The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
THE MORAL LIFE AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS
The moral question – Our world is faced with many moral choices and
challenges. From our Christian worldview, what we know of God and the
Bible, how do we live a Christian moral and ethical life? What are the guiding
principles? How do we respond to others in the many different situations we
face each day of our lives?
What should we do in situations in which the sense of right and wrong is
involved?
What is the basis for our judgment on these issues?
As disciples of Christ what is our responsibility, when we are removed from
the situations, to interfere?
I.
THE MORAL LIFE AND THE CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE
How does the moral life and Christian ethics relate to the whole Christian
experience? Where do moral decisions and personal character fit within the
Christian life?
a. Two dimensions of the Christian experience
1 Internal – _________________________________________________
i. Spiritual development – Bible reading, prayer,
worship, etc.
ii. This dimension of the Christian experience
incorporates certain affective response that
comes from life situations. – In other words: This
could be our emotional response (Our thought
process) in relation to God in response to life. As
we learn to be “Christian” we alter our response
to life; i.e. hard times, injustice, blessings and
cursing. Our behavior in the right way is
considered ____________________________________________
2 External Dimension –
_______________________________________________________________
i. Two parts - word and deed (let your actions
match your words)
ii. We are called to live out the spiritual realities in
the midst of the situations in which God places us.
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The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
iii. In other words: As our affective response is
changed or affected by life, so is our physical
response as a result of emotions.
“A FULL-ORBITED CHRISTIAN MISSION WILL ALWAYS INVOLVE BOTH WORD AND
DEED, AND THEY SHOULD NEVER BE PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER AS C HRISTIANS
HAVE SOMETIMES DONE .”
So if then we have made the correct affective response our words should
reflect; as should our deeds that follow.
b. Internal without the external
For ethics and morality ___________________________________________________________
21For
from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality,
theft, murder, adultery, 22greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander,
arrogance and folly. 23All these evils come from inside and make a man
'unclean.' " – Mark 7:21-23
What does this passage mean in reference to this statement?
This is one of those cases where if we rely only on our heart in terms of faith
we run the risk DOING only that which our heart feels is right. What could be
the danger in this?
c. External without the internal – _______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Paul argues for both.
8For
it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For
we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:8-10
Here Paul is confronting head on the racial-cultural debate of his time and
making clear that each of us has been made for a purpose; something for us
to do.
II.
THE NATURE OF ETHICS AND THE MORAL LIFE
a. Not all issues in life are moral
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The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
i. The moral life is behavior in which we have a sense of
_______________________________________________________
ii. Our conscience will raise the questions regarding our
surroundings and activities.
b. This in turn touches the very core of who we are as a person
i. As a result there is a tendency to turn moral issues
into amoral ones
1. We argue that these are personal choices and
many times as long as they don’t affect others
then it is our own business and therefore our
own moral code.
c. Remember ethics is about everyday life issues, not just the
big stuff
i. It bears on the daily lives that we live in relation to
God, self, others, our culture and the entire world.
So then, what kinds of issues of ethics and morality do you face every day?
Some of these are a momentary thing(what are some of these) others are
ongoing issues we might face over a period of time.
d. Ethics is a normative discipline as opposed to a descriptive
discipline
i. Descriptive discipline is trying to explain behavior
through psychology, sociology, anthropology,
economics, history, and political science –
_______________________________
ii. Normative or prescriptive – it establishes norms,
standards and perspectives that guide human and
institutional behavior and character.
iii. Right means something different than correct
iv. We need to raise and analyze the status quo.
e. Ethics should not just be studied in colleges and seminaries –
we need to be _________________________________ in ethics.
i. The goal is not to just study the discipline but learn
how to be engaged in ethics everyday and use its
principles to change our way of thinking and acting in
our communities and cultures.
Just like we need to be doing theology, we need to be doing ethics. Its
principles need to leave the classroom.
ETHICS NEEDS TO LEAVE THE CLASSROOM!!
III.
THE DISCIPLINES OF ETHICS
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The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
a. ______________________________ ethics – the moral life within the
framework of philosophy and uses a rational approach apart
from any religious or professional commitments.
b. ______________________________ ethics – the guidelines for how one
is to carry themselves and the conduct of their work and
professional relationships.
i. Bio/medical ethics
ii. Business ethics
c. _______________________________ Ethics – emerges from a larger
framework of religious beliefs.
i. It is different not so much in what the ultimate
conclusion might be but how we arrive at that
conclusion
ii. Christian ethics is done within the confines of a
specific worldview that gives account for…
1. Who we are as human beings
2. What is fundamentally wrong with the human
condition
3. What remedy exists for that malady
iii. We must have a Christian understanding of reality in
order for us to live a guided moral life.
iv. Christian ethics is never far removed from theology
or biblical studies – they provide assumptions for
discerning the moral vision and norms for ethical
decision making.
The study of ethics should be able to take a well formed theology and apply
it to situations not explicitly expressed in Scripture, change us internally,
therefore change our outward expression of faith.
IV.
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
a. Theoretical – seeks to identify, clarify and define ethical
norms standards, principles and virtues. (this is also known
as theological)
i. Which ethical guidelines are salient for choosing the
good and why?
ii. Theologians have tried to make clear many of the
assumptions that influence moral understanding and
perspective.
1. _______________________
2. _______________________
3. _______________________
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The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
4. __________________
5. _________________
6. _________________
For example: the discussions can center around the meaning of love in the
New Testament and how we are to act as a result.
iii. This provides a significant foundation for the 2nd part
of moral reflection: applied ethics.
b. Applied ethics – application of moral norms, principles,
virtues, and theological assumptions.
i. Problems applied ethics faces
1. War and violence
2. Bioethics
3. Sexual ethics
4. Family
5. Economic / business
6. Environmental
7. Media
8. Political
9. Racial/ethnic ethics
V.
COMPLEXITY IN ETHICS
Certainly much of ethics seems black and white and not very complex; just
simply a matter of right and wrong. But on the other hand ethics has a lot of
gray.
a. What makes these issues complex?
i. The specific course of action is not immediately
based on the Bible, theological reflection, or reason.
1. There are no direct discussions on war,
genetic engineering, environmental pollution,
organ transplant issues, or responsibilities of
businesses.
ii. We sometimes encounter competing ethical claims
1. We come to different judgments because we
differ on which ethical principles or virtues
carry the greatest weight
2. We can also come to different judgments
based on our theological understanding of
Special revelation as well as general
revelation.
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The Moral Life and Christian Ethics – Outline Notes
iii. The competing players involved – to which
individuals or institutions do we give the greatest
moral significance?
1. Choosing between one’s family and job.
iv. Factual or empirical judgments that inevitable
surround it
1. At times we simply do not have all the facts
and therefore makes the decisions harder.
b. Because issues are complex we often focus on the wise
course of action (or at least what appears to be the wise
course of action) rather than the absolute moral good.
i. Is this okay to do? – if so when?
15If
your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer
acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ
died. – Romans 14:15
Many times the direction though difficult will be clear – we must still
understand that we still have the desire to make the wisest choice in terms
of the world.
c. Complexity is not moral relativism
i. Relativism is contrary to the biblical worldview and
is self-contradicting.
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