From the Christian perspective, how are "ethics" defined? Is "ethics" the moral values ascribed to by Christians, or is there more to the body of beliefs that also equates to a philosophical study of ethics? Are we dealing solely with right and wrong? Or are we focused on pursuing a life of goodness?
To some degree, the Bible deals with both. In the legal sense, the Old Testament set out rules by which people were to live. These are ethics in the strictest sense of right and wrong. However, Jesus teaches in the New Testament a method of living for God, pursuing the good that is God. To study these teachings seems to represent studying ethics in the sense of pursuing the right and good life.
Do these ideas embody one another? Does living by the "codified" ethic necessarily equate to leading the good life pursuing the will of God? To what degree is there flexibility in the "codified" ethic to further permit the pursuit of Christian Ethics? Is there ever a conflict between those two ideals, and if so, which trumps the other?
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2 comments:
"It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles . . . What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this is what defiles."--Matthew 15:11-18
"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart."--Matthew 5:27
In my opinion, it is best not to approach the law as a set of external commandments. Rather, we must purify our inner selves and awaken to the Spirit--and it will then follow, "as the night the day," that our external behavior will express the Good that is manifested in our hearts.
I agree with your statement, but my aim is pointed more at the meaning of the new covenant versus the legal law. Jesus rebuked those who would follow the law but wouldn't live for God. This sentiment shows up all over the four Gospel. My question is aimed more at the theoretical "difference" between following a moral code and following a Christian ethic.
I am human, so I can't help but sin. Jesus would speak in Mathew of the moral exactitude expected of a righteous man. The book is filled with examples of how the expectation is for man to more than what the moral code enunciates. Mathew 5:27 is a prime example. However, Jesus died for our sins, giving us salvation, yet He always taught that the important thing is to live for God. Is this simply following the "law" or something more?
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