3. INTRO
• Alternative Christian ethic
• 1966 J. Fletcher “Situation Ethics”
• Time of change - Kennedy’s assassination, sexual revolution
• Teleological and consequentialist.
5. Agape
• Law of love
• F&R: Intrinsically good and unconditional
6. Fletcher explained Agape
• Love is not liking
• Unconditional
• “Love only is always good”
• No action is intrinsically good or bad
• Love is the only norm
7. Biblical Basis
• Jesus taught “Love God and love your neighbour”
• Jesus worked on the Sabbath because the circumstances were
extreme
8. Four Working Principles
• Pragmatism: “The proposed course of action should work, and
its success or failure will be judged on its principle,”
• Relativism: rejects absolutes, “Christianity cannot go on trying
to lay down the law,”
• Positivism: love is the most important criterion
• Personalism: put people first, “A situationist asks, ‘who is to be
helped’?”
9.
10. W - Extreme Cases
• Barclay – how often do we make life or death choices?
• “It is much easier to agree that extraordinary situations need
extraordinary measures than to think that there are no rules
for everyday life.”
11. W – Law is vital
• Protects
• Deters
• Defines crime
• Barclay “Human beings need the guidelines offered by laws to
avoid moral chaos.”
12. W – Overly Optimistic
• Humans are intrinsically selfish.
