Morality: Ethics

In my previous post, I emphasized some various views of morality, which is contrast to Christians view. As I have thought about ethics, it is important to know first the different areas of study, which focus on morality. The word “ethics” and “morals” are commonly used interchangeably. When we used the word “ethics” it means according to dictionary “the discipline dealing with what is good and bad or right and wrong or with moral duty and obligation.” the meaning of ethics enforces us the importance of morality that gives significant throughout our lives.

The ethical issues and chooses in life are not only present but it is part of our daily lives. The care of following our moral views in life was tested if we are surrounding with ethical issues that deals about life and death. There are many ethical decisions that every human being would be able to face. However, if that ethical decision connects to ones life, the moral view is the most important component needed for every decision we make.

Ethics has at least four different areas of study, which focus on morality. Two of them are nonnormative and the other two are normative. Nonnormative does not seek to prescribe what ought/ought not to be done. The normative do seek to offer guides for determining right/wrong actions, attitudes, and motives.

Under the two nonnormative they have descriptive morality and metaethics approached to study morality. The descriptive ethics is a factual study of moral attitudes, behavior, rules and motives, which are embodied in various individual and cultures. The metaethics involves two main areas of investigation. First, metaethics focuses on the meaning and reference of right/wrong, good/bad, ought/ought not, duty, and so on. A second view is metaethical relativism, which translates to two concepts the naturalist, and nonnaturalists view. The ethical naturalist claims that all behavior is to be followed by the laws of nature. If this is true then it follows that objective morality is non-binding which makes the nature of God irrelevant in our society. For ethical nonnaturalists would claim that all virtues in life are the objectives themselves. Virtuousness is the reference of morality. One illustration is love. Love is virtuous act; it makes love itself as the binding reference of morality instead of God for which God is love. It really shows that metaethics does not give us explicit principles that aid us in determining what is the right or wrong course of action to take in a situation. Metaethics primary focus is to give a conceptual analysis of the meaning of moral terms and moral sentences.

The other area of ethics is the normative. Normative ethics proper seeks to formulate and defend basic moral principles, rules and systems, and virtues, which serve as guide for what actions ought/ought not to be taken, what motives ought/ought not to be embraced, and what kinds of persons we ought/ought not seek to be. The normative ethics is proper and applied ethics that we would use as a tool to investigate some specific moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment. The two normative ethical theories are Utilitarianism and deontological. These two theories will guide us to learn how to make an ethical decision before sighting my friend inquiry about euthanasia.

Morality: Some Option of Morality

As I spoke with a friend a month ago who was so interested about some moral issues in life. She asked me the things that deal with life and death situation. However, before I move on to her inquiry - It is more important for us to know first, how human being deals with what is morally right and wrong. People have different views about morality, but for the Christians we based our beliefs on God’s revelation in Scripture.

Now, ethics can be understood as the philosophy of morality. It deals with what is morally right and wrong. Morality is concerned with our beliefs and judgments regarding right and wrong motives, attitudes and conduct. However, before we undertake the Christians ethics let us first look some various views contrast with a Christian view of morality.

According to Greek Philosopher Thrasymachus “justice is the interest of the stronger party” for him, the morally right is defined by who has the power. This kind of view is not widely acceptable because of several fatal flaws. One of the crucial flaws of this view is that they have no strong standard of the difference between power and goodness. A theory that might make right is corrupt which is evidentially proven by the history.

Another theory holds that the group of which one belongs determines what is morally right. In this theory of morality, derive from the community. Whatever the community say it will be the moral code and it is right. For them community demands the ethical commands. In this kind of view, we can say that every society can be able to create their own moral codes based on their common needs not based on the universal moral prescriptions. The main problem to here is that moral way cannot solve the conflict between different communities.

One Greek Philosopher creates another theory of morality. Protegra has claimed, “Man is the measure of all things.” A claimed means that each person’s own will is the standard for what is right and wrong. The morally right thing is depends on the perspective of every individual. This kind of view would eventually create chaos in a community. Every one of us can figure it out.

In terms of Christian view, morality derives from the characters and will of God. For the Christian the good is what God’s will. Whatever God wants us to do is definitely and absolutely good, contrary to His will is an act of evil. The will of God is ultimate and specifiable.

Christian believes that morality is based on the divine prescription. It is a God’s commands, revelation that is general, and special. (Romans 1:19-20, 2:12-15; Romans 2:18, 3:2). God reveal Himself both in nature and in scripture (Ps. 19:1-6; Ps. 19:7-14). Therefore, without any hesitation Christians recognize that God is the source of moral duty. In addition, even the unbeliever does not have moral laws in their minds stills they have it written in their hearts. (Romans 2:14-15).

The Sovereignty of God

Any student of the bible who thinks about God, one ought to come into mind is God’s sovereignty. The sovereignty of God is deeply rooted in his attributes. Several of them are crucial in his ability to reign over all things. When we say God is sovereign we mean:

First: God is before all things (Col. 1:17)

Gen 1:1,”In the beginning God…” before there was anything, there was God.

Ps. 90:2 “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God” There never was a time when God was not. He existed even before all things.

Rev. 1:8; 1:17; 21:6 He is called “The First”, the “beginning” and “the Alpha”

John 17:5, Matt 13:35, 25:34; John 17:24; Rev. 13:8; 17:8

The bible often speak of God as being there “before the world began” God was not only before all things but he is before all time: 2 tim 1:9 In the verse, it also implies before the beginning of anything, God was there already.

The phrase “In the beginning God” we can see the ff:

1. God was there before anything began to exist
2. God was never part of the beginning because he already existed before anything came to existence

Second: God created all things:

Gen 1:1 ”in the beginning God created the heavens and earth”

John 1:3 “through him (God v.1&2 ) all things were made, w/o him nothing has been made

Col. 1:16 “for by him all thing were created…….”
The bible speaks that God created the heavens and earth in the beginning, Further the bible speaks also that God was the there before time began

2 Tim1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, So God who was already operating in his sovereignty when he called us according to his own purpose and grace even before time begun. In fact in heb 1:2 God brought time in existence.“frame the worlds” literally “the ages”properly an age; by extension perpetuity (also past); by implication the world; from the Greek word (ahee-ohn' of the word worlds)

Third, God upholds all things God not only created all things, but he upholds all things

Heb 1:3 “upholding all things”

Col 1:17 Paul adds, not only God is before all thing, He all things hold together( NIV) , Consist ( KJV )

Rev. 4:11 John inform us that God not only brought all things into existence but he keeps them in existence. Both are true for “they were created and have their being” from God.

1 Cor 8:6; Rom 11:36 “there is one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom all things came and through him we live”

Heb 2:10 “through who everything exist”

Fourth: God is above all things

The God is before all things created and who is upholding is also beyond them. He is transcendent

Eph 4:6 “Paul affirmed, there is one God and father of all, who is over all and through all and in all

Ps. 8:1 “how majestic is your name in all the earth” you have set your glory above the heavens (universe)

Ps 57:5 “be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let you glory be over all the earth”

Ps 97:9; 108:5 “for you o Lord are the most high over all the eath you are exalted above all gods.”

Fifth, God knows all things

What is more, the God of the bible knows all things. He has omniscience

Ps 147:5 “His understanding is infinite”

Isa 46:10 “God knows the end from the beginning”

Ps 139:4 “before a word in my tongue you know it completely
v.6 to lofty for me to attain

Heb 4:13 “nothing in all creation is hidden from Him. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes to him we must give account”

Rom 11:33 unlimited in knowledge “on the depth of His riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable his judgments and his paths tracing out

Application:

You know sometimes it’s hard to think the sovereign of God when we are crippled by the worries in life. It gets even hard to accept that the Christian God who is before all things, created all things, uphold all things and knows all things in the midst of our stock – piled problem. Because of that it gets even easier to believe that those problems we have are more sovereign than the sovereignty of the God that we believe. However, the bible exhorts us to trust God in spite of our infirmities. I guess it boils down to how much we really believe the sovereignty of God as opposed to just believing it our of necessity of being a believer. On this article, I would like offer two challenge to everyone, including myself.

First, which one characterizes our mental condition these days? Is it the sovereignty of the God that we believe, that we confidently bet our lives that he will helps us make it through? Or is it the sovereignty of our worries in life, that is the horror of our infirmities and worries in life are more influential and much more sovereign than the sovereignty of God?

Second, one of the result of the sovereignty of God in our lives is found in (col 1:13), God has deliver us from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of his dear son” Can He (God) not out of his sovereignty get us our of our own bootstrap of worries and infirmities in our lives? God knows our problems and the solution to them even before they came to our lives.

I hope and pray that God grant us the will to believe more than we do so that his sovereignty dominates our lives.