1. Theme 3 Teleological Ethics
3A Situation Ethics
Joseph Fletcher’s Situation Ethics - his rejection of other forms of ethics and his acceptance of agape as the basis of morality:
Fletcher’s rejection of other approaches within ethics: legalism, antinomianism and the role of conscience;
Fletcher’s rationale for using the religious concept of 'agape' (selfless love) as the 'middle way' between the extremes of legalism and antinomianism;
The biblical evidence used to support this approach: the teachings of Jesus (Luke 10:25:37) and St Paul (1 Corinthians 13).
Situation Ethics as a form of moral relativism, a consequentialist and teleological theory

2. Key words are your friend . . .
Relativistic
This means there are no universal moral norms or rules and that each situation has to be looked at independently because each situation is different
Consequentialist
This means that moral judgements – whether something is right or wrong – should be based on the outcome or the consequences of an action
Situation Ethics
Situation Ethics is a teleological theory.
This means it is concerned with the end purpose or goal of an action

3. The social and intellectual background
For some religious believers morality consists of obeying the commandments of God as directly revealed by him through scripture and the Church.
The consequences of such an approach is that the believer is committed to following those rules without exception because they define what is good.
To be good is to follow God’s commands, or God’s commands as interpreted by the Church of Christian community, and it is impossible to be good if acting in a way that contradicts or otherwise opposes them.

4. Social and intellectual changes
Although Christian ethics has traditionally followed this legalistic line, an alternative approach emerged in the 1960’s that could be used more widely in secular (not connected to religion) ethical decision-making.
This alternative approach still has a Christian ethos.

5. New ideas in Christianity
Read page 3 and 4
Create a mind map of the social, intellectual and religious background to Situation Ethics.
Include: the new ideas that were developing in Christianity in the 1960s – Robinson, Bultman, Temple, Tillich and Fletcher
2. How did the church react to these new ideas?

6. Churches response Protestant and Catholic Rules
During the social revolution of the 1960s, the Protestant and Catholic Churches did not think it was appropriate to change the Church’s rules to match the social norms of the time.
Why, they suggested, would the Church rules change to match society. Surely, society should act in a way which pleases the Church.
This is because they believed the Church rules shouldn’t ever be broken, religious rules are absolute, but social rules are relative

7. Protestant and Catholic Rules
In 1964, the ‘British Council of Churches’ appointed a working party to create a document which promoted abstinence from sexual intercourse before marriage.
The Anglican Church, therefore, did not want it’s adherents to engage in the social sexual norms of the time.

8. Protestant & Catholic Rules
Similarly, Pope Pius XII had declared Christian ethics based on situations as ‘an opposition to natural law, God’s law.’
Clearly, neither the Church of England, nor the Catholic Church were content with allowing Christian rules to change for society. Society, they maintained, should change for the Church.

9. Task
How did the Church respond to these new ideas?
Time line