Transcript PowerPoint
Worldview and Ethics Definitions • The Big Picture • The Power to Do What’s Right What is Ethics? • The doctrines of morality or social manners • The science of moral philosophy, which teaches men their duty and the reasons of it • A system of rules for regulating the actions and manners of men in society Definitions from Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary What is morality? • Definition (Webster): duties of men in their social character; virtue; the quality of an action which renders it good • Morality is not a concept in a vacuum • Morality is part of a bigger picture • Morality is the outworking of our worldview. What is a Worldview? Paradigm: lenses to view the data Everyone has a worldview. It is the way you look at the world (weltanschauung). A philosophical framework for filtering and categorizing data and experiences. Defines the nature of reality according to that person. First principles. Three Basic Worldviews Theism Naturalism Transcendentalism Worldview leads to Morality • • • • Cause -> Effect Belief -> Actions Paradigm -> Behavior Worldview -> Morality and Ethics Theism There is a God There is nature The two are separate and distinct, and both are real Naturalism There is no God There is only nature God is an illusion Transcendentalism There is only God There is no nature Nature is an illusion Grand Metaphysical Stories Theism Creation - God made nature out of nothing Naturalism Evolution - Nature made itself out of nothing Transcendentalism Reincarnation - God made nothing - nature is an illusion - all are part of God Morality and Christian Theism • • • • • • • God is real He is the source of morality God is morally perfect – He is the standard Morality is objectively real He instilled a moral sense in each of us We are not morally perfect – we sin Love and self-sacrifice are central ethics Morality and Naturalism • Nature is real • Individuals are the source of morality • There is no moral perfection – we are our own standard • Morality is subjective convention at best and illusory at worst • Moral sense is a product of society and education • Survival and self-interest are central ethics Morality and Transcendentalism • God is real, but an impersonal force. • We as divine beings are the source of morality – if it feels right to you then it is right. • We are our own moral standard – external authority limits enlightenment, saps personal power, and denies our godhood. • Morality is related to our karma. • Moral sense is a product of our experience over various lifetimes. What appears to be evil in this life may be the opposite in another incarnation. • We are morally perfect, because everyone acts morally. We are all seeking our shortest path to the Divine. • “Do what you will” is the central ethic. There is no right and wrong. Good and Worldview • Transcendentalism – good and evil are opposites of the same coin, illusory • Naturalism – individually determined, illusory Good and Worldview • Christian Theism – good is a real property, because God is good. Evil is a privation of the good. God is not evil, nor originated evil in the world • Physical analogies • Light and dark • Heat and cold What is Man? • Man in the generic sense. • Are humans inherently good or evil? • Transcendentalists – meaningless question • Naturalists – meaningless question • Theists – a very important question Theistic Views of Man • Classic liberalism • Man is inherently good • Any vestige of evil is due to: • Bad socialization • Bad socio-economic conditions • Bad education • Remove these and man will naturally do good. • This view can be found in Christian circles not only by theological liberals, but also Methodists and Neo-Orthodox. Theistic Views of Man • Calvinism • Man inherently evil • Man is completely fallen, including God’s image. • He is so fallen that he is incapable of good Theistic Views of Man • Biblical view • Man is inherently both good and evil • He is fallen, but still in the image of God; tainted by sin • He is capable of good and evil, but has a tendency toward evil. • He is like an onion The Power to Do What’s Right We Know What Is Right • We know what is right • We don’t always do what is right • This is the human dilemma The Human Dilemma • St. Paul reflected the human dilemma well “In fact, I don’t understand why I act the way I do. I don’t do what I know is right. I do the things I hate. . .What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me” Romans 7 The Difference • All great religions teach moral codes • Why is being a follower of Jesus Christ any different than being Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist? • Following Jesus Christ is more than religion • Following Jesus Christ is a relationship • He gives His followers power to live Moral Facts About Jesus Christ • He proposed the highest moral teaching of anyone in history. • He actually lived his moral philosophy. • How could he do it? • Jesus was the Creator God of the Universe who took on human form to visit us. • Since God is morally perfect, Jesus lived a morally perfect life. • Consequently, he knows how to live rightly. Moral Facts About Jesus Christ • Jesus told his disciples that it is to their advantage that he leave them. • The perfect, all-loving, all-powerful God of the Universe was localized in a body, so was restricted by that body. • Once unembodied God promised he would return to his children by his Holy Spirit to: • Comfort them • Teach them • Never leave them or forsake them • The God of the Universe would take up residence in them. The Difference • The perfect, all-loving, all-powerful God of the Universe lives in each of his children. • He does not force his way on us, but if we willingly allow him to live his life through us we can live as we ought to live. He knows how to live up to his own standard. • Only God’s children have God’s Spirit in them, but anyone can be God’s child if they want to be. Living By His Spirit “You are no longer ruled by your desires, but by God’s Spirit, who lives in you. People who don’t have the Spirit of Christ in them don’t belong to him. But Christ lives in you. So you are alive because God has accepted you, even though your bodies must die because of your sins. . .My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God’s Spirit you say “No” to your desires. Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children” (Romans 8:9, 10, 12-14). Why So Much Scandal (Revisited)? • Two reasons that America has such moral problems • Christians are ignorant of the power of God within them. • Too many people think they are Christians, but have, in fact, embraced a caricature of Christianity. • Religion does not make one a Christian • Relationship does My Story • I grew up in a Lutheran family, but this did not make me a true follower of Jesus Christ. • During my senior year in high school a friend of mine explained to me: • How I could have my sins forgiven • Have fellowship with God directly and personally • Have power to live as Christ lived • Have a home in heaven when I died My Story • I wanted that, and on June 30, 1980 I began my relationship with Jesus Christ. • This is a revolutionary concept Jesus said “I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God” (John 3:5, 6). My Story • My life has been an adventure ever since. • I am not perfect, but He who lives through me is. This is the foundation for morality. If I allow Jesus to live His perfect moral life through me I will do what I would not naturally do: live rightly. Conclusion • Every great teacher and every institution teaches on four main points: • • • • What is knowledge? What is the nature of reality? Who is well off? Who’s a really good person? Conclusion • Jesus has the most defensible answers to all these questions. • He has them in a form that constitutes knowledge. He has brought them into the world, and we have the opportunity of representing them. • The Old Rugged Cross is where the best heart in the universe revealed itself, and invited everyone to step in. There is nothing you are going to hear anywhere that comes remotely close to that. • Where else can you have the power to live as you know you ought to live?