Ethics
...The system of morals of a particular person, religion, or group. Morals, "is dealing with or capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, of teaching or in accordance with the principles of right and wrong" (2002).
As it pertains to the Christian perspective, Nelson's Bible Dictionary states that biblical ethics is "living righteously, doing what is good and refraining from what is evil in accordance with the will of God. The term refers not to human theories or opinions about what is right or wrong but to God's revealed truth about these matters" (1995).
Ethics are derived from the Greek word meaning custom and equivalent. Morals come from the Latin word expressing the same meaning. The purpose of ethics is to show the difference between right and wrong. Hughes believes it is not safe to say secular and Christian ethics should agree and be the same just because they are both apprehensive for courtesy and good, and order and against wrong (Hughes, 1983). Rudnick explains that ethics is a theory and also states, "It is an intellectual exercise, a process of reflection, analysis, decision, and evaluation" (Rudnick, 1979). Rudnick also goes on to express that Christian ethics as being "an evangelical approach to ethics is a method of determining what is right and wrong which grows out of a particular understanding and interpretation of the Christian message" (1979).
There can be no purpose for a basis of our moral beliefs if God is not involved and does not engage in spiritual assurance. Without God, there no is satisfactory or reasonable answer to the commonly asked question, how should I be living (Nielsen, 1973)? Nielsen also explains, "Without God there can be no objective foundation for our moral beliefs" (1973).
Issues like divorce and abortion are concerns that Christians do not support as being ethical or moral, whereas the...
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