Introduction

What is Morality, Ethics, and What is Christian About it:

    1. morality–oughtness
    1. not just any obligation is a moral one; it's about the "good"
    2. not just any conviction is a moral one; it has to be fundamental

3) one's self-definition in light of the "good"
    1. ethical--rational reflection
    1. it tests morality for consistency, coherence, and comprehensiveness
    2. one can be moral but not ethically astute; one can be ethically

knowledgeable but not guided by moral obligations

c. Christian distinctives:

    1. formal criterion--redemptive love--the act must contribute to the

      2. reconciliation of God to humanity, humanity to humanity and the

      earth

    2. substantive criterion--Christological, ecclesiastical

Christological: promotes and witnesses of the redeeming work

Of Christ

Ecclesiastical--Christian ethics is not just the motives, sentiments,

and actions of individuals but of the Church; the issue then is

whether the belief and action contribute to the legacy of the

Universal Church

The Basic dilemma of Christian ethics:

    1. on one hand, "there is none good except God" (Mark 10.18)
    2. on the other hand, "be perfect [or holy] as I am perfect [or holy]"

      3. Matthew 5.48, I Peter 1.16 (from Leveticus 11.44)

    3. Christian ethics is not primarily about how one becomes a good person;

      4. but how by one's good actions the Goodness of God is evident

    4. the basic feature of Christian ethics therefore is testimony, witness
    1. this precludes arrogance and sanctimonious behavior
    2. it requires humility and clarity of mind

Some preliminary basic distinctions:

    1. between moral tradition and situational morality--everything has a context

      2. but not everything is relative

    2. between conscience and tradition-- "the still small voice" is an echo of a moral tradition; but to be more one must "own" one's life
    3. between the morally obvious and ambiguous; the former is foundational--its

test: if its opposite were true, then one would have to change one's moral

world view; the latter is prevalent--its test: an exception to it does not disavow

its moral legitimacy

 

 

 

Why be moral?

  1. Plato’s Gorgias--the issue: is it better to be just and be punished for it or be unjust and not suffer for it; Plato's answer--we should act justly because it is true to our human nature and fulfills our deepest desires
  2. Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morals--all is the struggle of the will to power; morality is either just for the weak or the means by which the powerful determine social behavior

3. Exodus 20--the Ten Commandments; it’s a way of remembering God

 

Philosophical Approaches to Ethics:

  1. utilitarianism--the maximization of desires (or the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people); John Stuart Mill
  1. the emphasis--pragmatically choosing the best alternative; appeal to public rationality

b. there are no moral absolutes
  1. deontological --pure moral motives determine the morality of an action; Immanuel Kant
  1. the emphasis--determining one's moral duty in relation to the moral law
  2. the test--universalization of choices;
  3. duty requires emphasis on rational autonomy
  1. virtue based--human excellence through the Golden Means, Aristotle
  1. virtue fulfills human nature (Aristotle--social, rational animal)
  2. virtue is a characteristic way of being and acting which best represents one's

    3. function and purpose

  3. it's the Golden Means between the extreme behavior of excessive and deficient

behavior

d. one learns the Means through the example of virtuous people

II. Theological Approach to Ethics

1. centrality of revelation--because Christian ethics testifies of God, it starts its deliberations here; it's neither supernatural nor natural law; it's the living testimony within the life of a people of the acts and nature of God

2. the biblical tradition--Christian ethics starts with the Bible because it is the record of Christian identity

    1. the Canon--the formation of the whole Bible guided by the question of

essential Christian identity; the whole Bible must be used
    1. the unity within its great diversity--"Christ is Lord and King of

Scripture"
  1. Christian ethics is not heteronomy--the rule by an alien law to human nature;
  1. it is not autonomy--the rule of the self ,
  2. it is theonomy--the convergence of the divine with the human

4. primary texts--Genesis 1-3: Goodness, Creature, and Fallen;

Genesis 12: Covenant and History;

Exodus 20: Liberation and Responsibility

Amos 8: Piety and Ethics;

Isaiah 11: Hope and the New Order

Matthew 5-7: Holiness and Radical Obedience

I Corinthians 7: Holiness and Culture

I Corinthians 15 and Revelation 20: Death and the New Kingdom