christian moral principles

Question 1

heteronomy

Answer 1

CATHOLIC christian moral principles come from the combination of Bible, church and reason

Question 2

sola scriptura def

Answer 2

theological doctrine holding that christian scriptures are the sole infallible rule of faith and practice

Question 3

theonomous ethics def

Answer 3

places god at the centree of ethics. to find out how to live, look to the direct word of god found in the bible

Question 4

autonomous christian ethics def

Answer 4

authority is placed in the individual such as their understanding of love as the guiding force which helps them make moral decision

Question 5

definition of comprehensive

Answer 5

including or dealing with all or nearly all elements or aspects of something.

Question 6

sola scriptura

Answer 6

theonomous approach, bible contains all needed to live, being the only source of christian ethics. it is an infallible source of divine relevation.
- it is the inspired word of god - 2 Timothy 3:16 “all scripture is god-breathed”, Calvin “it came down from heaven, as though we heard god speaking from his own mouth” - calvin and protestants adopted this
also called Biblicists

Question 7

three ways to read bible

Answer 7

literalist, biblicist, literally true, written by holy spirit who dictated to authors
conservative, fully authoritative, inspired by holy spirit but shows context of authors
liberal, inspirational book which tells the story of christianity but doesnt hold full authority today.

Question 8

conservative approach

Answer 8

divinely inspired, but human authors did not use the direct words of God, meaning careful reasoning and study guided by the holy spirit is required to interpret correctly.

Question 9

what does the bible contain

Answer 9

propositional revelation (statements of truth)
non-propositional revelation (god may make himself known in a way which isnt a statement eg life of jesus)

66 books written over 1000 years.
suggests that such a wide-ranging and diverse collection of holy literature should contain all the guidance a christian needs for making moral decisions

Question 10

neil messer on bible contains

Answer 10

different types of scripture in the bible, incl history, saga, law, instructions, biography and warning. there are many types of ethical guidance incl

Question 11

old testament

Answer 11

describes the covenant between god and the jews.
Richard Hays argues christians encounter both principles (rules) and paradigms (stories) to help detemine what they should do

eg 10 commandments (Decalogue) in Exodus 20 emph ethics are both social and personal

Question 12

amos and isiah

Answer 12

prophets who emphasised both ethical monotheism and social justice in response to the covenant.
Amos 5:27 “let justice flow like water”

Question 13

examples of paradigms

Answer 13

david and bathsheba 2 samuel 11.
david’s adulterous behaviour with bathsheba causes her pregnanacy and the death of her husband uriah (placed by david on the front lines). = not the moral life, where uriah is law-abiding, loyal, honest

Question 14

10 commandments good comprehensive

Answer 14

they are a blueprint for a thriving, successful society, theya re the cornerstone of christian ethics.

also a certain comfort and clarity in having the bible as a moral guide, it does not change on whims and comes with an abundance of guidance.

Question 15

10 commandments bad - Hitchens x4

Answer 15

1) 10 commandments offer proof religion is man-made, do not kill/steal is common sense and evident in every society as this ensures success.
2) 10th commandment throws in “wife” as one of mans’ possessions = product of a particular time and place
3) there is nothing about child cruelty, rape, slavery, genocide - these practices were customary. they are also positively prescribed eg saul and the amalekites, god tells moses the conditions upon which you can buy slaves and sell daughters. also dont address modern things eg IVF, contraception, drugs
= hitchens is an atheist but hsi scepticism is something a liberal may share

Question 16

Hitchens book

Answer 16

God is Not Great

Question 17

dawkins’ critique

Answer 17

judges 19:24, levite traveller and his concubine spend the night. a mob of men demand the levite so they can rape him but he sends his concubine out instead, who is beaten then chopped into 12 pieces
= dont kill men but rape women? x

Question 18

problems with the bible as a source of authority

Answer 18

self-contradicting
poor morals
outdated
cherry picking eg homosexuality

Question 19

sermon on the mt teachings

Answer 19

matthew 5-7
salt and light
turn the other cheek
if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out.
blessed be the peacemakers
(inner moral purity + inner law of love, righteousness, propositional revelation.)

Question 20

parables

Answer 20

good samaritan = “who is my neighbour”, orthopraxy over ritual cleansing
prodigal son = pharisees, loving gog and combing back is more important than perfect legalismp

Question 21

different authors

Answer 21

matthew mark luke point our historical reliability, much embellishment of jesus as messiah
john - jesus is god (in the I AM sayings)

Question 22

loa on is it still applicable

Answer 22

ancient times, more effective considering the norm of attitudes
modern time, ineffective as not too relevant, people cherry pick, you are left to take away only the sentiment of the laws as they cannot be applied easily. = can be used as as basic moral guide but isnt too comprehensive and specific to modern age.

Question 23

point about how bible is man-constructed

Answer 23

canons were literally assembled by humans, what to include and what to believe in
eg Council of Hippo - canon includes 27 New Testament books
Council of Nicaea - reaffirms the holy trinity and jesus was begotten not created, hypostatic union

Question 24

evidence bible is outdated - homos

Answer 24

leviticus 28 - “no man shall lie with another man” - used during a time when gay sex wsa fornification PLUS pedastry and where preachers would kidnap young boys to rape them.
homosexuality was not defined until the late 19th century by Benkert, does not carry the same meaning.

countered by what do you keep and reject

Question 25

Richard B Hayes on selective x4

Answer 25

biblicists who are sola scriptura are still being selective and bringing their own judgements and biases to it. eg Gareth Moore notes that xtians pursue the commandments that reinforce their own bigoted beliefs eg James Talarico called out Candy Noble for passing a Texas bill to display the 10 commandments in schools on a saturday (4) , whilst she was also known as an adulterer (7). however, a literalist acknowledges there is an interpretative framework

Question 26

biblical inconsistencies between gospels

Answer 26

RAISED BY PETER VARDY Acts - christians are enjoined to keep kosher but in the same book, Peter received a vision releasing christians from food laws Mark - jesus holds that no divorce. in Paul's writings, certain divorces are allowed eg when husband finds his wife sexually displeasing, when one's partner is not a christian.

Question 27

simon blackburn

Answer 27

the bible can be read as giving us a carte blanche for harsh attitudes to children, the mentally handicapped, animals, the environment, divorced, elderly, sexual deviants.

Question 28

sacred tradition

Answer 28

the community of christians (the body of christ) decides how to interpret scripture and what the moral principles are, passed down through generations under guidance of the holy spirit. sacred tradition means the church is a vessel for god's continued revelation on guidance

Question 29

apostolic succession quotes

Answer 29

Matthew 10:1 - "jesus summoned his 12 disciples and gave them authority" Matthew 16:18 - "on this rock i will build my church" - told peter to carry on christianity as an apostle.

Question 30

apostolic succession

Answer 30

authority was conferred upon them, but should be derived from jesus.

Question 31

tradition

Answer 31

church is known as the "deposit of faith" - tasked with authentic interpretation for all christian revelation. difficult book and needs interpretation. eg 10 com told not to kill but saul and the amalekites (pacifism v violence justified.) known as the magisterium

Question 32

reformation rejection of magisterium

Answer 32

felt the focus on jesus had been lost, the church can be found not thru apostles, but where there was a gathering of christians reflecting on the word of god (bible)

Question 33

catholic church on heteronomous ethics

Answer 33

bible can be interpreted through a combination of reasoning and the teachings of the church which is passed through generations (tradition)

Question 34

how does the catholic church make tradition

Answer 34

through the catechism - summarises the decrees and declarations on various moral issues incl abortion, euth, nucl weapons. from time to time, collective wisdom of the church is published in a Papal Encyclical eg Pope Francis: Laudato Si on environmental issues pope can also speak ex cathedra (from the chair), and make an infallible statement. eg 1950 Pope Pius xii defined the Assumption of Mary as an article of faith.

Question 35

recent encyclical

Answer 35

Veritatis Splendor by Pope John Paul ii in 1996 reasserts the centrality of reason, conscience, natural law, and the magisterium in catholic moral theology moral law is known to all people and human reason through natural law and conscience awakens a person's awareness of divine law.

Question 36

natural law

Answer 36

god has bestowed humans with ratio so can discern god's will from nature eg secondary precepts. natural law can also be used by individuals to work out what they should do and to inform their conscience if they do not know church teachings on the matter humans are not totally depraved as calvinism suggests. the magisterium therefore uses a combination of interpretation of bible and natural law to develop sacred tradition in matters related to morality.

Answer 37

x

Question 38

strengths of sacred tradition

Answer 38

+ tradition has enormous value, its age has a strong sense of authority. religion is an aspect of human existence that values continuity, stability, and the wisdom of the past. links to the apostolic succession. + the church preceded the complete bible so must have authority +

Question 39

weaknesses of sacred tradition

Answer 39

-chruch as an old, powerful human organisation is not infallible, makes mistakes and is open to corruption. eg selling indulgences (quick route through purgatory) made the church money for the crusades. -catholic church's reputation as a stronghold of ethics has taken a dent from the child sex abuse scandal. rather than punishing, priests were moved

Question 40

phillip turner

Answer 40

- jesus in Mark 7:8 "you leave the commandment of god, and hold fast the tradition of men" - phillip turner notes the traditions are criticised by jesus being the rules of men, not god

Question 41

rosemary radford ruether

Answer 41

both church tradition and the bible are shaped exclusively to male experiences, it is partial and incomplete

Question 42

steven fry

Answer 42

the church is repsonsible for history's most heinous crimes.

Question 43

church teachings are all christians need to live ethically YES

Answer 43

+ teachings are derived from jesus and his apostles = highest authority + every moral situation is developed upon in bible + without church teachings, christian ethics is too subjective and individualistic. + current issues can be tackled communally within the church as opposed to the individual challenge of secular ethics. + RC chruch uses ratio from natural law within.

Question 44

church teachings are all christians need to live ethically NO

Answer 44

+ according to calvinists, only bible is needed + according to fletcher, only agape (backed by jesus) + bile only should be used as confirmed god's words + church role isnt to suppose its own tradition, to teach teachings