral tradition handed down by JC to the first Christian leaders in an unbroken chain of Apostolic Succession
        
        origins:
        
        chain begins with St Peter
        
        Jesus appointed St. Peter as the first Bishop of Rome. In Matthew
        16:18, Jesus says the following to Peter:
        'And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
      - this is because it was the Church community that decided what texts should be sacred and form the Bible
      - Catholics refer to tradition and Sacred tradition - they see it as having precedent over Bible
      - Holy Spirit
        
        tradition is seen as the way in which the HS works in the world
        
        the task of interpreting the Bible is given to the Church - it is the only authority which can give authentic interpretation of scripture. this is because Church leaders are seen to be inspired by the HS
        
        The council of Vatican II formally declared that Sacred Tradition is seen as binding authority on moral life
    - - may also say that Bible was written a long time ago and society has changed since
      - some parts of Bible may be out of date and reflect the time that it was written in
      - believe Bible is inspired by God but written by humans. so because humans wrote it, they believe that it may contain some errors - some parts may also be metaphorical
  - - - Church are often governed by councils or synods that guide people on how to live. church is the bridge between the 1st Century and today, and its journey is as important as the journey of the 1st christians
      - over 2,000 years, the Church has interpreted the Bible and this interpretation should guide people in they moral lives
    - - Bible comes first but not only source of understanding
      - influences from the bible and Church tradition are often combined - may be when making moral decisions, or decisions about practices within the church
    - - the Bible can speak into current situations if appropriately analysed
      - but also important to understand reason as trying to establish what would be in the Bible if it were being written today
      - many protestants emphasise the importance of both:
        
        studying the Bible through bible study groups
        
        engaging in private reflection and listening to preaching
      - reason is also required to understand the Bible in an ever-changing world