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Christain Moral Reasoning

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This article focused on two main principles of Christain moral reasoning; reflection and deliberation. Reflection can be defined as the act of thinking about something, while questioning, ‘What is the truth?’ Deliberation can be interpreted as a thought to form an action, while asking, ‘What are we to do?’ Each principle paints a different illustration; reflection is looking back upon something and deliberation is weighing one’s options (O’Donovan, 1995). In order to understand deliberation, one must first properly learn about reflection. Reflection describes the different aspects of teleological order which allows one to understand deliberation more clearly. Teleology is defined as the rational account of purpose. The purpose is twofold; there …show more content…

However, His purpose and plans do not need to take over our own ability to make logical decisions in various situations. Christians should not follow God’s commandments just for the sake of doing it, but they should understand why. It is important to study the Word of God, understand it, and use reasoning to make decisions. If humans mindlessly did whatever God asked, then God would not be the God we know. If this were the case, He would be a God who forced His’ purposes on everyone and not the God who created human beings with a mind of their own. God’s purposes explain teleological structures of the world and the decisions we make reflect our morals. While reflecting on God’s purposes and plans, it is important to understand what His has done for each individual. When reflecting on the history of what God has done, individuals should look at His creation, character, and actions. Lastly, one should reflect upon the purpose of the world and the importance of humanity. All these reflections allow us to see the blessings that God has given to the world (O’Donovan, …show more content…

Deliberation is a thought that is movement in the direction of action, but does not necessarily mean towards a decision. This concept is not just the process of humans asking themselves what should one ought to do, but ‘how should one live their life?’ As Christians, one should use the Bible to help shape guidelines on how one ought to live their life. Once guidelines are set, then one should decide their feelings and beliefs toward certain aspects of life (O’Donovan, 1995). There are two difficult points of view when one is dealing with moral rules. The first difficulty is if one is to obey God’s rule they should completely understand the meaning behind it. The second difficulty is if one found an exception to a rule this would make the rule does not apply. However, some may say that an exception would prove the rule. In order to make the right moral decision, it is important for one’s to use judgment in each situation (O’Donovan,

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