CHRISTIAN ETHICS: Biblical Worldview Thinking
What is a worldview?
A worldview is simply a habituated way of seeing and doing; it is the big picture that directs our thoughts and
actions. A worldview is composed of at least seven fundamental elements:
One’s view of God
One’s view of reality
One’s view of truth
One’s view of knowledge
One’s view of humanity
One’s view of ethics
One’s view of evil.
I. What is the Study of Ethics?
The study of problems of right conduct in light of moral principles such as compassion, goodness, justice, rationality, responsibility, and virtue. The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos,” which means “character.” Choices concerning what values to embrace and how to treat oneself and one’s responsibilities to others are matters of ethics. The term ethics is often used interchangeably with the term “morality,” which is derived from the Latin word “mores”, “customs.” Ethics involves distinguishing right from wrong, defining good & bad, & to consider the consequences of our actions. Questions like “What is the right thing to do?” & “Why is this the right thing to do?” are the basis of ethical inquiry. Ethics inquires into why we have a sense of right and wrong at all, how ethical views are grounded, and whether or not there are universal principles. Consider the following:
1. Some believe that our sense of right & wrong comes from God.
2. Others believe that our sense of right & wrong is a natural capacity, like our ability to reason.
3. Still, there are others have argued that our sense of right & wrong arises from our individual experiences in the world.
II. Important Terms to Know: **COMING SOON**
3 Major Models of Ethics:
Let’s look at the following models of ethics from a bird’s eye view before we examine each of these models more deeply in future classes:
Virtue Ethics
Deontological Ethics
Consequential Ethics
From A Bird’s Eye View:
Deontological Elements: 2 Essential Premises:
1. An action is right iff it is in accordance with a moral rule or principle.
2. A moral rule is one that is: (a) laid on us by God, (b) required by natural law, (c) laid on us by reason, (d) required by rationality, (e) would command universal rational acceptance, or (f) would be the object of choice of all rational beings.
What is essential is the link between right action, moral rule, & rationality.
What is Virtue Ethics: An action is right iff it is what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances; 1a. A virtuous agent is one who acts virtuously, i.e., one who has & exercises the virtues. 2 A virtue is a character trait a human being needs to flourish or live well. It is a habit of excellence, a beneficial tendency, a skilled disposition. Roughly speaking, a virtue is a good habit and a vice is a bad habit. A habit is a disposition to think, feel, desire, and act in a
certain way without having a tendency to will consciously to do so.
What is essential is to note the conceptual link between virtue & flourishing (living well or eudaimonia).
What is Consequential Ethics:
1. An act is right if it promotes the best consequences;
2. The best consequences are those in which happiness is maximized. What is essential to note is that it forges a link between consequences & happiness.
How do we define or calculate what is “happiness” or what is “the best”? Who or what makes those calculations?
III. What is Truth?
Truth is that which corresponds to reality, identifies things as they actually are, must be able to be expressed in propositions (t + t = true), can never fail, diminish, change, or be extinguished, and is sourced in the God of the Bible, who is the Author of all truth.
Correspondence View of Truth: Truth is that which corresponds to its object, whether the object is abstract or concrete. Truth is the way things really are. Truth is “telling like it is.”
Coherent View of Truth: Truth is that which is internally consistent; what coheres within; what is self-consistent.
Pragmatic View of Truth: A statement is known to be true if it brings the right results. If it works, then it is true.
IV. Six Worldviews:
1. Philosophical Naturalistic Worldview
2. Philosophical Postmodern Worldview
3. Religious Pantheistic Worldviews
4. Religious Polytheism & Spiritism Worldviews
5. Theistic Worldview
6. Biblical Christian Worldview
A worldview is simply a habituated way of seeing and doing; it is the big picture that directs our thoughts and
actions. A worldview is composed of at least seven fundamental elements:
One’s view of God
One’s view of reality
One’s view of truth
One’s view of knowledge
One’s view of humanity
One’s view of ethics
One’s view of evil.
I. What is the Study of Ethics?
The study of problems of right conduct in light of moral principles such as compassion, goodness, justice, rationality, responsibility, and virtue. The word “ethics” comes from the Greek word “ethos,” which means “character.” Choices concerning what values to embrace and how to treat oneself and one’s responsibilities to others are matters of ethics. The term ethics is often used interchangeably with the term “morality,” which is derived from the Latin word “mores”, “customs.” Ethics involves distinguishing right from wrong, defining good & bad, & to consider the consequences of our actions. Questions like “What is the right thing to do?” & “Why is this the right thing to do?” are the basis of ethical inquiry. Ethics inquires into why we have a sense of right and wrong at all, how ethical views are grounded, and whether or not there are universal principles. Consider the following:
1. Some believe that our sense of right & wrong comes from God.
2. Others believe that our sense of right & wrong is a natural capacity, like our ability to reason.
3. Still, there are others have argued that our sense of right & wrong arises from our individual experiences in the world.
II. Important Terms to Know: **COMING SOON**
3 Major Models of Ethics:
Let’s look at the following models of ethics from a bird’s eye view before we examine each of these models more deeply in future classes:
Virtue Ethics
Deontological Ethics
Consequential Ethics
From A Bird’s Eye View:
Deontological Elements: 2 Essential Premises:
1. An action is right iff it is in accordance with a moral rule or principle.
2. A moral rule is one that is: (a) laid on us by God, (b) required by natural law, (c) laid on us by reason, (d) required by rationality, (e) would command universal rational acceptance, or (f) would be the object of choice of all rational beings.
What is essential is the link between right action, moral rule, & rationality.
What is Virtue Ethics: An action is right iff it is what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances; 1a. A virtuous agent is one who acts virtuously, i.e., one who has & exercises the virtues. 2 A virtue is a character trait a human being needs to flourish or live well. It is a habit of excellence, a beneficial tendency, a skilled disposition. Roughly speaking, a virtue is a good habit and a vice is a bad habit. A habit is a disposition to think, feel, desire, and act in a
certain way without having a tendency to will consciously to do so.
What is essential is to note the conceptual link between virtue & flourishing (living well or eudaimonia).
What is Consequential Ethics:
1. An act is right if it promotes the best consequences;
2. The best consequences are those in which happiness is maximized. What is essential to note is that it forges a link between consequences & happiness.
How do we define or calculate what is “happiness” or what is “the best”? Who or what makes those calculations?
III. What is Truth?
Truth is that which corresponds to reality, identifies things as they actually are, must be able to be expressed in propositions (t + t = true), can never fail, diminish, change, or be extinguished, and is sourced in the God of the Bible, who is the Author of all truth.
Correspondence View of Truth: Truth is that which corresponds to its object, whether the object is abstract or concrete. Truth is the way things really are. Truth is “telling like it is.”
Coherent View of Truth: Truth is that which is internally consistent; what coheres within; what is self-consistent.
Pragmatic View of Truth: A statement is known to be true if it brings the right results. If it works, then it is true.
IV. Six Worldviews:
1. Philosophical Naturalistic Worldview
2. Philosophical Postmodern Worldview
3. Religious Pantheistic Worldviews
4. Religious Polytheism & Spiritism Worldviews
5. Theistic Worldview
6. Biblical Christian Worldview
V. The Problem of Evil
What is evil?...Atheism affirms evil but denies the reality of God...Finite godism can claim that God desires to destroy evil but is unable to because he is limited in power...Deism can distance God from evil by stressing that God is not in the world, but beyond it...Panentheism insists that evil is a necessary part of the ongoing progress of the interaction of God and the world...Pantheism affirms the reality of God but denies the reality of evil....Theism affirms both the reality of both God and evil.
The problem of evil may be viewed in simple form as a conflict involving three concepts:
1. God’s power,
2. God’s goodness, and
3. the presence of evil in the world.
Solutions to the problem of evil typically involve modifying one or more of these three concepts:
1. limit God’s power,
2. limit God’s goodness,
3. modify the existence of evil (e.g., call evil an illusion).
Consider…(1) If God made no claims to being good, then the existence of evil would be easier to explain; but God does claim to be good; (2) If God were limited in power so that he was not strong enough to withstand evil, the existence of evil would be easier to explain; but God does claim to be all-powerful; (3) If evil were just an illusion that had no reality, the problem wouldn’t really exist in the first place; but evil is not an illusion. Evil is real.
We face the reality of two types of evil...
a. Moral Evil (evil committed by free moral agents, involving such things as war, crime, cruelty, class struggles, discrimination, slavery, ethnic cleansing, suicide bombings, & social injustice);
b. Natural Evil (involving such things as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc).
THE MORAL LAW ARGUMENT:
1. Moral Law imply a Moral Law Giver.
2. There is an objective moral law.
3. Therefore, there is a Moral Law Giver.
What is evil?...Atheism affirms evil but denies the reality of God...Finite godism can claim that God desires to destroy evil but is unable to because he is limited in power...Deism can distance God from evil by stressing that God is not in the world, but beyond it...Panentheism insists that evil is a necessary part of the ongoing progress of the interaction of God and the world...Pantheism affirms the reality of God but denies the reality of evil....Theism affirms both the reality of both God and evil.
The problem of evil may be viewed in simple form as a conflict involving three concepts:
1. God’s power,
2. God’s goodness, and
3. the presence of evil in the world.
Solutions to the problem of evil typically involve modifying one or more of these three concepts:
1. limit God’s power,
2. limit God’s goodness,
3. modify the existence of evil (e.g., call evil an illusion).
Consider…(1) If God made no claims to being good, then the existence of evil would be easier to explain; but God does claim to be good; (2) If God were limited in power so that he was not strong enough to withstand evil, the existence of evil would be easier to explain; but God does claim to be all-powerful; (3) If evil were just an illusion that had no reality, the problem wouldn’t really exist in the first place; but evil is not an illusion. Evil is real.
We face the reality of two types of evil...
a. Moral Evil (evil committed by free moral agents, involving such things as war, crime, cruelty, class struggles, discrimination, slavery, ethnic cleansing, suicide bombings, & social injustice);
b. Natural Evil (involving such things as hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, etc).
THE MORAL LAW ARGUMENT:
1. Moral Law imply a Moral Law Giver.
2. There is an objective moral law.
3. Therefore, there is a Moral Law Giver.
Biblical Ethics
Here are 5 ways to develop and keep a mode of Biblical Ethics:
1.) Does it violate any clear teaching of Scripture?
2.) Does it destroy any part of the body (physically, mentally, or spiritually) that is The Temple of The Holy Spirit?
3.) Does it cause a weaker Christian or non-Christian to be hindered?
4.) Does it violate the express will of one who has the God-given right to exercise headship?
5.) Does it glorify God?
1.) Does it violate any clear teaching of Scripture?
2.) Does it destroy any part of the body (physically, mentally, or spiritually) that is The Temple of The Holy Spirit?
3.) Does it cause a weaker Christian or non-Christian to be hindered?
4.) Does it violate the express will of one who has the God-given right to exercise headship?
5.) Does it glorify God?