Ethics 3A WR- Situation Ethics

Situation Ethics background

Developed in the 1960’s as a reaction to legalism and antinomianism, Fletcher argued there are 3 possible approaches to make moral decisions: legalism, antinomianism, situation ethics

Legalism

Ehtic based on laws and prefabricated rules and regulations

Issues Fletcher identifies: there are problems when life has complexities that the rules don’t cover

Rejected laws of the bible because it creates a puritannical “choking web” of rules where people check a guidebook to decide what is right- can’t work now.

Bertrand Russel legalism quote

“To this day Christians think an adulterer more wicked than a politician who takes bribes, although the latter probably does a thousand times more harm.” 

Mrs X example

Mrs X was convicted of impairing the morals of her daughter who first got pregnant at 13 despite trying to teach her chastity. SInce she went on to have 2 more unwanted children, Mrs X told her daughter to use contraception, which would be considered the most sensible thing to do, but because of the legalistic standpoint around contraception she was still convicted. 

Antinomianism

Not using an ehtical system at all, literally means “against law” (first used by Luther)

Libertinism- the belief that by grace, by the new life in Christ and salvation by faith, law or rules no longer applied to Christians. 

Gnostic approach- Special knowledge so that a person would just know that they were doing the right thing. They had a “super conscience” but their decisions were sporadic. 

St Paul objected to antinomianism in Corinth and Ephesus, they rejected all rules and some claimed to be guided by HS 

Role of conscience- Fletcher

In a religious sense- God guiding us through HS

Fletcher- says it’s not a noun but a verb, a process of working out moral decisions not God working inside us, so cannot be be used as a basis for decision making 

Fletcher quote on the conscience 

“There is not conscience; conscience is merely a word for our attempts to make decisions creatively, constructively, fittingly.”

Situation Ethics

Enters a situation with ethical rules and principles but is prepared to set those aside if love seems better served by doing so e.g. you would lie to a murderer who asked where their next victim was going to be. 

Relativisitic

Has no absolute moral rules

Consequentialist

End result is of great importance

Teleological

Moral truth can be found through nature and purpose

Agape

Christians should base their decisions on one truth- agape (selfless christian love)

Love that God has for us and that we should have for eachother

“faith, hope, love, the greatest of which is love” St Paul

“Love your neighbour as yourslef” Jesus

Biblical evidence- Parable of the Good Samaritan

“Love your neighbour as yourslef”-

Refers to OT teaching, could be interpreted as it being okay to set the rules aside to help someone (helping the person on the side of the road despite not being able to touch dead things before the Temple)

Biblical evidence- St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians 

“Faith, Hope and Love… the greatest of those is love” 

Even the greatest gifts from God aren’t worth anything if not recieved with love.