The document discusses various factors that influence ethical decision making, including moral, natural, and civil laws as well as worldview. It examines a scenario about the last slice of pie and who should take it, exploring how different laws and worldviews would shape the decision. The document also outlines the key elements of a worldview, such as views on ultimate reality, human nature, ethics, and purpose. It analyzes how worldviews have shaped decisions on issues like abortion, vaccinations, and climate change.

1. CMV-101 | Topic 6 | Part 1
Worldview & Ethical Decision-Making

2. 1. Everyone’s had a slice of pie
2. There’s one slice of pie left
3. But you are still hungry

3. Is it RIGHT
For you to take the last slice?

4. What Moral rules
Shape your decision?

5. What Moral rules
Shape your decision?
What Natural laws
Shape your decision

6. What Moral rules
Shape your decision?
What Natural laws
Shape your decision
What Government (Civil) laws
Shape your decision

7. What are Ethics?
Ethics (moral philosophy), the discipline concerned with what
is morally good and bad and morally right and wrong. The
term is also applied to any system or theory of moral values
or principles. “How shall we live?”
https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethics-philosophy

8. What rules govern our ethical choices?
• Moral Law
• Natural Law
• Civil Law

9. Should I take that slice of pie?
• Moral Law - what is the gracious response
• Natural Law
• Civil Law

10. Should I take that slice of pie?
• Moral Law - what is the gracious response
• Natural Law - am I diabetic or gluten free
• Civil Law

11. Should I take that slice of pie?
• Moral Law - what is the gracious response
• Natural Law - am I diabetic or gluten free
• Civil Law - Did I pay for that slice?

12. Worldview Shapes how we answer these questions
• Moral Law - what is the gracious response
• Natural Law - am I diabetic or gluten free
• Civil Law - Did I pay for that slice?

13. Worldview Shapes how we answer
• Moral Law - I don’t care about the others!
• Natural Law - we’re all going to die anyway!
• Civil Law - Hah! They’ll never catch me!

14. Worldview Shapes how we answer
• Moral Law - Bible teaches me to be concerned with
others
• Natural Law - My body is a Temple of God and I
am responsible to care for it
• Civil Law - God sees my actions and will call me to
account for my actions

15. How does worldview shape our
ethical choices?

16. Worldview: People’s Republic of China
• Sons are more valuable than daughters
• The State should plan the growth of society
• Parents answer to the State on family planning

17. Worldview: Christian Worldview
• Men & women were both created in God’s Image
• Men & women have in
fi
nite value & dignity
• Parents answer to God on their families

18. Worldview: Supreme Court Decision on Abortion
• Worldview # 1 - Women’s right to their own body
• Worldview # 2 - Protection of unborn children

19. Worldview: Mandated Vaccinations
• Worldview # 1 - Human’s right to their own body
• Worldview # 2 - Protection of vulnerable to COVID

20. Worldview: Climate Change
• Worldview # 1 - We are responsible for care of earth
• Worldview # 2 - We are responsible for health of our
economy

22. Elements of a Worldview

23. Worldview as a meta narrative
Act 1 - Creation
Act 2 - The Fall
Act 3 - Redemption
Act 4 - Restoration

24. The Elements of a Worldview
Review from Topic 1
• Ultimate Reality
• Nature of the Universe
• Nature of Human beings
• Nature of Knowledge
• Ethics
• Human Purpose

25. 1. Ultimate Reality
• Is there a personal God?
• Is there an impersonal force?
• Is there nothing beyond physical
world?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

26. 2. Nature of the Universe
• How did the universe come to be?
• Is there an end or goal of history?
• Is the Universe only physical or is there
an invisible spiritual world?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

27. 3. What is Nature of Humans
• Are we only physical bodies
• Do we have a soul or spirit?
• Do we have equal value?
• Were we created with value?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

28. 4. What is Knowledge?
• What are the sources of knowledge
• Is there an absolute “truth”?
• What role do our senses play?
• How can we discover truth?
• Is there a “revelation” or only scienti
fi
c
discover?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

29. 5. Ethics: How do we make
decisions?
• Are there any absolute principles?
• Were these principles revealed or
• Are these principles derived by human
reasoning alone?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

30. 6. Purpose
• Why are we here?
• Do we have a role or duties other than
to ourselves?
• What are the consequences of our
decisions?
Hiles, J. & Faith, A. (2020). Chapter 2: Evaluating wisely. In J. Hiles ed. The beginning of wisdom. Grand Canyon University.

31. 1. Wrestling with an Ethical Questions

32. Wresting with Ethical Questions
1. Identify there civil, natural, and moral laws involved in the scenario.
2. Identify the values in con
fl
ict.
3. Identify which aspect(s) of Christian Worldview informs the decision.
4. Propose an answer to the question.
5. Explain how your answer comes out of a Christian Worldview.
6. Describe the consequences of your answer, and ways to address them.

33. Case: China’s Child Per Family

34. China
Mao Tse-tung
One-child per family law in 1979

35. Population Growth
1953 - 1970
+250 million people

36. Death from Starvation
Estimated 20 million died during the
cultural revolution

37. One child per family
1979
Many families abandon daughter
In order to keep their son

38. Question
You are in a house church in China
A family has one daughter
Mother gave birth to a son.
Should she give up her daughter?

39. Keeping or Giving Up a Daughter?
1. What are the values in con
fl
ict?
2. What part of Christian Worldview address this question?
3. What is the solution & why does it come from a Christian Worldview?

40. Case: The Ivory Billed Woodpecker

41. Ivory Billed
Woodpecker
SCIENTIFIC NAME: CAMPEPHILUS
LAST SEEN: 1987
STATESYEARS LOST: 76
RED LIST STATUS: Extinct

42. Eagle River, WI
Population 1,619
Unemployment Rate 80%

43. Eagle River, WI
Homeless Rate: 20%
Average income $150/month
Covid 19 Deaths in 2020 200
# of residents vaccinated 5

44. Eagle River, WI
wants to come in, build a lane
And harvest trees.
But it will endanger the habitat of Ivory Billed
Woodpecker

45. The Ivory Billed Woodpecker
1. What are the values in con
fl
ict?
2. What part of Christian Worldview address this question?
3. What is the solution & why does it come from a Christian Worldview?
4. What are the bene
fi
ts, consequences,
5. How will you deal with the consequence?

46. 3. The History of Truth

47. Truth in the Bible

48. Truth Assumed
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
(John 8:32 ESV)
“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth.”
(John 4:24, ESV)

49. Truth is dependable

50. Old Testament “Emunah”
New Testament “Veritas” & “Aletheia”

51. Truth in the Old Testament
‫ָה‬‫נ‬‫ֱמוּ‬‫א‬ Emunah
Firmness, steadfastness,
fi
delity, faithfulness, trustworthy

52. Truth in the New Testament
ἀ
λ
ή
θεια Aletheia
Dependability, uprightness, embodiment of ultimate
knowledge, an actual event or state of reality.

53. Meaning
Something outside of ones’s self
Walking on a dependable bridge that will hold you up

54. Truth is accessible

55. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to
heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’
Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go
over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and
do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in
your heart, so that you can do it.
(Deut 30:12–14 ESV)

56. Truth in Premodern World

57. Judaism
Knowledge is mediated through rabbis
Torah is read in synagogue in Hebrew

58. Christianity
Knowledge is mediated through Priests
Bible is read on Sunday in Latin

59. Premodern World
• Knowledge was mediated
• Truth was interpreted by chain of tradition
• Truth was determined by religious leaders
• Truth was accessible to a few

60. Truth in the Modern Er
a
The Enlightenment

61. Discovery of Ancient
versions of Bible
Greek New Testament
Hebrew Old Testament

62. Discovery of
Scientific Laws
Galileo studying planets
Newton studying motion

63. Universal laws are independent
of people’s opinions

64. Galileo (1564-1642)

65. • Universal scienti
fi
c laws govern universe
• Universal economic laws govern society
• Universal civil laws govern nations
Modernism
The Enlightenment

66. • Universal moral laws that govern men & women
Modernism
The Enlightenment

67. Newton’s Law of gravity
Newton’s Laws of motion

68. Law of supply & demand

69. Thou shalt not murder

70. Declaration of
Independence
We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men
[and women] were created
equal.

71. Truth in a Postmodern World

72. Friedrich Nietzsche
Humans create truth by writing stories.
The language, myth, and narratives
they write CREATE truth.

73. Friedrich Nietzsche
There is no absolute truth

74. The Madman (Nietzche, 1895)

75. Max Webber
There are no “facts”
People assign meaning to “facts”
1864-1920

76. Michel Foucault
Social Critical Theory
Even facts are created.
Created by people in power
In order to control and oppress
1926-1984

77. Post Modernism
• Absolute truth does not exist
• We give meaning to facts

78. Critical Social Theory
• Even “facts” do not exist
• Those in power choose create “facts”
• Those in power create stories to tie them together
• Those in power use “facts” & “stories” to oppress

79. Jean Leon Ferris (1912)

80. Post-Truth Societ
y
Reaction to relativism

81. Push-Back
• Recognition social media distorts truth
• Recognition those in power spin stories
• Desire to “dig-up” the truth.

82. https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/de
fi
nition/english/post-truth
(Oxford English Dictionary, 2016)

83. In Search of Truth
WBUR Bosto
n
(27 Feb 2020)

84. Some facts ARE objectiv
e
Objective Truth DOES exist

85. • Facts do have meaning
• Facts not multiple meanings
• Truth is not relative

86. Denial (2016) Rachel Weisz

87. Debra Lipstadt, “Truth is Not Relative”

88. Some truth compels a
response

90. 4. How do we access “Truth”

91. 3. How do we access “truth”
a. General Revelation (aka Natural Revelation)
b.Special Revelation
c. Reason

92. a. General Revelation
The means God has used to reveal himself universally
to humanity through nature, history, science and
reasoning.
(McClendon, 2020, p. 23)

93. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 19:1, ESV)
a. General Revelation

94. a. General Revelation
Scienti
fi
c knowledge
Government laws
Social principles

95. b. Special Revelation
No prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own
interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by
the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were
carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Pet 1:20–21 ESV)

96. c. Reason
Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath
days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
explaining and proving that it was necessary for the
Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and
saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the
Messiah.” And some of them were persuaded
(Acts 17:2–4 ESV)

97. CMV-101 | Topic 6 | Part 2
Worldview & Ethical Decision-Making

98. Case: Absence of Moral Authority
and Ethical Decision-Making

99. Final Account (2021)

100. Six Actors in a Crime Scene
1. Victim
2. Perpetrator (primary guilt)
3. Collaborator (secondary guilt)
4. Bystander (possible guilt)
5. Witness (choice of guilt or innocence)
6. Rescuer / Resister (innocent)
Johnson, David. (2015). Principles and Techniques of Trauma-centered Psychotherapy. American Psychological Association. p. 119

101. What were some causes of German collaboration?
https://www.ushmm.org/teach/teaching-materials/roles-of-individuals/ethical-leaders/background/causes-and-motivations

102. Causes of German Collaboration
1. Fear - The consequences for non-compliance
2. Gain - Financial, material, and social gain from removal of Jews
3. Deference to Authority - “I was just obeying orders”
4. Social pressure and rationalization
5. Unconscious bias - bigotry, racism, prejudice
https://www.ushmm.org/teach/teaching-materials/roles-of-individuals/ethical-leaders/background/causes-and-motivations

103. What happens when we draw our
sense of right & wrong instead of
outward to a source outside of ourself?

104. There is a way that seems right to a perspm but whose end is death.
(Proverbs 14:12, ESV)
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can
understand it?
(Jeremiah17:9 ESV)
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my
ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than
your thoughts.
(Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV)

105. 5. Ethical Systems & Methods

106. Three views of the source of moral authority
1. Moral Relativism - There is no objective source of moral law
2. Philosophical Ethics - Reason is source of moral law
3. Christian Worldview - Revelation is source for moral law
Boyd, C. & Thorsen, D. (2018) Christian ethics and moral philosophy. Baker Books

107. Six Systems of Ethics Decision-Making
1. Antinomianism - Believing or acting as if there are no moral laws
2. Situational Ethics - Decisions made based entirely on context
3. Generalism - General principles guide the decision-making with lattitude
4. Unquali
fi
ed Absolutism - Moral absolutes with no exceptions
5. Con
fl
icting Absolutism - Choosing the lesser evil
6. Graded Absolutism - Choosing the higher good
Geisler, Norman. (2010). Christian ethics. Baker Books.

108. Ethical Dilemma
Thin italics
• The queen is dying. The queen has been married to her brother for 35 years.
• Should the queen send her brother away (divorce) in order to go to heaven?

109. Hawaii (1966)

110. 6. Ethics & Civil Disobedience

111. Case: Ethical Decision-Making
In Philadelphia, Mississippi

112. First Baptist Church
Philadelphia, MS
1950

113. First Baptist School
Christian Private School
K - 12

114. George Washington
Carver High School
School for Black students
Country Route 553
Burned to the ground

115. Mrs. Diane Etheridge
With
fi
ve other mothers asking if their
children can continue their education
at First Baptist High School.

116. All schools, public and private shall be segregated
according to race. There shall be separate districts and
separate school facilities according to race. Counties are
empowered to enforce this statue by levying fine,
incurring penalty, imprisonment, or liquidating a school in
violation of the statute.
1930 State Education Code

117. Sheriff Jed Baker
Pays you a visit

118. What is the Civil Law?

119. What is the Civil Law? What is the physical law?

120. What is the Civil Law? What is the physical law?
What is the Moral Law?

121. What are the values in conflict?
•Civil Law
•Physical Law
•Moral Law

122. What components of Christian Worldview inform your choice?
1. ______________
2. ______________
3. ______________

123. Civil Disobedience
Refusal to obey governmental demands or commands
especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of
forcing concessions from the government
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20disobedience

124. Civil disobedience is the intentional act of disobeying a civil law or
authority because of a conviction that one has a higher responsibility.
For a believer, those "higher responsibilities" are found in the Bible and
nowhere else. The aim of Christian civil disobedience is to follow God
despite the rule of an ungodly authority. When obeying man's law
would put us in direct disobedience to the clear command of God,
then—and only then—is civil disobedience warranted.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/civil-disobedience.html

125. Civil Disobedience
When does Scripture admonish us to obey civil law?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20disobedience

126. Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is
no authority except from God, and those that exist have been
instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists
what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
Romans 13:1-2, ESV

127. Civil Disobedience
When does Scripture admonish us to disobey civil law?
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/civil%20disobedience

128. [The authorities] called Peter & John, and charged them not to speak
or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered
them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than
to God, you must judge,
(Acts 4:18–19 ESV)

129. What does Christian Worldview say about Civil Disobedience
1. Bible commands us to to obey governments and civil laws (Romans 13:1-2)
2. Christians should resist laws that are evil or compel one to do evil.
3. When Christian disobeys evil laws, they should accept consequences.
4. Christians should work non-violently to change evil laws
5. Christians should work non-violently to install good leaders
6. Christians are commanded to pray for their leaders (1 Tim 2:1-2)
https://www.gotquestions.org/civil-disobedience.html

130. Foundation of Ethical Decisions
Identify your basis for making Ethical Deicions
Before you are in emotional or threatening situations