Prelims

• Ecclesiastes 1 speaks about the vanity of life
• The Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem, declares everything as meaningless
• Generations come and go, but the earth remains forever
• Psalm 139:13-17 speaks about the foreknowledge of God in creation and pro-creation
• God created the inmost being of individuals and knit them together in their mother's womb
• The psalmist praises God for His precious thoughts and vast knowledge
• Psalm 8 pictures man's dignity and God's glory
• Man is made a little lower than heavenly beings, crowned with glory and honor, and ruler over the works of God's hands
• Jeremiah 29:11 speaks about God's plan for human beings
• Definitions of Ethics:

  • Etymologically, ethics comes from the Greek word ethos which means custom, usage, or character
  • Traditionally, ethics is a practical science of the morality of human acts
  • Modernly, ethics is defined as a philosophical reflection on "creative responsibility"
• Importance of Ethics:

  • Improves decision making by guiding people to make right decisions
  • Assists in dealings by encouraging positive behavior and relationships
  • Evaluates different ethical systems to determine the correct Christian standard of living
• The Nature and Scope of Ethics:

  • Ethics seeks to determine what is right and wrong based on the standard or parameter of behavior
  • It is a normative science interested in the norms and standards of human conduct
  • Ethics covers the morality and the whole experience of a person concerning what "ought to be done"
• Major Ethical Systems:

  • Antinomianism: Affirms no moral or general laws
  • Generalism: Teaches there are no absolute laws, only some general ones
  • Situationism: Maintains one absolute law, love
  • Conflicting Absolutism: Believes in many conflicting absolute laws, choosing the lesser evil
  • Graded Absolutism: Affirms conflicting absolute laws, obeying the higher law
  • Unqualified Absolutism: Asserts many absolute laws not in conflict, always immoral
• Relationship of Ethics to Other Sciences:

  • Logic is the science of correct thinking, while Ethics is the science of correct living
  • Psychology deals with human behavior, while Ethics deals with the morality of human behavior
  • Sociology is concerned with the relationship of humans to society, while Ethics is concerned with the moral and social order of humans and society
  • Economics deals with business processes based on justice and moral principles, while Ethics deals with labor, wages, and wealth distribution based on moral principles
• Definition of Christian Ethics:

  • Christian ethics is a method of determining right and wrong based on the understanding and interpretation of the Christian message
  • Right and wrong are determined by the life and teachings of Jesus Christ
  • Consult the life and teachings of Christ to understand what to do or avoid in life and what to believe
• Significance of Christian Ethics:

  • Guides Christians in making right decisions based on values, belief in the dignity of persons, and responsibility towards neighbors
  • Helps differentiate between vital and peripheral aspects of life, setting priorities
  • Assists in determining goals in life and realizing them, emphasizing the importance of good principles and right attitude
• Biblical Basis of Christian Ethics:

  • Based on the Scripture as God's communication to mankind, revealing His mind, character, and will
  • Rooted in God's will, reflecting His moral attributes and unchangeable nature
  • Rests on the absolute foundation of God's unchanging character, providing a solid base for ethical behavior
  • Grounded in God's revelation through nature and Scripture, with ethical duty based on acknowledging God as the source
• Christian Ethics in Relationship with the Old and New Testaments:

  • Old Testament Ethics:
  • Principles consist of laws, character, and nature of God
  • Governing principle is the holiness of God, requiring living in accordance with His nature and character
  • Major contributions include accountability to a monotheistic God, humility, righteousness, and wisdom
  • New Testament Ethics:
  • Jesus Christ's life, teaching, and ministry form the structure of New Testament ethics
  • Revelation of God in the New Testament assumes His lordship over creation, making all aspects of life subject to His Word
• God's revelation in the New Testament assumes His lordship over His creation
• All aspects of life, including attitudes and actions, are subject to God
• New Testament ethics has a saving outlook on life, revealing that mankind fell into sin but God offers reconciliation through Christ
• Principles governing New Testament ethics are:

  • "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind"
  • "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:37-39)
• Concepts of God:

  1. God is Ethical, emphasizing the sacredness of human life and not wanting human sacrifices

  2. God is Creator, not responsible for what is wrong with us but the source of what is right

  3. God is Righteous, demanding righteousness from all people and emphasizing moral and ethical obligations

  4. God is Provider, capable of supplying human needs

  5. God is Justice, emphasizing justice and upright living, wanting people to repent from their sins

  6. God is Merciful, showing mercy to the merciful and expecting reciprocity
• 7. God is Savior, delivering and saving people from various situations

  8. God is Love, concretized in Jesus, challenging people to love one another (I John 4:6-8)
• Criteria of Christian Ethics:

  • Criterion of right emphasizes the duty of man
  • Criterion of good emphasizes the purpose of man
  • Criterion of fit emphasizes the situation of man
• Standards for what is right or wrong:

  1. Jesus Christ, whose life and teachings are the standards of Christian behavior

  2. The Word of God, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Methods of Christian Ethics:

  • Intuition, insight, instinct, or moral sense
  • Faith in God, discerning God's will through relating life to Jesus Christ
  • Reason or Power of discrimination, analyzing situations before making moral decisions
• Antinomianism

  Affirms there are no moral or general laws
• Generalism

  Teaches that there are no absolute laws, only some general ones
• Situationism

  Maintains that there is one absolute law, love
• Conflicting Absolutism

  Believes in many conflicting absolute laws and choosing the lesser evil
• Graded Absolutism

  Affirms conflicting absolute laws but obeying the higher law
• Unqualified Absolutism

  Asserts that there are many absolute laws not in conflict with each other
• Gospels

  Reflect Jesus’ way of life
• Vital

  Signifies essential element in life
• Peripheral

  Minor significance in life
• Scriptures

  God’s communication has been accomplished through this.
• Christian ethics

  Goes back to God as the ultimate ground and source of morality.
• Nature and Scripture

  God has revealed Himself in these.
• Psalm 19:1-6

  God has revealed Himself in Nature.