Making Moral DecisionsTheoreticalapproaches

Different Sourcesof Authority Different Christian denominations

APPROACHESDeontology;• based on doing ones duty• certain acts are intrinsically right / wrongConsequentialism;• based on probable outcome• right / wrong is determined by the situation

THEORIES

Fundamentalism Natural Law Situation Ethics

Biblical Fundamentalism• Fundamentalists believe that every

word of the Bible is literally God’s word, ‘breathed through’ the authors

• Therefore if there is a rule or instruction in the Bible then it should be followed e.g., 10 Commandments

• They also believe all the stories of the Old Testament to be true

Natural Law• Traditionally used by the Roman Catholic

Church

• Based on the idea that God created everything with a purpose and that to act in accordance with that purpose is good. Aquinas summarised these purposes and included ‘to live’ and ‘to worship God’.

• Uses reason to work out God’s purposes

• Natural Law is a universal moral law

Situation Ethics• Moral decisions are too complex to be

decided only by rules

• The message of the New Testament is ‘love’ - that God loves us and that we should love each other. Stressed in Jesus’ teachings.

• Love is the most important principle in making moral decisions - decisions should be made based on whether they express and result in love (agape) and loving actions

How Christians make moral decisions:

They refer to ‘Sources of Authority’ such as;

- Bible

- asking ‘what would Jesus do?’ (on the basis of what they knew of his life, actions and teachings from the Gospels)

- Church teachings

- Reasoning

- Guidance from the Holy Spirit

- Prayer or individual conscience

- Other Christians.

THE BIBLE

• Christians see the Bible as the ‘Word of God’ made known to mankind

• - Fundamentalist Christians take this to be literally the case, other Christians look for the general meaning

• You need to be able to paraphrase passages from the Bible and use them to support your points and explain how they relate to moral issues

• The passages come from different parts of the Bible and it is worth showing some awareness of this when referring to them...

Moral teachings in the Bible come in a variety of forms

• Specific rules e.g., 10 Commandments.• General instructions on how to behave.• Principles on which Christians should

act e.g., ‘love’.

• There is a shift in the Bible from detailed rules in the beginning of the Old Testament to general principles of behaviour in the New Testament (brought about by Jesus).

The Letters of St Paul• Written to help establish

early Christian Churches after the death of Jesus

• They explain the meaning of Jesus’ life and death.

• Give advice on moral issues.

• Advice on how to run a Church.

• The emphasis of the letters is on ‘love’.

Issues not mentioned in the Bible

• On issues like contraception, abortion, fertility treatment and euthanasia which are not specifically mentioned in the Bible, Christians have to follow general principles such as Agape (Love) or The Sanctity of Life.

LOVE – ‘Agape’Jesus presents; ‘The two greatest commandments’- Mark 12: 28 –

31Look these up….what are they?......

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'

The second is this: `Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

The Sanctity of Life

The idea that life is sacred or holy is based on a number of Biblical

teachings

Many Christian denominations place greater emphasis on

The Quality of LifeHowever there are no explicit

teachings to illustrate this idea

Genesis 1:26-27

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Michelangelo ‘The creation of Man’ – Sistine Chapel (Rome)

This means...

All human life, including life developing in the womb and in laboratory test tubes, is created by God in his own image.

It is therefore to be nurtured, supported and protected.

Psalm 139:13-16

“ For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

This means...God knew us before birth and had a purpose

1 Corinthians 3:16-17“Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.”

This means...The Holy Spirit lives in us and that makes our lives sacred

DENOMINATIONS

Different Christian groups value these sources of authority differently

Roman Catholics;- uses Natural Law- accepts authority of church leaders

Baptists;- emphasise Jesus’ teachings (love)

Quakers;- accept that all are filled with the Holy

Spirit and are equal in authority

The Roman Catholic Church

• Claims its leaders are guided by the Holy Spirit.

• Meaning that the teachings of the Catholic Church are seen as being ‘the Word of God’ in a similar way to the Bible.

• The Bible is still the most important source of guidance for how God wants people to behave (God’s purpose – Natural Law) but it has been interpreted and explained using reasoning by the Church leaders over the centuries.

• This is why the Catholic Church does not place great importance on individual Catholics studying the Bible themselves.

• More emphasis is placed on people knowing and understanding the teachings of the Church.

• When making moral decisions, Roman Catholics will tend to follow the teachings of their Church.

• The Church expects its teachings to be followed.

Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI Formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, was elected Pope in 2005 after the death of Pope John Paul II

Baptists• Jesus as their Lord and Saviour is the sole

and absolute authority on all matters.

• His authority is revealed in the Bible.

• Each church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, interprets his laws.

• The Bible is therefore the most important source of authority for making moral decisions.

• Baptists study the Bible.

• Pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit in order to understand it.

• Have faith in Jesus as the Saviour in order to get the grace of the Holy Spirit which helps and guides.

• Give your life to Jesus and become ‘Born Again’. Symbolised by adult baptism.

Piero della Francesca (1420?-92) ‘The Baptism’

Quakers (The Religious Society of Friends)

• Every person has ‘That of God in them’ and is able to know God’s will for himself or herself.

There is no need for priests or vicars to interpret God’s will.

• Beliefs are reflected in Quaker

meetings

• People sit together in silence to be open to inspiration from the Holy Spirit.

• Friends may stand and speak if moved by the spirit, otherwise the meeting continues in silence.

• Each Friend is his own authority. Making their own decisions by studying the Bible, praying, listening to their consciences and discussing with other Friends.

• Quakers have traditionally cared a great deal about social justice and equality. They have been very active in many social causes like ending slavery and supporting pacifism.