When making ethical decisions we as Christians use different sources to help us in deciding how we should respond to a given situation while staying true to our Christian faith and its values. The scholar Richard Hays identified these sources for ethical decision-making into four areas: Scripture, tradition, reason and experience. Neither of these is used in isolation, but work together to help us decide what would be ethically right to lead the “good life” and proclaim the Kingdom of God. Tradition refers to our understanding of our faith community, why we exist and how we live our lives, an understanding and practise which is demonstrated in worship, teaching, reflection and change. We also draw on our past experiences and power of reasoning to help in our decision making, however it is to Scripture that we look for guidance and authority. The bible is referred to as a collection of writings that shapes the church’s identity. (Messer, 2006, p. 18) The books, referred to as the Canon of Scripture, were chosen by the church as divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. Karl Barth is said to have referred to scripture as: “A unique witness to God’s revelation of himself in Jesus Christ, and in it we hear the word of God...” (Messer, 2006, p. 21) The scholar Richard Hays, in referring to scripture said in it we find rules, such as the Ten Commandments, but we also find principles, paradigms and a symbolic world. (Messer, 2006, p. 21) Principles are referred to as
People from all walks of life face many ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have consequences. Our worldview determines how we deal with these dilemmas, and guides us to the right decisions. In this essay, I will examine an ethical issues through my Christian worldview. I will also present other viewpoints, and compare them to mine.
Pietism viewed Scripture as the governing authority of one's life. However, the Medieval Catholic Church embraced Scripture and traditions as authoritative. In fact, Catholicism placed equal emphasis on Scripture and tradition. According to Catholic Catechism, “this living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture by showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer." It
Sacred Texts and Writings are the foundations of all beliefs and practices in Judaism, providing and guiding adherents with basic laws and customs to abide by. Judaism is often referred to as
Every day we are faced with certain situations that challenge us with how to act in an ethical manner. It can be human nature to feel unsure or conflicted with the correct moral choice. Some can say that one should know how to handle such dilemmas and others may say that there should be a reference of some sort to help guide through such conflicts. Sometimes we know the answers and sometimes we are unsure of how to handle certain situations. Most times we go through life wondering what we should do. As I become further educated on the different theories of ethics, I believe there are answers that are available in guiding one through an ethical dilemma and or judgment. I will discuss Vincent Ruggiero’s three basic criteria, Robert Kegan’s order of consciousness, the three schools of ethics and the correlation between all three.
Within the Bible, you will find that “working within a system or set of rules” could refer to the Ten Commandments, which were given to us by our Lord for our well-being and to work as a moral guide.
As a Christian, there are three ethical systems that one could look to, to mold their ethical decisions around which all include a foundation of absolutism. But not all absolutism ethical systems are equal. Of the three ethical systems (unqualified absolutism, conflicting absolutism, graded absolutism), graded absolutism stands out as the strongest ethical system to follow.
For we have much to discuss about it, but few historical data, according to the Scriptures, we have examples that do not reflect moral, ethical and responsible choices, according to different viewpoints. Which made me recapitulate the topic of discussion. People as individuals and as a community can make decisions based on their own judgment, but it is difficult to catalog in moral or ethical. The selection of which one is exposed to decide involves
As a college student I am confronted with many different beliefs and ideologies. The exposure to all of the different beliefs and ideologies has, at times, challenged my personal belief system forcing me to reexamine what I hold to be true. It is in those moments that I resort back to that which I view as sacred for assurance and use as a gauge by which to measure and test these new ideas. Whether it be the Holy Scriptures that contain the written explanation of my faith or one of the tenets contained therein, I find both knowledge to defend my personal beliefs and assurance to stand on what I believe is truth. While there are a number of aspects of my faith system that are treated with great respect and held in high
A person’s idea of ethics guides them through difficult life concepts such as right and wrong, or good and evil. This allows a person to define set principles and standards that they have conducted based on these beliefs. This decision can be founded on religion, culture, or their own general beliefs. In our postmodern society, it is not anything out of the ordinary to have these different options that help us define morality. C. S. Lewis, explains in his book, Mere Christianity, that even with all the many options, the only clear way for a person to derive a set of rules for themselves is to base it off the words in the Bible.
The issue of moral and immoral decisions are something that challenges every person at various points of their life. A majority of the world’s population relies on their religion, and God to guide them in making those decisions. This however does set up an argument for the issue of being able to choose the right moral path based on intellect regardless of religion or belief in a God.
Just what establishes a sacred script and in what way the scriptures are to be understood are as diverse to test practical study. Plentiful suffering that a Christian faces in studying other methods of faith ascends from this simple modification among the Bible of Christianity and the same sacred Scripture of new existing beliefs. A normal meaning of the Bible is to call it a book that is distinguished particularly in trustworthiness.
By informing our moral decisions and behavior with Scripture, “one can discern principles that should govern our decisions”. This becomes instrumental in assisting us not to conform to
Any beneficial conversations about morality that occur between those who practice religion and those who do not, or those with different religions, must incorporate a common set of ethical concepts and a shared procedure for resolving issues and making judgments, all of which ethics provides. It is also understood that in these conversations moral positions on the issues
Almost a decade ago, after I had spent a year of in a discipleship program, I adopted the mission statement: Make the next right decision, and promptly admit when I’m wrong. To me this statement encompasses everything I know about applying Christian ethics to everyday life. Motivated by love, I seek to act in holiness and justice in every choice I make, including admitting promptly when I choose wrong. To make the best decisions possible I apply a biblical perspective, and ethical evaluation toward sound reasoning in recognition of both the spiritual and natural world.
While looking at Ethics, we can see the direct correlation and relationship that it has on our decision making. Ethics ties in the assumption that one has moral knowledge. This thought is produced to support the notion that one’s moralistic values directly influence the knowledge or perception on knowledge. Moral obligation is thought to require some form of action, again bringing in the notion that one’s moral belief system plays a huge part in the shaping of their conclusions. A conclusion can be defined by a judgement or decision reached by reasoning, bringing in the thought that this could possibly be a contemplative decision. There are so many ethical implications that support ones