Download christian ethics

BIOETHICS
Outcomes BOS
describe and explain Christian ethical
teachings on bioethics
ETHICS
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Definition: Ethics is the examination of
collective and individual decision making
about what are worthy human actions
and the explanation of why people make
such judgements.
CHRISTIAN ETHICS
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Christian morality is based on the will of God.
Christians believe that God’s will is known and
exampled through Jesus’ life and teachings.
Humanity finds out about these teachings an
can observe the example of Jesus’ life
because it is recorded in the New Testament.
It is explained and analysed through the
historical teachings of the Church and within
each individual congregation. God’s will is also
believed to be directly experienced by
individuals through the Holy Spirit.
Christian ethics can be divided into
two very different approaches. These
are based on the concepts of
Authority or Natural Law.
NATURAL LAW: Thomas Aquinas theology
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Natural law is a term used to describe a form of ethical thought
which comes from the concept of Perfect Creation.
The belief is that God created everything perfectly so if we study
the way life works and learn the laws of nature we will earn how to
behave.
REASON: Allows humanity to determine the will of God
FREEDOM OF CHOICE:
Allows individuals to follow God’s will,
or not (The Christian Church hopes that you use the freedom to act
responsibly according to God’s will).
Aquinas said that acting ethically (or ‘being good’ as a Christian) is
guided also by what makes us better humans or ‘more human’ (he
believed we were made in God’s likeness and had enormous
potential to be forces of good, like our creator) Aquinas believed
that the general purpose of being ‘human’ was: to live, to work, to
reproduce, to educate children, to have an ordered and ‘humane’
society and to worship God.
If we are following Natural Law we will: Do Good not evil; Harm no
one; Treat people well, etc (basically follow the Ten
Commandments and the Golden Rule).
OTHER SOURCES
REVEALED LAW
Scripture
(Bible)
Particularly
the New
Testament
Christians look to the words &
teachings of Jesus to see how a
perfectly moral human being dealt
with life’s issues.
Revealed Law:
Ten Commandments (Ex 20:1-7)
The Beatitudes (Mt 5-7)
Golden Rule (Mt: 22: 37-39)
Church Law ( Authority)
 Tradition (The Authority of the writings and
preachings of some of the previous Church
leaders)
 Various Popes and great Christian thinkers have
interpreted what it means to be fully Christian.
These writings have become important sources
of Christian ethics e.g. The writings of Thomas
Aquinas on Natural Law).
 Encyclicals/ Bishop statements
 Christian Churches believe that these thinkers
were inspired and guided by the Holy Spirit.
Conscience
 All Christians have a duty to develop
and inform their conscience.
Conscience is often described as a
person’s final, or supreme, decider of
right or wrong. The primary role of
conscience is to uphold the
individual’s integrity and moral
goodness.
Do different Christian denominations place equal
emphases on the sources of ethical teachings?
The emphasis given to each of the above-mentioned
sources varies across denominations. The Catholic
Church places greater emphasis on Natural Law and
authoritative bodies (erg Vatican Councils such as Vatican
II). The Catholic church teaches that God speaks through
a person’s conscience.
 Within Protestant Churches the focus is heavily on the
bible as they see it as the central source of moral
guidance. Protestants also consider that they have a
more direct (or personal) experience with God and do not
rely as much on Church authority to guide ethical
decisions as Catholics do. Thus there’s a more
‘individualistic’ approach to ethics in Protestant churches.
 Orthodox churches also rely heavily on the bible. Eastern
Orthodox express this as using Jesus’ life as a guide to
how they should live their own lives.
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All Christian denominations have the Ten
Commandments, The Beatitudes and the Golden Rule
as foundational to all Christian ethics and moral
behaviour.
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Christian decision-making:
 When Christians make a decision based on their ethical
system, they usually ask such questions as:
 What is my motivation in making the decision? (selfish or
selfless)
 What are the possible consequences? Who is affected by
the decision? (anyone effected negatively?)
 What does my conscience tell me? (Catholics place a
great deal of emphasis on conscience as a guide to
ethical decision making)
 What is the basis of my ethical decision? (What guidance
can I take from the Churches teachings?)
 What does my denominational authority / leadership say?
What bodies / groups help guide individual Christian’s ethical choices?
Christians ethical decisions derive first from themselves (their own
experiences) and their conscience. These decisions are obviously shaped
and guided by the ethical teachings of the church but also the various
authorities within the church structure.
Roman Catholics: Guided by the pope and the
bishops and the ethical traditions and teachings over
the centuries
The Eastern Orthodox Church is described as a
‘family of Churches’. Each Orthodox church is
hierarchical, with ultimate authority residing in its
bishop or patriarch.
Anglicans are guided by the Anglican General Synods
and the pronouncements of its diocesan bishops.
Australian Lutherans derive their authority from their
pastors and parish reps.
Ethical decision making structures in the Uniting
Church begin with the local congregation and
increase in authority with the Council of Elders.
Above this is the Synod, then the National Assembly
(National Council of the Church).
The Baptist Church has recently introduced
committees to take charge of ethical aspects (and
other issues).These committees elect reps for the
State or Baptist Unions which in turn sned members
to the Baptist Assembly
Activity
Access the following worksheet on MLearning and complete the activities.
WORKSHEET: Ethics_Living religion (
class page)