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AKC 4 General – Autumn Term 2010 – Knowing What To Do
25/10/10
AKC 4 – 25 OCTOBER 2010
Knowing What To Do: Ethics in a Contemporary Context
Lecture 4: “The Bible Says!” The Role of The Bible in Ethical Decision Making
The Revd Prof Richard A Burridge, Dean of King's College London.
INTRODUCTION
'Judaism is not a theology, and not a system of piety; Judaism is a task, an activity.'
(Rabbi Lionel Blue).
'The defining feature of New Testament ethics is its orientation to an event,
namely the event of Jesus.'
(Prof. Leander Keck, University of Yale).
1
ETHICS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT/HEBREW SCRIPTURES
The roots and traditions: the semi-nomadic herders and cattle-breeders;
agricultural peasants; the rise of the city-dwellers.
Historical development: Patriarchs, nomads and Egypt; the exodus and conquest of Canaan;
David and Solomon - the kingdom; the rise of the prophets; the exile in Babylon; the postexilic period among the empires of the Ancient Near East (Babylonians, Persians, Greeks,
Romans); the rise of the wisdom traditions.
The themes of OT Ethics: the character of God (Lev. 11.44f; Micah 6.8); the world,
creation and history; Covenant and Law; Kingship (1 Sam. 8-10).
The content of OT Ethics: the law (Ten Commandments, Exod. 20); the development of the
law; the prophets - stress on holiness, righteousness and loving mercy; the contributions of
wisdom literature.
2
THE ETHICS OF JESUS
The heart of Jesus' teaching - the kingdom of God; future or present?
An ethic of response, Mark 1.15-20.
The Law and love: Mark 12.28-34; love of enemies, Matthew 5.38-43; forgiveness
(Matthew 5.23-24; the unforgiving servant, 18.23-25).
The rigorous ethic and the 'strenuous commands':
Sexuality - no divorce Mark 10.2-12.
Money – you cannot serve God and money (Matthew 6.19-33)
War and violence - turn the other cheek (Matt. 5.38-44)
The state - render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's
(Mark 12.13-17).
Are these instructions to be taken literally, or for the 'super' elite?
An interim ethic, or an invitation to see the world differently?
Jesus the friend of sinners (Matthew 11.19); accepted and ate with tax collectors and sexual
sinners (Mark 2.13-17).
Repentance and acceptance (Zacchaeus, Luke 19.1-10).
Following and imitating: be perfect / merciful as your heavenly Father is perfect / merciful
(Matt. 5.48; Luke 6.36).
3
THE REST OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Gospels: Mark - an ethic of discipleship in suffering.
Matthew - Jesus the teacher of true righteousness
Luke - salvation in the history of God's people; a special concern for the poor, women,
non-Jews, the marginalised.
John - love one another as I have loved you (John 13.34-35).
Paul's letters: the pivotal significance of Jesus' life, death and resurrection; the overlap of
the ages; new life in Christ (Romans 5-8); the Christian community as the 'body of Christ'
(1 Corinthians 12).
Love is the 'fulfilling of the law' (Rom. 13.8-10)
Teaching in specific issues - state (Rom. 13); sex (1 Cor. 6-7); women (Gal. 3.28);
AKC 4 General – Autumn Term 2010 – Knowing What To Do
25/10/10
'household codes' (Col. 3.18-4.1; Eph. 5.21-6.9).
Imitation of Christ: 1 Cor. 11.1; welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you Rom 15.7.
4
USING THE BIBLE IN ETHICS TODAY
Some problems:
- the culture gap between then and now.
- contingency of the range of issues;
- plurality of views; contradictions and variations.
'Bridging the gap':
a
Rule-command-prescriptive
Bible as a moral handbook; a deontological approach.
Torah as Mosaic Law: 365 “Thou shalt not” plus 248 positives (613 commandments)
Calls for Islamic Law – Shariah debate
Texts: Torah and commandment; Sermon on the Mount, Pauline injunctions.
b
Principles-universal values-themes
Look for the principles and universal values behind the commands or other texts.
Call to love or liberation? more consequentialist.
Texts: epistles, sermons, theology
c
Examples-paradigmatic
Natural Law approach; 'moral reminders'; perfectionist theories, or virtue-based approaches Aristotle: developing a moral character.
Texts: narrative, story based texts; gospel stories and parables
d
Overall view-symbolic world
Development of a 'biblical theology'. Barth: dogmatics=ethics and ethics=dogmatics.
Whole story - creation-fall-redemption-eschatology.
Conclusion: Biblical ethics, the response of discipleship in community
Bible demands a response, in/ to/ and through the person of Jesus; reading and responding
forms Christian identity and moral character; development of moral communities; the role of
the Holy Spirit; the example of Jesus as 'friend of sinners'.
For further reading:
Richard Burridge, Imitating Jesus: An Inclusive Approach to New Testament Ethics,
(Eerdmans, 2007)
Leslie Houlden, Ethics and the New Testament, (Penguin, 2004)
Wayne Meeks, The Moral World of the First Christians, (SPCK, 1986)
Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament, (T & T Clark, 1997)
J. Macquarrie and J. Childress, A New Dictionary of Christian Ethics, (SCM, 1990) - useful
for reference - lots of brief articles
Suggested Reading for this Unit as a whole:
Simon Blackburn, Being good: A Short Introduction To Ethics, (OUP, 2002)
Robin Gill, A textbook of Christian Ethics, 3rd ed, (T & T Clark, 2006)
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Full details about the AKC course, including the handouts, can be found on the AKC
website at: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/akc
If you have any queries please contact Elizabeth on ext 2333 or [email protected].
The AKC Examination will take place on Friday, 1st April between 14.30 and 16.30.
You must enrol on the AKC via OneSpace by the end of October.
If you can’t see the AKC eLearning pages on Blackboard, please contact Elizabeth.
AKC Discussion at Denmark Hill, 28 Oct, 17.15-18.45, Deanery Mtg Rm,WEC