The Bible and Ethics

1
The Bible and Ethics

• What do ancient religious texts have to say to
  modern ethical questions?

2
What do you think?

• Can the Bible help with modern ethical questions?
• Why or why not?

3

• Dietrich to Niebuhr Ive known it was wrong all
  along. On my first morning in New York I began my
  daily devotions from a prayer book I brought from
  home. The scripture that day was Isaiah 2816. He
  who believes does not flee.
• Saints Villains, 258

4

• When I was a kid, Niebuhr said, I tried to
  make an important decision by opening the Bible
  at random and pointing with my eyes shut. My
  inspirational verse said, Amon was twenty-two
  years old when he began to reign. Second Kings.
• Saints Villains, 258

5
Christian ethics is not synonymous with biblical
ethics.

• Biblical communities did not face the same moral
  issues or historical realities we face.
• Causes of moral problems are often no longer the
  same.
• Biblical texts are rooted in particular
  historical and social contexts.
• The Bible is not an ethics textbook.

6
Biblical Authority

• Authority that which authorizes or empowers.
• Authority is not inherent in the Bible but is the
  recognition by the community of the Bible as
  empowering.
• The Bible is not the only authority.

7
Inspiration

• For the ancient Jewish community, inspiration
  meant the presence of Gods spirit in the
  community, in particular times and places.
• Christians disagree on what inspiration means.

8
Views of Inspiration

• Verbal (late 17th century)
• The very words of the Bible are chosen by God.
• The Bible is accurate in every detail.
• Inspired content
• The message of the Bible that speaks of matters
  of faith and ethics is inspired and true.

9
Views of Inspiration

• Inspired speakers/authors
• Those who spoke the words and wrote the texts
  were inspired by God to do so.
• Inspired Community

10
Problems with theories of inspiration

• Failure to recognize historical nature of texts
• Tendency to view Bible as sufficient alone
• Tendency to privilege some parts of Bible over
  others
• Bibliolatry

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Canon

• Canon rod or measure
• collection of books judged by the church to be
  authoritative for Christian life and doctrine
  (Birch and Rasmussen, p. 171)
• Both Old and New Testaments
• Reflects failures as well as successes of the
  community
• Reflects theological diversity of community

12
The Bible as primary but not self-sufficient
source

• Bible must be considered in Christian ethical
  reflections
• Christians must consider knowledge gained through
  other sources
• The Bible models process which is at least as
  important as specific content
• The Bible is a collection of writings that are
  quite diverse

13
Diversity in the Bible

• Different genres of literature
• Law
• Story
• Poetry
• It is not only the legal traditions that shape
  Christian morality and ethics.

14
Diversity in the Bible

• Diversity in historical settings and contexts.
  Biblical texts
• date from c. 1000 BCE to c. 100 CE
• were written in different languages
• were written in different places
• address different questions and issues
• have different understandings of God
• differ with each other in answering particular
  questions

15
The Bible in Context

• Biblical texts were written to address
• Particular people
• At particular times
• In particular places
• Who had specific questions
• And who brought the assumptions of their culture
  to their questions.

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You cant understand the answer if you dont know
the question.

• An eye for an eye
• Go the second mile

17
What is the text really about?

• The main message vs. cultural assumptions
• Slaves should obey their masters.
• It is natural for women to cover their heads.

18
What is the text really about?

• Ancient concern vs. modern concern
• Violations of hospitality at Sodom and Gomorrah
• Modern science vs. ancient worldview
• The sun stood still
• Failure to conceive is fault of woman

19
Exegesis

• The text
• Literary style, organization
• Genre
• Historical context
• Theological message, themes
• Overall message
• Relationship to remainder of Bible

20
Hermeneutics

• Theory of interpretation
• How to make sense of an ancient text
• More theoretical than exegesis

21
Hermeneutics

• Literal application
• Denies need for hermeneutics
• But is selective
• And fails to recognize the principles used to
  select

22
Hermeneutics

• People who profess literal application seldom
  accept
• Stoning for adultery
• Death penalty for failure to honor parents
• Pluck out your eye
• No blended fabrics
• No ham, cheeseburgers

23
Hermeneutics

• Some other options
• Command of God
• Scripture as Moral Reminder
• Call to Liberation
• Call to Discipleship
• Basis for Responding love

24
Command of God

• Through Bible each individual hears the specific
  command of God to him/her
• Bonhoeffer
• Barth

25
Moral Reminder

• One can discern moral law through reason
• God wills what is good because it is good
• Scripture provides reminder and motivation

26
Call to Liberation

• Exodus story as central to entire biblical
  narrative
• Salvation liberation
• Jesus in tradition of prophets who spoke for the
  oppressed
• Salvation is about justice in the present, not
  just life after death

27
Call to Discipleship

• Character formation
• Following Jesus, not imitation
• Rooted in community story
• A sort of relativism
• For example, Beatitudes only make sense within
  the Christian community

28
Basis for Responding Love

• Moral vision
• Live in response to Gods love
• Jesus as paradigm
• Imaginative analogy
• For example, the question of fair wages

29
Moral Agency

• Character Decisionmaking Formation and
  Action
• the good person the right choice
• and the good society and action 
• moral virtue moral value
• and moral obligation
• the ethics of being the ethics of doing
• Moral Vision
• (Rasmussen and Birch, p. 39)

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Bible and Character Formation

• Full range of biblical texts provide insights
  into virtues and values
• Stories about the nature of God, world
• Stories of development of character or failure of
  character
• Poems that extol certain virtues
• Proverbs that celebrate wise persons
• Prophetic visions that call people to
  responsibility

31
Moral Imperatives

• The Decalogue
• The rules themselves
• Responsibility to others part of relationship to
  God
• The Golden Rule
• Love the Lord . . . Love your neighbor
• Do justice
• Concern for the marginalized
• Economic and political issues

32
Rules that are not Moral Imperatives

• Rules can be sources of information about values
  and virtues, good and bad, right and wrong, but
  be careful in identifying the values that
  underlie particular rules
• Adultery, for example
• Other rules regarding sexuality
• Purity laws

33
Theological Perspectives

• God as Creator
• God as Liberator
• God as Sustainer

34
Theological Perspectives

• Human beings as creatures
• Humankind in the image of God
• Humans as fallible
• Humans in community
• Persons and communities as moral agents
• Human community and the kingdom or reign of God.

35
Fundamental Moral Principles

• According to Niebuhr
• Love for individuals
• Justice in society

36
The Bible and Economic Justice

• Prophetic texts
• The Jubilee Year
• Jesus and the poor

37
The Bible is important for Christian Ethics.

• However, the Bible is not another theoretical
  approach in contrast with the theories we have
  discussed.
• For example, Thomas Aquinas used Aristotles
  philosophy to develop his Christian theology and
  ethics.

38
The Bible is important for Christian Ethics.

• The Ten Commandments
• First four deal with relationship to God
• Last six can be understood as moral imperatives,
  a la Kant.
• They are fundamental requirements for any society
  to work.

39
The Bible is important for Christian Ethics.

• Justice as standard for good society
• A number of Christian thinkers have looked at
  Rawls as a political theorist whose ideas are
  useful in thinking about how to realize the
  biblical ideal of justice in modern society.

40
The Bible is important for Christian Ethics.

• Christian identity and character is shaped by
  biblical story
• Biblical texts depict virtues and values that are
  central to Christian views of moral life.
• The Bible is an important source of moral vision.