CHRISTIAN
ETHICS AND CHARACTER - Introduction
I believe that within the Church
universal – all believers, rather than a specific church – the subject of Christian
ethics and character is either not taught well and/or many believers do not see
the urgent need to live under these standards.
Of course that is not true of all believers, so I don’t want to make a
sweeping generality, but nonetheless, it is a topic of concern.
There are a myriad of topics that we
could cover here, but I have selected some that I trust will provoke thought
and conversation.
Part of the problem, in my judgment,
is that we live in a self-centered, emotional-response era. I was going to say “generation,” but I believe
this issue expands beyond a generation and there appears to be no end in
sight. So often decisions are made based
upon one’s personal situation (situational ethics), including situations
confronting family or friends, or anecdotal situations (anecdotal ethics) – based on personal or random observation, rather than systematic
scientific evaluation.
For
example, regarding situational ethics, if I am suffering financially and can be
made whole by taking money from someone under false or debatable methods, it is
okay since I will gain. Regarding
anecdotal ethics, if I become aware of someone who was denied an insurance
claim by a bad or even fraudulent insurance company employee, it is okay
to establish a remedy against all
insurance companies.
Recently
I heard a person say, on a talk show, that he became associated with a
particular political party because he wanted to help the poor and
downtrodden. Certainly this is a noble
goal, but it is rather foolish to think that being associated with a political
party will necessarily help the poor and downtrodden without an analysis of
particular issues.
So
how should a Christian respond? I think
the answer will surprise you – and not surprise you.
Doug
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