Christian moral principles.

What is the debate around the source of Christian moral principles?

-The debate is about whether Christian morality comes from the Bible, the Church, reason, or a mix of these.

-Heteronomy says it comes from Church, Bible, and reason (Catholic view).

-Theonomy says it comes from God’s revelation in the Bible (Protestant).

-Autonomy says individuals must decide moral right and wrong for themselves, like in situation ethics.

What is heteronomy and how does the Catholic Church justify it?

-Heteronomy is the view that moral authority comes from Church, Bible, and reason.

-Catholics justify this through apostolic succession, where Jesus gave moral authority to his disciples to continue teaching after his death, supported by sacred tradition and scripture.

How does apostolic succession establish moral authority in the Catholic Church?

-Jesus told his disciples to preach and gave them authority. He said “whoever hears you, hears me”.

-This authority passed to bishops and successors, forming the apostolic succession.

-Their teachings formed sacred tradition, which interprets the Bible and is morally authoritative.

What is sacred tradition and how is it different from sacred scripture?

-Sacred tradition consists of moral teachings passed down by the apostles not written in the Bible, whereas sacred scripture is the written word.

-Both have the same divine source, and the Church teaches they are to be accepted with equal reverence.

What does Dei Verbum say about sacred tradition and scripture?

-It says both are the word of God, with scripture written under divine inspiration and tradition handed down to the Church by the apostles.

-The Church has sole authority to interpret both, with help from the Holy Spirit, contributing to the salvation of souls.

What is the Catholic view of the Bible’s authority?

-The Bible is seen as written by human authors inspired by God and is “without error”.

-Dei Verbum states God chose men and worked through them to write only what he intended, affirming the divine truth of scripture and its authority.

What criticisms do Protestants make of Catholic moral authority?

-Protestants argue the Church is corrupt, referencing the sale of indulgences, abuse scandals, and links with fascism.

-They say these show the Church doesn’t act under the Holy Spirit, and has lost its moral authority.

What was the sale of indulgences and Luther’s critique of it?

-The Catholic Church sold indulgences, claiming money could reduce purgatory time.

-Luther called this a corrupt invention, mocked the wealth of the pope, and questioned why love alone wasn’t enough to release souls from purgatory.

-He said indulgences showed the Church inventing doctrine for money.

How do Catholics defend themselves against accusations of corruption?

-Catholics argue the Church is made up of sinful humans, which Christ knew, but he still entrusted them with authority.

-Human flaws don’t invalidate the Church’s divine mission.

How do Protestants respond to Catholic defences of the Church?

-Protestants say the Church’s corruption exceeds normal human flaws and so forfeits its divine authority.

-Yet they must also consider if any human has the right to dismantle something Jesus started or if Jesus really wanted the Church to have such authority.

What are the issues with using reason in Christian ethics?

-The Catholic Church supports Natural Law ethics via reason, but Protestants like Luther, Calvin, and Barth reject this, saying human reason was corrupted by the Fall and can’t guide moral action.

What is Aquinas’ view of natural theology and reason?

-Aquinas believes reason can’t fully know God but can support faith.

-Reason can discover God’s existence (via teleological and cosmological arguments), natural moral law, and God's nature analogically.

-Reason can support belief but not replace revelation.

Why does Aquinas reject the ontological argument?

-Aquinas rejected the ontological argument because it offers deductive proof.

-He believed faith should not rely on logic alone, so he preferred inductive arguments like the teleological and cosmological ones, which support rather than replace faith.

What is Karl Barth’s criticism of natural theology?

-Barth says natural theology wrongly relies on human reason.

-He argues that revelation is necessary, as God sent Jesus.

-Reason can’t reach God due to our finite nature. He warns it leads to idolatry, nationalism, and even Nazi ideology.

How does Barth argue that reason cannot grasp God?

-Barth says “the finite has no capacity for the infinite”, meaning our minds can’t comprehend God.

-Believing we can reach divine truth through reason is idolatry — worshipping something human-made.

-After the Fall, only revelation, not reason, is valid.

How do Aquinas and Tillich defend reason against Barth?

-Aquinas says reason doesn't replace revelation but supports it by showing natural law and God's existence.

-Tillich says even a misled conscience still shows a sense of moral failure.

-Denying natural law contradicts our ability to recognise we’ve fallen from it.

What is Tillich’s quote defending natural law and conscience?

-Tillich says “there is self-deception in every denial of the natural moral law”. Even a weak conscience is still a conscience.

-Being aware of sin implies awareness of the good. To know we’ve fallen suggests a sense of where we fell from.

What is a criticism of Tillich and Aquinas’ defence of reason?

-Critics say any insight reason gives is not God’s morality. Claiming moral insight mirrors Adam and Eve’s arrogance.

-Believing we can define right and wrong leads to dangerous certainty like Nazism. Natural theology risks human arrogance, not humility.

What is theonomy and how does it contrast with heteronomy?

-Theonomy says moral authority comes directly from God’s revelation in the Bible, often rejecting the Church’s authority. It argues religion and ethics have a single source: God.

-This contrasts with heteronomy, which involves Church and reason too.

What is sola scriptura and what did Luther believe about it?

-Sola Scriptura is the view that only the Bible should guide Christian morals.

-Luther believed the Church was corrupt and deviated from God’s word.

-He said even laypeople with scripture are greater than a pope without it. The Bible corrects the Church.

What is the priesthood of all believers and its implications?

-Luther’s doctrine of the priesthood of all believers says all Christians are priests, countering Catholic claims that priests are intermediaries with special spiritual status.

-This weakens the Church’s moral authority and re-centres it on scripture.

How is the Bible viewed as authoritative in sola scriptura?

-Its authority comes from its excellence and the Holy Spirit’s engagement with readers.

-Jesus said the Holy Spirit would teach and remind people of his words.

-The Bible is divinely inspired, with ‘Ru-ach’ (God’s breath) breathed into its authors.

What are the internal contradictions of sola scriptura?

-Sola Scriptura is not in the Bible itself. No passage states it is the only source of authority.

-The Bible was compiled by Catholic clergy in the 4th century, so if Protestants trust its content, they indirectly trust the Church.

How might Protestants defend sola scriptura despite its flaws?

-They argue the Holy Spirit guided the selection of books for the Bible. Jesus’ words about the Spirit teaching are found in the Bible, which they believe validates its authority.

-Yet Catholics argue the Spirit also guides their Church interpretation.

What is autonomy in Christian ethics and how is it applied?

-Autonomy is when individuals use personal judgement to decide right and wrong. Situation ethics is an example.

-Fletcher rejected legalistic approaches and instead based morality on Agape, drawn from Jesus’ command to “love your neighbour as yourself”.

What does Barclay argue against situation ethics?

-Barclay said situation ethics gives too much freedom. Without perfect love, freedom can lead to selfishness or cruelty.

-He says if everyone were saints it would work, but humans still need the protection of legal rules because they’re not morally mature.

What is the ‘humanity come of age’ argument for autonomy?

-Fletcher and Robinson argue people are now more educated and civilised than in ancient times, so they can be trusted to understand complex ethical decisions and apply love.

-They no longer need rigid rules to do good.

What is Barclay’s critique of the ‘humanity come of age’ argument?

-He disagrees, saying humans appear improved but will act selfishly when given power. Power corrupts, as seen in the Stanford prison experiment and Lord of the Flies.

-Autonomy grants power, which corrupts. Legalism protects against this.

What is the conflict between Fletcher’s ethics and sola scriptura?

-Fletcher is criticised for ignoring Biblical rules in favour of love. Protestants argue ethics should follow the Bible alone.

-Fletcher’s agape approach contradicts sola scriptura, making his theory appear un-Christian to traditionalists.

What dilemma does Fletcher describe about interpreting the Bible?

-Fletcher says either we interpret the Bible, leading to disagreement over interpretations, or take it literally, which is unworkable.

-Literalism is worse than the confusion of interpretation, as shown in impractical verses like “do not resist one who is evil”.

What is Fletcher’s view on the Bible as a moral guide?

-He sees the Bible as offering moral suggestions, not rules. He believes it should not be treated as a rulebook, even with teachings like the Sermon on the Mount.

-This is a liberal view of inspiration — agape overrides rules if love demands it.

What does J.S. Mill say about the New Testament and sola scriptura?

-Mill argues Jesus and the apostles didn’t intend the NT to be a full moral system. It refers to earlier moralities and often requires interpretation.

-NT morality lacks precision and depends on context, contradicting sola scriptura ideals.

What does Mill argue about how Christian morality developed?

-He says most Christian morality was developed by the Catholic Church in its first five centuries. Protestants only cut off later additions.

-This means both Protestants and Catholics are influenced by Church tradition, not just scripture.

What are Mill’s main criticisms of Christian morality?

-Mill says Christian morality is more about avoiding evil than doing good, promotes selfish motives like fear of hell, and encourages passive obedience.

-Ancient ethics (Greek, Roman) were more active and virtuous by contrast.

What is Mill’s final conclusion about Christian ethics and agape?

-Mill believes Christian morality should be one among many ethical systems, not distinct or superior.

-He agrees with protestant critiques but goes further, claiming Christianity should integrate other systems to overcome its flaws.

-This differs from Fletcher’s view that agape makes Christianity distinct.