Transcript Christian Ethics - Choices for life

About Christian EthicsThe central question of ethics is:
"What should I do?"
Whenever you are faced with this
question, you are dealing with
ethics.
Moral Dilemma Question...
Sophie's Choice.
• A Polish woman, Sophie Zawistowska, is arrested by the Nazis and
sent to the Auschwitz death camp. On arrival, she is "honoured" for
not being a Jew by being allowed a choice: One of her children will be
spared the gas chamber if she chooses which one. In an agony of
indecision, as both children are being taken away, she suddenly does
choose. They can take her daughter, who is younger and smaller.
Sophie hopes that her older and stronger son will be better able to
survive, but she loses track of him and never does learn of his fate.
Did she do the right thing? Years later, haunted by the guilt of having
chosen between her children, Sophie commits suicide. Should she
have felt guilty?
Definitions
• Science defines ethics as a “set of moral
principles, the study of morality.”
(principles of right and wrong)
Ethical Principles
• Are they flexible? (subject to
change) or
• Are they absolute (they do not
change)?
• Do ethics evolve over time?
In seeking to answer the question of “What
should I do?” we are left with some enduring
truths
• Ethics is about relationships.
• Ethics is about struggling to develop a well-informed
conscience.
• It’s about being true to yourself and what you stand for.
• It’s about having the courage to explore difficult
questions.
• It’s about taking responsibility for your actions and
accepting the cost.
Ethics can be based on
A world view or
a religious view of what is
considered to acceptable or
unacceptable.
Christian Ethics
• Christian morality is based
upon the will of God.
• Christians believe that God’s
will is known and exemplified
through Jesus’ life and
teachings.
• Humanity finds out about
these teachings through the
New Testament.
Principles of right and wrong are based
on:
• Scripture
• Holy Tradition (the living memory
of the Church)
• Experience (God’s revelation
through the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit.
Central to Christian ethics is• The concept of
agape or
unconditional love
for all people.
• Agape is an
empathetic
attitude of caring
for everyone and
anyone.
Foundational Principles
• Basic Moral Imperative –
"Do good & avoid evil" (Luke 6:27-37)
“Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you and pray for those who
spitefully use you.”
“Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.”
“Judge not and you shall not be judged.
“For with the same measure that you use, it will be
measured back to you,”
The Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20
Ethical Principles (cont.)
Greatest Commandment –
• "Love the Lord, your God, with your whole
heart…“ & "Love your neighbor as yourself"
(Deut 6:4 & Lev 19:18); quoted in Mark 12:29-31;
Other Love Commands –
• "Love your enemies" (Matt 5:43-48; Luke 6:27-35)
• "Love one another as I have loved you"
(John 13:34; 15:12-17; Rom 13:8; 1 Thess 4:9; etc.)
Ethical Principles (cont.)
Golden Rule –
• "Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you" (Matt 6:12; par. Luke 6:31)
• Related: "forgiving others" (Matt 6:12-15),
"not judging others" (Matt 7:1-5),
striving to be like God (Matt 5:48; Luke 11:2-4; cf. Lev 11:44-45).
Conscience –
• Priority of individual conscience (follow “Inner
Voice”)
• Obligation to develop an "informed" conscience
A quick guide to ethical decision-making
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What are the relevant facts?
Would I be happy for my actions to be made public?
Would I be happy if my family knew what I’d done?
What would happen if everybody did this?
How would I like it if someone did this to me?
Will the proposed course of action bring about a good
result?
• Is the proposed course of action consistent with my
values and principles?
• Have I considered all the possibilities?
In conclusion• Aquinas (Italian priest of the Roman Catholic
Church) has argued that if something makes us
‘more human’ then it is morally good and right.”
• He also defined what is means to be human.
– “The general purpose of humanity is to live, work,
reproduce, educate children, have an ordered society
and worship God.”
• Therefore, actions that support those principles
are ‘good’, those that deny them are ‘bad’.
Complete questionnaire
Moral Dilemma Questions...
• Q: Imagine you are placed in a room with
Adolf Hitler when he is only 3 years old.
You have a gun, know exactly what he
does during World War 2 and will not be
charged in any way if you choose to kill
him, but at the time he is just an innocent
baby, would you kill him?
Moral Dilemma Questions...
• Q: An 88 year-old man/woman invites you
to spend the weekend with them as their
lover. In return you will inherit their entire
estate worth a small fortune. Would you
accept their invitation?
Moral Dilemma Questions...
A Father's Agonizing Choice
• You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A
sadistic guard is about to hang your son who
tried to escape and wants you to pull the chair
from underneath him. He says that if you don't
he will not only kill your son but some other
innocent inmate as well. You don't have any
doubt that he means what he says. What should
you do?
Moral Dilemma Questions...
Q: You are the last hope for a distant
relative who urgently needs a bonemarrow donation but there is a 20%
chance you won't survive the operation.
Would you agree to the donation?
Moral Dilemma Questions...
Q: How much money, if indeed there is a
price, would you need to be paid to
appear in a pornographic movie? The
movie is likely to be viewed by millions of
people.
Moral Dilemma Questions...
Q: You enter a quiz and the winning team
will be awarded $10,000 for the charity of
their choice. You find a copy of the
questions before the quiz. Is it okay to
cheat for the benefit of a charity?
Moral Dilemma Questions...
Q: Your boss is having an affair for which
you have evidence. Your boss fires you
for being persistently late for work. Would
you be tempted to use the evidence of
his/her affair to blackmail your job back?