Christian moral principles

theonomy

• bible = literal w of God

• deontological

• ‘sola scriptura’

• bible → propositional revelation (accepting truth)

  • not accessible by reason/ experience #

• amanuensis

  • bible writers = scribes

  • “I have put my words in your mouth” Jeremiah

• Richard Muow ‘Biblical Imperatives’

  • “we must conform to whatever God requires us to'“

  • acknowledges some not relevant today e.g. Abraham commanded to leave home in search of promised land

🙂 theonomy

• Bible = infallible

  • inerrancy of scripture

  • doesn’t rely on context

  • true and constant

• not just specific commandments, but real life examples

  • e.g. king david’s adulterous relationship

• flawed human beings

  • Aqu: have God-given reason but revealed truths from scripture must guide reason

• if not based on Bible, cannot be truly C, as would simply be product of human reason and wishes

☹ theonomy

• Bible open to interpretation

• Bible written in diff styles

  • really God dictating?

  • e.g. John’s mystical style of writing → “in the beginning was the Word”

• contradictions

  • “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus)

  • “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew)

• rules in OT that C choose not to follow

  • e.g. food laws followed by Jews and ignored by C

  • e.g. Leviticus prohibits

    • touching pig skin (many C wear pig leather products)

    • planting 2 crops in 1 field

heteronomy - cat church

• Bible = canon of sacred scripture determined by church

• tradition before bible

• e.g. Gospel of Thomas not included in Bible

• sacred tradition just as important in coming to know Jesus as Bible

  • oral trad beginning with J → apostles → bishops and priests

  • thru church trad that HS makes risen Lord present

• Magisterium

  • interpret w of God

  • church trad summarised into Cat of cat church

    • summarises decrees on issues e.g. abortion and euthanasia

  • catechism created using tradition + scripture + application of reason (NL)

  • ‘authentically interpreting the word of God’ Vatican II Council

  • sacred trad connects C community today with early church (+ apostles + J)

  • NL

examples from cat church

• human love doesn’t tolerate “trial marriages”

  • no divorce

• “homosexual persons are called to chastity

• euthanasia “violation of divine law”, “crime against life”

☹ tradition

• as at Reformation, many C disagree with 1 C authority handing down “truth” when might conflict with bIble

• Jesus criticises over-reliance on trad

  • in his society = Jewish elders

  • contrasts paradosis (trad) with preferred guidance of w of God

  • “why do you transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition” Matthew

• Paul criticises same following of Jewish tradition

  • should be follower of Jesus (like he was converted)

  • NB was +Ve about traditions he hands on to others to follow e.g. in Corinthians

• Rosemary Radford Ruether

  • trad and Bible shaped almost exclusively by male experiences so incomplete

• GK Chesterton “democracy of the dead”

• do some sources have > authority?

  • e.g. which pope, which vatican council, gospel, st paul

🙂 tradition

• true C moral values don’t change

  • to adapt to secualr views is to lose C nature

• clear guidelines, speicifc to modern issues

heteronomy - anglican church tradition

• prima scriptura

• Bible + church community

• Bible starts tradition, as records life of 1st Cs in NT letters and Acts

  • tradition interprets, passes on t believers

• Richard Hays

  • wrong to ask “how do i interpret this text”

  • should be “we” = communal process

• Messer: C trad = “shared understanding” of how to live their lives

• tradition shouldn’t be taught as fixed, but healthy debate as living church seeks to make sense of times

  • e.g. changed views on ordinatino of women

• e.g. pregnant teenager considering abortion

  • abortion = sin

  • but C must help and aim to enable her to be sort of disciple J would like her to be

    • teen = gift of God sent to help ordinary ppl liek us discover church as body of christ

🙂 communal approach

• bound to interpret bible

  • group interpretation reduce risk of bias and narrowness

• C community = central to life of any individual C

• Bible = book for collected ppl of God, not individuals

• Bible = guidebook for C community

• St Paul wrote to communities in NT

☹ communal approach

• conflicting values in comm

  • → leave comm

  • confusion: no cloear path

• focus on trad can create morality too rigid and resistant to change

☹ Theonomy Richard Hays

• ‘the moral vision of the NT’

  • deliberately take out of context

  • isolate single quote/ author

  • focus on commands or principles

  • sola scriptura “conceptually and practically unattainable”

  • “the interpretation of the Scripture can never occur in a vacuum”

☹ Theonomy Allan Verhey

• “Biblical Ethics”

  • doesn’t provide timeless and coherent set of rules

    • provides account of work and will and way God evokes creative and faithful responses of those who would be God’s ppl

☹ Theonomy Karl Barth

• regarded authority of Bible highly

• literalism → bibliolatry = false worship of Bible

• Bible = supreme source of C moral truth =/= truth itself

• read critically

• theonomous ethics should take into account human reason to see how fits into wider pic

Heteronomy - anglican church tradition Stanley Hauerwas

• “Resident Aliens”

  • stand out morally in society

  • C ethics develops from Bible and continues thru C history and trad

  • Jesus’ sermon on mount rooted in Judaism

    • explains values and virtues C commuities must develop e.g. generous and merciful

    • trad doesn’t end in NT but continues to adapt according to situation

    • purpose = adapt old values to new community

    • aimed at community, not individuals

      • c ethics =/= subjective

    • Cs as “resident aliens” should q society’s values by living and practicing C social virtues

RCX autonomy - love

Hans Kung

• nothing in content of C ethics which couldn’t be found elsewhere by any person of good will

• ‘global ethic’

  • minimal consensus concerning binding values, irrevocable standards and fundamental moral attitudes

  • tackle p e.g. global environment

  • C concern bc C motivation - love neighbour, imago dei

• love + discipleship to JC

Pope Francis - The Joy of Love

• Bible contains wisdom about rules of marriage but is realistic about difficulties ppl face

• "openness to grace”

• modern guidance grounded in love

☹ RCX autonomy - love

• rejected by “faith-ethic” cat theolgians

  • e.g. Cardinal Ratzinger → Pope Benedict XVI

  • undermines Magisterium

Protestant ethical autonomy

Fletcher SE

Christian Theologians on love in C moral decisions

Reinhold Niebuhr

• prophetic>orthodox

• orthodox: reduces morality to conformity with tradition

• prophetic: ideal of love (ultimate law of life)

Rudolph Bultmann

• “God is love” =/= express idea = wholly concrete content

  • God forgives sin

Paul Tillich

• “Ethical Principles of Moral Action”

• 3 C ethical norms: justice, LOVE, wisdom

  • love guided by wisdom, justice backbone

• criticised fixed rules (puritanism)

  • love = ppl-centred

    • act in real situation

  • “not compelled” “slavishly following the laws”

• individual deiberation

🙂 love

• complex situations

• love + faith

  • can love bc of God

  • JC

• ppl centred

☹ love

• shouldn’t rule out other biblical commandments

• too vague

  • Barclay

• quandary ethics

• any action allowed

• unrealistic

• even Tillich: love needs careful expectation

• rules created using reason, tradition and scripture will also be loving

  • love on own = ideal =/= moral action

Reason

Catholic

• rely on sacred tradition

• another source of direct access to revelation thru NL

Protestants

• process of making sense of Bible and church tradition

🙂 reason

• Richard Hays: needed to negotiate between world of NT and modern life

  • e.g. gender roles

    • in leadership roles, diff to some comments of St Paul

  • “contingent” “culturally influenced”

• Aquinas: deduce SP from PP

☹ reason

• subjective

• Alasdair MacIntyre: “rationalities rather than rationality”

  • diff interpretations of Bible and responses to ethical dilemmas

    • RCX → just war, Quakers opposed

• reason challenges faith - science, enlightenment

• human reason = flawed

  • Aquinas apparent goods