This document outlines an ethics course that teaches Christian approaches to ethics. It discusses two main approaches: authority-based ethics that rely on biblical scripture, tradition, experience and reason; and natural law ethics based on humans fulfilling their purpose as created by God. For natural law, actions that support humans' purposes of living, working, reproducing etc. are good, and those that deny them are bad. The course will examine ethical issues in bioethics, environmental ethics and sexual ethics through these Christian lenses.

1. Christian Ethics
Christianity
Depth Study
HSC Course
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2. Syllabus Point
Students learn to:
describe and explain Christian
ethical teachings on bioethics
OR environmental ethics OR
sexual ethics
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3. Describe - Provide characteristics
and features
Explain - Relate cause and effect;
make the relationships between
things evident; provide why and/or
how
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4. Introduction
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5. Introduction
Christian morality is based upon the will of
God.
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6. Introduction
Christian morality is based upon the will of
God.
Christians believe that God’s will is known
and exampled through Jesus’ life and teaching.
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7. Introduction
Christian morality is based upon the will of
God.
Christians believe that God’s will is known
and exampled through Jesus’ life and teaching.
Humanity finds out about these teaching via
the New Testament
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8. Christian ethics can be divided
into two very different
approaches.
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9. Christian ethics can be divided
into two very different
approaches.
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10. Christian ethics can be divided
into two very different
approaches.
Authority
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11. Christian ethics can be divided
into two very different
approaches.
Authority
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12. Christian ethics can be divided
into two very different
approaches.
Authority Natural Law
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13. Authority
Christian ethics take
the following as
sources of authority:
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14. Monday, 28 June 2010

15. The Scriptures (Bible)
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16. Monday, 28 June 2010

17. Tradition
(Authority of Church
leaders)
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18. Monday, 28 June 2010

19. Experience
(Inspiration of the Holy
Spirit)
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20. Monday, 28 June 2010

21. Logic
(Reason)
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22. Monday, 28 June 2010

23. Monday, 28 June 2010
?

24. Monday, 28 June 2010

25. The main issue for a Christian who
attempts to follow Christian morality
is exactly how the four sources of
authority should be used and how
are they balanced or weighted
when a decision is to be made.
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26. Monday, 28 June 2010

27. 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
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28. “You have heard it been said,
You shall love your
Central part of Jesus’
neighbour, and hate your
enemy.
teaching
But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them
that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray
for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you”
Matthew 5:43-44
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29. Monday, 28 June 2010

30. Another central belief…..
“So in everything, do onto
others what you would
have them do to you”
Matthew 7:12
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31. ..which was summarised by
Paul to;
“Love your neighbour
as yourself. Love does
no harm to its
neighbour. Therefore
love is the fulfillment
of the law.”
Romans 13:9-10
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32. Natural
Law
Based upon the concept of
“perfect creation”
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33. Monday, 28 June 2010

34. The belief is that God created
everything perfectly and if we study
the way life works, and learn the laws
of nature, we will learn how to
behave.
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35. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
Developed the philosophy of
Natural Law for the Catholic
(universal) Church
.: the Roman Catholic Church
still makes great use of
Natural Law today (especially
in sexual ethics)
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36. Aquinas wrote….
•That human nature is
defined by both reason
and freedom of choice.
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37. Aquinas wrote….
•Reason allows us to
determine the will of God
whilst freedom of choice
allows us to follow God’s will
or not.
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38. Aquinas wrote….
•Obviously, it is hoped that
humanity will equate freedom
with the responsibility to act
as if we made by God .: the
expectation is for humanity to
follow the natural law of God!
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39. The 1st principle of Natural
Law
The first principle is to do good and not
evil .: the questions that follow from this are
1) What is good?
2) What is evil?
3) How do we distinguish between good and
evil behaviour?
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47. Aquinas argued that if something
makes us “more human” then it is
morally good and right.
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48. He also defined what it means to be
human.
The general purpose of humanity is to
live, work, reproduce, educate children,
have an ordered society and worship
God!
Following from this, actions that
support these purposes are good,
those that deny them are bad.
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49. Humanity
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50. Monday, 28 June 2010

51. Types of Ethical issues
NOTE: You will be expected to be familiar with these
individual issues
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52. Bioethics Examples include;
• Genetic
Bioethics is engineering
concerned with • Cloning
the ethical • Transplantation
questions that
• Organ donation
arise from the
relationship • Stem cell research
between medicine • Animal
and life. experimentation
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53. Environmental Examples
Issues include;
• Pollution
Environmental
ethics deal with the • Nuclear waste
quality of life in the • Greenhouse
present and in the gases
future. • Global warming
Interrelation • Disease
between us and pandemics
God’s creation.
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54. Sexual Issues Examples include;
• Masturbation
Related to sex! • Contraception
Issue of • Homosexuality
consensual and • Adultery
nonconsensual • Pornography
sexual acts has • Abortion
to be (also be
bioethical)
considered in
• Rape
this area.
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55. End
† www.metatemporal.com
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