AQA A-Level Religious Studies - Good Conduct and Key Moral Principles

What are some different views about the importance of good conduct?

-Christians should obey the teachings contained in the Bible
-The Kingdom of God will be realised on earth through the way Christians care for others, bringing about gods kingdom for liberal christian's who believe in a psychological heaven
-Christians give glory to God by the way they live
-Individual good conduct will be rewarded with/in Heaven and avoids being sent to hell
-Faith in Jesus is the basis for good conduct, since Christians try to follow Jesus' example in what he taught and the way he behaved.

-However, some moral commands in the Bible are seen as immoral For example in the letter of Paul to Titus, part of the moral advice given is to slavers who must be 'submissive to their masters'
-Jesus' pacifism can be impractical and immoral as if does not defend the innocent
-Some Christians believe it is doing what is right for right's sake, not what it takes to get into heaven

What is good conduct?

Satisfactory, proper, or polite conduct

Doctrine of Atonement

The belief that through his death and resurrection, Jesus made up for the sins of humankind and we were forgiven and restored to right relationship with God.
-Many Christians accept the doctrine of Atonement, however, there is dispute about what Christians need to do to accept this gift.

3 ideas about justification

Justified by faith
Justified through good works
Predestined to enter Gods Kingdom

What is justification by works?

The belief that humans can be counted as righteous before God because of their good works.
Some Christians prioritise good works because of scriptures such as James 2:14-25 and the Parable of the Sheep and Goats
Catholicism teaches that grace comes to individuals through baptism and faith grows after this. After this, one's life should start to be filled with good works.
Good works are one of the things that distinguishes believers from demons, in James 2:19 it mentions how 'even the demons believe' in God
Faith on its own is useless, because even the demons believe in God

Parable of the Sheep and Goats

Matthew 25:31-46
Those who are called righteous and gain eternal life were those who fed those who were hungry, looked after the sick and clothed others. (good works)
Faith is not mentioned in this parable
To follow Jesus is to follow his commands such as in Matthew 5:19

Parable of the sheep and goats quote Matthew 25:46

'and so they will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life'

Matthew 5:19 Justification by works

'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give flory to your Father who is in heaven'

Matthew 7:21 'Only the one who…

does the will of my Father who is in heaven(will enter the kingdom of heaven)'

James 2:14-25 (Faith without works is dead) meaning

-James mentions how it is not good enough for one person to have faith and the other to have deeds but you need good deeds and faith.
-Even demons have faith that God exist
-Abraham had faith and it was reckoned to him as righteousness but he showed it by works.

What is justification by faith?

-The Greek 'To justify' has many meanings like 'to make righteous' and 'to defend the cause of'
-The belief that humans can be counted as righteous before God solely through faith in Jesus.
-Justification is eschatological
-Keeping all of the Jewish Law is impossible and this is why humans can't just be justified by good works.
-Also, original sin makes it impossible for humans to earn a good relationship with, it is only by God's grace that humans can have this relationship.
-After humans have faith in God, they are able to live a life that is pleasing to God e.g. by doing good works but this is a product of their faith.

Romans 7:18-19 on justification

'I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out'
-shows how humans are flawed and need God in order to do what is right.

Romans 3:22- on justification

'the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe'
-faith in Jesus makes humans righteous(right with God)

Meaning of Romans 3-5 on justification by faith

-When paul talked about being justified, the most accepted understanding of the vern is 'to count, or treat as righteous'
-In 3:20-26 he says that no human being will be justified in God's eyes by works of the law. Humans cannot earn righteousness by following the law, because all humans have sinned and to be righteous is the free gift of grace by God after Jesus redeemed humanity through atonement
-3:28 justification is by faith and not by works
-In 4:2 Paul describes how Abraham, the great patriarchal ancestor of the Jews would be justified despite atonement because of the extent of his belief
-5:1-2 When we have complete faith in God and rely upon Gods grace we have 'peace with God'

Romans 5:1-2 on justification

'Since we are justified by faith we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Through him we have obtained access to thus grace in which we stand.'

Abraham and Isaac

-Shows that faith is expressed through good works
-Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son showed how strong his faith and obedience in God was
-Romans 4:5 Paul says of Abraham that 'his faith is reckoned as righteousness'

Those who prioritise works:

-Some christian's accept that the letter of James is very clear 'faith apart from works is dead'
-Even demons believe i'm God but their works are demonic, so they are judged by their demonic works not faith
-May denominations accept the need for works on the basis of Jesus' sheep and goats parable

Those who prioritise faith:

-Many christian's follow this because it is explicitly stated by st.paul in both romans and ephesians
-Martin Luther is a string advocate of justification by faith alone and he based his undergo aid for on Romans 1:16-17

Ephesians 2:8-10 Justification by faith alone

'For by grace you have been saved through faith, and thus is not your own doing'

Romans 1:16 Justification by faith

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Martin Luther's views on justification by faith

-Martin Luther set the Reformation in motion in 1517 because he was attacking the corruption in many of the medieval Catholic Church
-He set out a simpler religion that was based on scripture and the personal faith of the individual believer
-he proclaimed the doctrine of sola fide- by faith alone- justification is by faith alone and not good works
-He taught that faith of the believer is passive

justification comes by what God achieves through the atoning death of Jesus

Martin Luther quote on good works

'a Christian… does good works

but he is not by these works made'
-Found in Concerning Christian Liberty

Those who prioritise faith and works:

-The catholic church of the time did not support Luther's sola fire and at the Council of Trent (1545-1563) the church clarified and 'codified its understanding of the doctrine of justification…'

Catholic Church on works and faith

'the council said was predication upon both faith and good works' James Adair on Council of a trend
-Catholic teaching is that grace comes to the individual through baptism. Baptism is the sacrament of faith which grows after and good works through living in the light of Jesus
-Without a positive response by works to grace salvation would not be possible

Romans 3:28 …"For we hold that

a man is justified by faith apart from works of law."

What is predestination?

The doctrine that God has decided who will be justified (and saved) and who will not.
Rests on the ideas that God is omnipotent and omniscient
However this way of thinking clashes with the idea of free will

Predestination in the teaching of Paul(Romans)

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.- ROM 8:29
-Verse seems to suggest that God has decided in advance who would be justified
-For Paul, God's purposes could not be known or understood by humans
-Paul may have been saying that as God is omniscient, he knows what individuals will freely choose, this is how salvation is predestined.

Romans 8:29 on predestination

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.- ROM 8:29

Issue of predestination and free will

From Genesis, Christians derive the beliefs that they see imago dei and this included the ability to be moral beings and reject Gods commandments
We can only be morally good by choosing the good.
The idea of predestining someone to hell can make us question the omnibenevolence of God

Pelagius' views on predestination

Argued that everything God created was good, so God could not possible have created humanity in a state of original sin. 'Grace' was nothing more nor less than Gods gift of free will to humans

Augustine's views on predestination

-Augustine believed that God infallibly knows who will be saved because of his foreknowledge :
-Predestination is an act of grace

human goodness is the result and not the cause of election
-Humans cannot understand the will of God, we don't know why he chooses to save some and not others
-God predestines some to his Kingdom whilst leaving others in their sinful state to be consigned to hell as a punishment for their sinful choices/actions
-Pelagius opposed Augustine claiming that belief in predestination was incompatible with belief in free will, the Church sided with Augustine.

Calvin's views on predestination

-Double predestination- belief that God chose some humans for salvation and condemned others to eternal damnation
-God decided before creation who would be saved and who would be damned to hell
-Because of original sin, all humanity deserves damnation, so God's act of electing some is entirely an act of grace.

Calvin quote of predestination

'All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation'.

Assessment of the doctrine of predestination

-The Catholic Church rejects Calvin's teaching, see this in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1037- 'God predestines no one go to hell

for this, a wilful turning away from God(a mortal sin) is necessary and persistence in it until the end.

Reasons why Christians oppose predestination

-Makes God unjust- Calvin's response to this was that humans cannot presume to understand God's will and in any case the evil actions of the damned show that God's decision was just
-It cannot be reconciled with Jesus' portrayal of as unconditionally merciful, forgiving and loving. Calvinist response would be that no one merits salvation, so God's saving anyone at all is a display of his mercy, forgiveness and love
-It cannot be reconciled with the concept of free will, as if God foreknows our actions then we have no choice to obey or disobey his will- a response to this is that God's omniscience is not causative

What is the sanctity of life?

The belief that all life is holy and infinitely precious because God made humans in His image.
Based on Gen 1:26-27 and Gen 2:7
Humans therefore have intrinsic value and everyone should be treated with respect

Gen 1:26-27

Humans were created in the image of God and God breathed the breath(nephesh) of life into Adam which turned man into a living being (nephesh chayya)
'then the lord god formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life'

what are the two types of sanctity of life principle?

-Strong sanctity of life principle- all Life should never be taken away e.g. by abortion, euthanasia or contraception
-Weak sanctity of life principle- takes into account the quality of life and the circumstance

Quality of life principle

Taken by those who support weak sanctity of life.
An example of someone who in on a life support machine who has no hope of recovery.
It may be judged that humans have a God-given right to autonomy that follows from the face of being made in Gods image, so they have the right to decide.

Strong sanctity of life applied to abortion

-Believe that personhood begins at conception because at the point of fertilisation, a new life comes into existence
-From conception, there is an absolute right to life and protection as all the necessary genetic material is already present
-The catholic church supports this understanding and argues that there is 'continuous development' of each life from conception to birth.
-The incarnation of Jesus was a normal process of conception so human conception must have the same implications
-Direct abortion= a grave offence because it is the unlawful (in the eyes of the Church) killing of a person
-Abortion destroys the image God created, our care of life should be by good stewardship

Strong sanctity of life applied to embryo research

-Intentions of embryo research are good, but it cannot justify an act that in itself is wrong, the end can never justify the means
-Embryo research is considered sinful because: it exploits the inability of the embryo to give consent, it disobeys the biblical teaching to protect the most vulnerable in society and the use of PGD is an act of discrimination that could lead to designer babies

Psalm 139:13 on strong sanctity of life an abortion

For you formed my inward parts

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.'

Job 31:15 on strong sanctity of life and abortion

Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?

Jeremiah 1:5 strong sanctity of life and abortion

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you

What is PGD?

Pre-implentation Genetic diagnosis
A technique used to test IVF embryos for genetic diseases such as CF and Down Syndrome

what is a designer baby?

Babies with characteristics chosen by their parents. Currently done for medical reasons, but technology could develop and allow parents to pick characteristics for aesthetic purposes.

Catechism of the Catholic Church on human life

'human life must be respected and protected absolutely from… conception'

Weak sanctity of life applied to embryo research and abortion

-From fertilisation, the newly conceived being has the right to respect because of its potential to become a living human being
-CofE teaches that embryo research is morally acceptable as it is an extension of Jesus' healing ministry and a responsible use of God-given skills
-PGD is acceptable if it is used solely for medical reasons
-Views abortion as a great moral evil but states that it might be the lesser of two evils e.g. if the woman's life is at risk or there would be serious permanent harm to her health
-In cases when medical science makes it difficult to see the line between life and death, those who believe in the weak SoL principle argue that agape should be the determining principle. For believers in the weak principle, life(in the Christian sense) = being able to live life in body and soul as a living sacrifice- ROM 12:1. Being alive is not sufficient unless a person can express themselves physically and spiritually.
-These views are held by the Church of England (CofE)

Positives of the sanctity of life principle

-Promotes respect for human life
-encourages protection of the vulnerable
-true to the teaching of Jesus on agape and compassion
-the weak form recognises that moral decision-making is a complex issue

Negatives of the sanctity of life principle

-ignores modern science which states that humans are simply evolved animals
-promotes an anthropocentric view of the universe and therefore devalues animals
-the strong form can seem unloving and lacking in compassion

What is the Just War Theory?

a set of conditions under which war is morally legitimate and also gives rules for the moral conduct of war.

How does JWT and the sanctity of life link?

-The sanctity of life underlines JWT
-War should only be an option if certain criteria is first met to preserve lives as lives are extremely valuable because humans were created in God's image

Development of JWT

-The Church was largely pacifist, this was therefore a way of pairing situations where war was needed with Christian beliefs.
-Mostly developed by Aquinas and Augustine
-There are two elements: Jus ad bellum and jus in bello

Jus ad bellum

-Addresses the conditions when going to war is justifiable
6 conditions are:
-There must be a just cause e.h to restore peace, to defend the innocent or resist attack
-War has to declared by a legitimate authority, meaning political competent authority which promotes genuine justice (not a dictatorship)
-war must be fought with the right intention, war in a just cause such as restoring peace an example would be forceful intervention to stop genocide
-There must be a probability of success
-must be proportionality(the benefits from waging war must be proportionate to the expected harm), an example would be the iraq intervention in which the war was proportionate to the potential harm that the nuclear weapons would've caused.
-War must be the last resort, all other means to settle the conflict have been tried

Jus in bello

-Address the way in which a war must be fought
-a principle of discrimination-non-combatants must not be directly attacked, nor should civilian areas be targeted for no reason
-proportionality of means to ends- the means used to fight the war must be proportionate to the ends required e.g.intrinsically evil war methods should not be used such as rape and genocide

weapons of mass destruction

3 forms:
Atomic(nuclear) e.g. Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945- thermonuclear effects include heat, blast and radiation. sever environmental damage and third-degree burns from 38km away from a 20 megaton blast
Biological-bacteria and viruses, can be sprayed or transmitted through the bites of infected insects or contamination of food/drinks. one gram of botulinum can kill a million people if inhaled.
Chemical-can cause injury, disability and death to animals and humans, phosgene was responsible for 85% of the 100,00 deaths from chemical weapons in WW1

all weapons of mass destruction lie outside the boundaries of JWT

-Discrimination- weapons can never discriminate as they equally likely to kill non-combatants as they are to destroy military targets (principle 1, jus in bello)
-proportionality- the harm done can never be proportional to the good that is aimed at (principle 6, jus ad bellum) and can not be proportionate to the ends desired (principle 2, jus in bello)
-probability of success-a full scale nuclear confrontation would result in massive casualties and environmental damage for all sides in the war (principle 4, jus ad bellum)

Christian views that oppose weapons of mass destruction?

-Many Christians view these types of weapons as intrinsically evil, jwt cannot be applied to these weapons.
-Pope Francis urged the abolition of nuclear weapons, so did the past two popes.
-Most UK protestant churches don't want Trident(UK nuclear deterrent programme) to be renewed.

Christian views that support weapons of mass destruction?

-The weapons cannot be un-invented, so it would be naive to assume that countries would give up their weapons
-In 'Situation Ethics' by Fletcher, he implied that the 1945 attack was the most loving action in that particular situation.
-Having nuclear weapons can protect countries from attacks through deterrence, which therefore help prevent war.

What is dominion?

-The power based approach that some humans take to the environment
-Dominion means 'power over'

What is stewardship?

-The belief that Christians have a duty of responsible care for the environment

Dominion in more detail

-Many Christians have believed and still believe that they virtually unlimited power over animals and the environment because they are described as having been made 'little less than God'
-Being made imago dei, literally "look like God", and generally Christian writers fake this do mean that humans have God-given capacity to use reason and be moral beings
Human dominion means that the Earth is to be subdued and humans are to be feared. After the flood where God destroys the world, God blesses Noah and his sons and tells them Genesis 9:1
-A strong anthropocentric tradition which is detrimental to the care of the environment. The Bible places no intrinsic value on the animal life and has a anthropocentric view of the environment as a whole
-the effect of this on christian thinking can be seen in Aquinas' NML where animals are only sensitive souls, he objected to animal cruelty once because it bred cruelty in humans themselves
-The industrial revolution was seen as Gods approval through the accumulation of wealth but it was achieved as the cost of huge environment damage

Genesis 9:2-3 on dominion

'The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth'

Genesis 1:28 on dominion

'And God blessed them. And said to them Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth

Psalms 8:3 on dominion

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor

Psalms 8:6-7 on dominion

You made them rulers over the works of your hands

you put everything under their feet:all flocks and herds

Dominion as Caring Stewardship of Animals / the Environment

-Dominion as stewardship is an alternative way of thinking about the environment, the idea of being caretakers of Gods creation because it is Gods creation and humans have responsibility because they were made imago dei
-This way of thinking is rooted in Genesis where God viewed his creation as 'good', the environment has intrinsic value and reflects Gods goodness
-Augustine's principle of plenitude- began with plato this principle suggests that all forms of existence possible in the universe will exist somewhere. Augustine used this principle to suggest a universe with many species is better as it shows the depth of Gods power and the beauty of his creation. The natural environment includes all of heaven and earth, stewardship must be to the entire environment not just of humans and animals as the entire environment belongs to God.

Psalm 96:11 on dominion as stewardship

'let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice

let the sea rose, and all that fills it'
Shows the value of non human creation to God, creation itself rejoices at God's rule

Stewardship in more detail

-Many Christians reject the idea of dominion in the sense of a power-based relationship
-They interpret GEN 1 and PSA 8 in term of stewardship
-Christians are the guardians of creation and they care for it on behalf of God
-With this view,there is more emphasis placed on the intrinsic value of animals and the natural environment
-Andrew Linzey sees the created world as theocentric(God-centred) instead of anthropocentric

Psalm 104:24 on stewardship

O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all

the earth is full of your creatures.

Genesis 1:10 on stewardship

And God called the dry land Earth

and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 2:15 on stewardship

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it"

Examples of the environmental crisis

-In some places the ice sheets have thinned by 40% since the 70's and sea levels have been predicted to rise by 90cm by 2100. 3/4 of the UK will be submerged
-Water pollution has drastically increased, millions of sea birds are fish are killed each year by oil pollutes
-Radioactive pollution creates contamination, an example is in 1986 where a number of unexplained one cancers in young children in southern ireland where supposedly linked to radioactive fallout from Chernobyl on grazing land which then entered the food chain

Implications for Christians of the global env crisis

-Action must be taken to deal with the burning of fossil fuels and pollution
-Pope Francis' encyclical(letter) Laudato Si in 2015 addresses the environmental crisis, rejects an anthropocentric attitude and urges responsible care.- 'nowadays we must forefefully reject the notion that… being given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other countries'
-Most churches are being urged to promote eco-theology and use eco-friendly practices
-A Rocha is an international Christian environmental organisation with projects in many different countries

Quote from Laudatory Si

'we must forcefully reject the notion that our being created in Gods image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute domination over other creatures'

Christian scholars views on dominion

Lynn White Jr-believes the environmental crisis in the Western world is a result of the view of dominion adopted by Judaeo- Christian tradition. Some Christians could counter this view by saying that the crisis has been developed because of our increasingly secular and scientific culture.
Victoria Harrison- believes that the Abrahamic religions were able to recognise the threat that the deterioration of the environment posed to humanity and decided to do something about it which has led to eco-theology
Sallie Mcfague- A christian feminist writer who argued that the current environmental crisis is largely the product of patriarchal Christianity. Humans subjection of nature is encouraged by God being perceived as transcendent

Eco-theology

Approach to environmental issues focusing on establishing the right relationship between religion and nature