2. Part 1 The Christian vs Atheist worldview 1

3. Overview 1.Introduction to Christian Ethics 2.Divine Command Theory 3.Are Christian Ethics Relative or Absolute? 4.Comparing different types of Christian Ethics 5.Evaluating Religious Ethics 2

4. Definitions to know: 3 Autonomy – self rule (freedom with reason) Heteronomy – rule by other influences Theonomy – rule by God Divine command – rule by God’s laws Situation ethics – good is most loving result Natural law – morality observable in nature, by reason Biblical ethics – good derived from the Bible Golden rule – “do to others as you would be done by” Matthew 7:12

5. Taking notes…. 4 Date: Title Summarise lecture notes in this section. Use abbreviations. Highlight main points. Take these notes as you go along. Summarise key points in 10 words or less In this section, write the information in your own words. Begin to make links with other parts of the course.

6. Christian Ethics Broad terms: Deontological – for example Divine Command Theory or Natural Law (the basis of much of Catholic Teachng) Teleological – for example; Situation Ethics. The Bible (or Biblical Ethics) is used to support both a deontological and teleological approach. 5 Christian Ethics Absolute Divine Command Theory Absolute Divine Command Theory Rationalistic Natural Law Rationalistic Natural Law Relative Situation Ethics Relative Situation Ethics

7. 6 God ’ s interaction with the World In this view, God interacts with the world in several ways: God creates the world God is in contact interaction with the world God continually sustains the world in its existence God gives the world a final purpose or goal or telos toward which it strives

8. God’s interaction with the world As a result of these interactions, the world has: Unity This is a single world with structure Purpose Beings on earth have a goal or purpose ordained by God Value The world is good because: It comes from God, who is all good It is aiming toward God, who can only establish good purposes 7

9. The Atheistic Worldview For Bertrand Russell, existence has no unity, no value, and no purpose in the Christian sense of these terms. You might like to take a moment to think about where we have met Russell before? 8

10. “ A Free Man ’ s Worship ” Man is the product of causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; That his origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs, are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms; That no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave, That all the labors of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noonday brightness of human genius, are all destined to extinction in the vast death of the solar system, And that the whole temple of Man ’ s achievement must inevitably be buried beneath the debris of a universe in ruins all these things, if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain, that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand. Only within the scaffolding of these truths, only on the firm foundation of unyielding despair, can the soul ’ s habitation henceforth be safely built. 9

11. The Contrast The contrast between these two worldview could not be sharper. No place for preordained purposes in Russell ’ s view No goodness inherent in the world for him No privileged place for humanity within his view 2/24/2016 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 10

12. Implications for Ethics The implications of these differences for ethics are profound No ultimate purpose for humanity No ultimate reward or punishment Ivan Karamazov in Dostoyevsky‘s Brothers Karamazov declares ―If God doesn’t exist, everything is permissible.” Is this right? No guarantee that nature is good or bad “ Unnatural ” becomes a purely descriptive term 2/24/2016 ©Lawrence M. Hinman 11

13. Now stop for a moment… Complete your Independent workbook. Section 1: How are Religion and Morality linked? Thanks to ©Lawrence M. Hinman and Philosophical Investigations for many of the resources used within this scheme. 12