About Christian Ethics-

1. About Christian Ethics- The central question of ethics is: "What should I do?" Whenever you are faced with this question, you are dealing with ethics.

2. 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?

3. Definitions • Science defines ethics as a “set of moral principles, the study of morality.” (principles of right and wrong)

4. Ethical Principles Are they flexible? (subject to change) or Are they absolute (they do not change)? Do ethics evolve over time?

5. 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.

6. Ethics can be based on A world view or a religious view of what is considered to acceptable or unacceptable.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. 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,”

11. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20

12. 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.)

13. 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

14. A quick guide to ethical decision-making • 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?

15. 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’.

16. Complete questionnaire

17. 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?

18. 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?

19. 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?

20. Moral Dilemma Questions... Q: You are the last hope for a distant relative who urgently needs a bone-marrow donation but there is a 20% chance you won't survive the operation. Would you agree to the donation?

21. 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.

22. 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?

23. 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?