The Need to Study Christian Ethics

This is an excellent excerpt from one of the reading texts that we were assigned for the Christian Ethics course.

One might ask that since most of those who would choose to read this book already are Christians or are at least people who choose to live by the Judeo-Christian ethic, why should we devote so much effort to elaborating our topic? No doubt most of us know and likely agree that we get our direction from Scripture and that Scripture gives us certain rules to live by. We might cite, for example, St. Paul’s statement to St. Timothy that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (II Timothy 3:16, 17). In light of such a statement one might ask, Why go into an analysis of our system? Why not just let Scripture speak for itself?

Such an attitude might be fine if it were true that Scripture gave us rules to govern every waking moment of our lives. In fact, however, it does not. But before we assume this should in any way minimize the position of Scripture in the Christian’s life, let us first set about to define a few terms.

When we say that Scripture provides rules to govern all aspects of a Christian’s life, if we are speaking in everyday language most likely we would be understood correctly. However, ethically speaking, we have to be a little more careful with our use of certain words and must define our terms carefully. Properly speaking, a rule is a law, a command, a directive that is very concrete. An example of a rule would be “Do not get drunk” or “Pay your taxes.” These are rules, specific guidelines that are absolute and about which there can be no discussion.

In Scripture we find the Decalogue [the 10 Commandments] a perfect example of divinely given rules which spell out in unequivocally concrete terms God’s will regarding certain areas of human conduct. Likewise, much of the Old Law consisted of hard-and-fast rules that dealt with both ceremonial and social behavior. Although the New Testament is far less legalistic in these respects, there are examples of rules to be found there too, such as the command not to commit sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 10:8) and the command to pay our taxes (Romans 13:6). If the Bible spoke thusly about every facet of our lives, there would be no need to study Christian ethics. Everything would be clear-cut and unquestionable: We either would choose to follow the rules, or we would not.

But the truth is that Scripture does not tell us everything about everything. Even under the Old Law in which so many facets of human conduct was governed by scriptural rules, there yet remained a large number of areas of conduct unaddressed by specific guidelines. Because of this, the Pharisees attempted to compile rule books that would outwardly regulate every hour of the Hebrew day and would cover every conceivable situation that could ever arise. As we know from the New Testament, Jesus stood solidly opposed to such legalism as that exhibited by the self-righteous Pharisees, because He knew that true morality comes from a man’s heart and not from the outward adherence to a list of do’s and don’ts. For this reason Scripture does not always give us clear-cut examples of what we should and should not do in every situation. It does not speak specifically to many questions in human life. If one searches a Bible concordance, for instance, one will not find passages of Scripture that mention abortion or masturbation or genetic engineering or even passages that give precise, unequivocal answers to many of the questions regarding marriage and divorce. In these matters, which fall into what we often refer to as “grey areas,” we have to rely on the guidance of the Church and reason out for ourselves, with the Lord’s help, to discover what our answers to these questions should be.

But God has not left us directionless in these grey areas. If we go back to our former statement that Scripture provides rules that govern all aspects of a Christian’s life and understand that term in the everyday sense of the word “rule,” then we would be correct. If we understand “rule” to mean principle (which is the correct word, ethically speaking), then we could see that Scripture does in fact give us principles to govern every aspect of our lives, even the grey areas. As St. Paul said to St. Timothy, “All scripture ... is profitable ... for every good work.” His statement was not that Scripture gives us all the rules to determine for us all the decisions of our lives, but that the precepts it provides are profitable in allowing us access to the truth so that, even in the areas of life in which a specific rule cannot be appealed to, we nevertheless may be fully equipped to know how we ought to glorify God in our conduct.

In the example cited earlier concerning the biblical prohibition against drunkenness, we find that not only in this case does Scripture provide us with a rule but (which is more important in our study) that there is behind that rule an underlying principle. This is significant because, by and large, the New Testament does not speak to us in terms of rules so much as it speaks to us through a number of divine principles. From these principles and the direction of the Holy Fathers of the Church, we are to work out our answers to the various questions in life. But because we often are called upon to answer for ourselves does not imply that we are without direction in choosing our course of action. These biblical principles themselves serve as directives for us in determining our proper responses to the numerous ambiguities of life. It is up to us in many cases to use the abilities God has given us to reason, study, and determine for ourselves what He expects of us in given situations. Though of course we may seek guidance of our spiritual fathers, the decisions ultimately lie with us individually, and it is greatly reassuring knowing that God has not left us directionless.

In saying all this, however, we do not intend to imply that we should attempt to free ourselves from spiritual guidance and rely only upon our own resources. What we are saying is that we must not expect to find concrete answers to all our ethical questions in Scripture or Canon Law. God did not intend for His Word to take the place of our own spiritual development. He expects us to utilize our intellect in the formation of our moral and ethical decisions. It is not as though we must suspend the normal thinking process when we approach our ethical choices in light of the Christian religion, but we are instead to exercise our intellectual faculties while being guided by divine principles.

Jesus told the multitudes in St. Luke 12:54-57 that since they were able to determine from the evidence available to them what the weather would be like, they also should be able to judge for themselves what is right. Likewise St. Paul in I Corinthians 11:13 instructed the Christians at Corinth to “use their heads,” so to speak, and judge for themselves about the question of whether a woman was to pray with her head uncovered. We might also look to St. Paul’s example in Acts 24:25 where it states that he reasoned with Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come; or in I Corinthians 14:15 where he says that he will pray and sing not with the spirit alone but also with the mind; or in Romans 7:25 where he says that with the mind he serves the law or God; or in Romans 14:5 where he instructs every Christian to be fully convinced in his own mind. Our minds were created by God and are to be used in His service. Christianity, unlike so many of the world’s religions, is a rational religion. It does not ask us to bypass the mind, but instead asks us to utilize our minds in the greater service of our God.

This is a very important point, because the spirit of anti-intellectualism has been very prevalent in many Christian circles in recent decades. Many religious groups have stressed the importance of the Christian “experience” to the degree that the rational process has been rendered practically taboo. But when we reject the mind and the rational process then we also must reject authentic Christianity, because it demands the use of our minds as well as our spirits. Without rational constraint we are left with nothing more than a religion of superstitious vagaries. As Elton Trueblood has said, “However bad some arid intellectualism has been, anti-intellectualism is worse, since it provides no antidote to either superstition of wish-thinking.”

Had God not expected us to use our minds in His service He surely would have given us that neat list of do’s and don’ts asked for by so many people today. But the fact is He wants all of us, not just a part; He wants our minds as well as the rest of us to serve Him. Therefore He addresses most issues not with rules but with principles, and from these principles we are determine the proper response.

Why did God choose to arrange things this way? Why did He not simply give us a collection of absolute rules to govern our lives, much as He did for the Israelites of old? One reason is just as we have discussed: He made us to be rational, thinking beings, and He desires us to use these abilities in our service to Him. But beyond that He also wants our obedience to Him to be voluntary, given to Him from a free heart. Rather than having us all walk about like automata simply following an endless list of rules and regulations (which can be done without emotional content, as the Pharisees clearly demonstrated), God desires instead a loving response to His directives. Just as we expect our children to grow beyond the simple obedience to household rules to the place where they begin to obey our directives out of love and understanding, so God desires that mankind grow beyond the legalistic precepts of the Old Law (which served as man’s schoolmaster) to the place where we all obey His directives out of love and out of a true desire to do the right.

Furthermore, we as Christians are not called to conform to some arbitrary legal code set up as an external standard of behavior, but instead we are called to liberty in grace. We are not bound by law as a means to salvation, but we have received salvation through grace as a gift. Having thus received this gift from God, we are asked only for a loving response — a response that comes out of gratitude and not out of a sense of legal obligation. God does not desire a legalistic obedience to a set of rules, but the opening of our hearts to His will. As the prophet Micah put it, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).

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I remember Robert, WZ, Yanjie, Peter and I were discussing during our CNY gathering in my room last time, about the importance of having a clear and correct understanding of what the Bible actually says. And just recently, WZ and I had supper (frog's leg porridge) and we were talking about this again.

There's a danger - especially, I think, in the student ministries - of people following frameworks without the proper understanding or explanations to accompany them. And the worse thing is that these frameworks become canon, and the Scriptures used as scaffolding for these frameworks. Putting the cart before the horse.

I'll share a real-life story here.

I remember last time, when I was in the uni ministry, I was eating my dinner, but couldn't finish it. Then one sister looked a bit shocked that I hadn't finished all my food. She said to me, "Yeu Ann, I was told that it's a sin not to finish your food!"

I stared back at her.

"Eh... what do you mean? How is it a sin not to finish my food?"

As far as I could remember, she couldn't give a reply to that, but she simply repeated what she said: "It's a sin not to finish your food!"

And I didn't know what to say (or what the Bible really said about not finishing my rice), so I just tried to finish the rest of my now-tasteless dinner. And felt a bit guilty about it through the night. A bit of indigestion, there.

I think it's important to know what Scripture says - and what it does NOT say. Else we risk laying unnecessary burdens on the young Christians. (And making them get indigestion through eating too much rice...)