What follows is a work in progress. Watch for updates as I continue to work on it.

Syncretism is when one merges differing systems of beliefs and the one is no longer the orthodox view being tainted by the other and is no longer pure. This is something Christians need to avoid. However, comparing and contrasting what the Bible teaches about morality with what the world believes can be instructive and help us to view Biblical morals in a different light. I like to think of a picture that is in bas-relief. Looked at straight on it looks fairly flat but if we put the light at a different angle the image pops out in 3-D — the difference is that we keep what is right, or orthodox, and only use the other views to provide contrast.

Biblical ethics do not fit into the neat boxes recognized by the secular ethicist. There are, however, areas where the two worldviews cross paths. Following is a list of three of the most common systems philosophers recognize and possible commonalities and distinctions between them and what the Bible teaches.  There are elements of all three in the Biblical mandate to live morally excellent lives.

Biblical ethics are revealed both by general revelation (nature) and special (the Bible) whereas secular ethics are based on man’s feeble attempts to classify right from wrong[i]. What follows is by no means comprehensive in its coverage of the topic, nor does it delve into the many issues facing us, but I hope that a short overview of the issues involved and some basic definitions will be of use to edify and build up our understanding.

In II Peter 1, the Greek word arete refers to moral excellence. This is the standard we strive for.

3 Systems

Virtue Ethics

This system of moral behavior goes back to Socrates and Plato. Virtue ethics is all about growing through one’s life into a more moral and ethical person. In that way, it is similar to what the Scriptures teach, except for ours, where we look for our definitions of what is right or wrong. One of the issues with this system, like all secular systems, is who gets to decide what virtue is. You could say virtue is what virtuous people do, but then you get into circular reasoning when you try to define who is a virtuous person.

To the secularist, the common ones seem to be agreed upon like courage, self-sacrifice, and the like.  Beyond that, however, is pretty murky. Many humanists^1[ii] do not think anything of sexual sin, in the contract, the lack of morality in this area is writ large to Biblical teachings.

Deontology

“Do your duty” – It has been claimed that Christian ethics are deontological (Geisler, 2010). This is not an exact fit because secular ethics recognize that there are acts that go above and beyond the call of duty military decorations for heroism are based on this idea. In the Christian’s life, there is no such distinction. Christ gave His all for us, and we are to do the same for His name, whether it is in aid of another human being (our neighbor) or in suffering for the faith, even to the point of suffering torture and cruel death. Such sacrifices are within the scope of every Christian’s ‘duty’ if and when called to do so.

Utilitarianism

A form of consequentialism espoused by both John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham can be defined by the phrase “the ends justify the means” indicating that whatever is required to attain a given outcome is justifiable in view of the reward of having done the best for the greatest number of people, whether it be happiness, pleasure, safety, etc. Several problems attach themselves to this however not the least of which is who decides what is best. Also, what is the basis for the decision? Is it the greatest pleasure, the highest quality of life, etc., Who decides and who would be the beneficiary of such largess? One group may suffer as the result of doing ‘good’ for one group over another’s interests. It is a truism that when one person or group is granted a right, another person or group will suffer a loss of a right. One such example would be abortion where the mother’s right to ‘choose’ comes at the expense of the child of loss of life and often cruelly so.

On the contrary, in the Biblical view, acting by the laws of love and liberty will in and of itself do good for not only yourself but others as well. This good may or may not accrue to a few or many, over a short period, or for eternity itself is not within our ability to judge and so is not the basis upon which we make our moral decisions. Just do the right thing, and you will reap the reward. (See Galatians 6:7. Note that the consequences mentioned there may be positive or negative based on what is sown.)

Other issues

Absolutism

The meaning of absolute is that a thing is good or bad for; all people, everywhere, and at all times. “The basic premise of unqualified absolutism is that all moral conflicts are only apparent.” (Geisler) For example, telling a lie even to protect a life would cross the line for an absolutist. For the record, not having reached a final completed view, I happen to disagree believing that the law of love and the value of human life is of higher moral value. So, although I believe the Scripture is the highest moral compass and we must follow it with our whole being, there may be times when one good is “better” than another, and we can end up with a dilemma on our hands. Concerning the above example, some would argue that a lie consists of the intent, not necessarily what is said. Meaning that the purpose is to save a life and therefore, the intention is honorable or moral.

Ethics and the law

Simply stated, they are not the same thing; the elephant in the room being abortion. Although it is not right, it is legal (The 2022 reversal of the 1973 Roe V. Wade ruling does not outlaw abortion but returns the decision back to the individual states). There are two fundamental ways of seeing what should be the basis for laws: Natural law, espoused by Fuller (Fuller), says that laws should be based on morals whereas legal positivism, as taught by Hart (Hart), asserts that a society is a social contract and that we can change laws at will and morals and ethics have nothing to say about it. In that way, legal positivism reminds me somewhat of post-modernism where definitions are fluid, and there are no absolutes.

Let me point out what is to me a salient observation. Every law whether based on morals or not bear a moral component because they say one thing is good (legal) and another is not which of course is the whole point of ethics.

Antinomianism

Some people believe that Christians are released by grace from the obligation of observing the moral law. This is in direct contradiction to Scripture, for example, Romans 6:1 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?”. To which Paul’s reply is an emphatic, “By no means! .”(v2)

Biblical Ethics

No discussion of Christian ethics would be worth its salt if it did not talk about what Scripture says about unethical, or sinful, behavior. Listed here is a partial list of what the Bible identifies as sins.

1. Evil thoughts
2. Murder
3. Adultery
4. Sexual immorality
5. Theft
6. False witness
7. Slander
8. Envy
9. Strife
10. Deceit
11. Ruthless[iii]
12. Malicious-ness
13. Gossip
14. Haters of God
15. Inventing evil
16. Insolent
17. Haughty
18. Boastful
19. Disobedient to parents
20. Faithless
21. Heartless

Table 1 – This list is taken from Matthew 15:19 and Romans 1:29-31

Also see Ephesians 4:24-32

Other unethical behavior from various places in Scripture; ingratitude, judging others,

Note that when you mention some of these sins, the modern world does not even think twice about doing them. Before the sexual revolution of the 1960s, people were frowned upon who engaged in that kind of behavior. Sex outside of marriage and single mothers was a rarity since even divorce was not all that common.

 Of course, at the same time, there are things we ought to do.

Mark 12:30-31 (ESV)
³⁰  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Morals include thoughts, action, and lack of action.

‘So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is a sin.”

– James 4:17 (ESV)

In Conclusion

With all three of the above types of moral systems, there is at least one commonality: Who is to decide what are called virtues, duties, or ends for which one must strive? To the Christian, the answer is the Bible itself and the demands of conscience which God has instilled in us all in the form of general revelation, or nature (see Romans 1).

Hebrews 10:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”

Biblical morality contains some of all three of the above-explained systems. 1) The Bible is prescriptive and tells us what we should and should not do. 2) We are to work toward specific goals, I.e. making our wives happy about knowing God better, etc. 3) We are told to strive toward moral excellence.

What got me interested in studying the various ethical systems was a college course I took during the spring of 2016 on bioethics. It is a fascinating topic and has many different components that need us as a society to make some crucial decisions about the limits of what we do with fast-paced scientific advances.

© 2016 Dennis Doolittle

Citations

These citations were generated using www.citationmachine.net

Geisler, N. L. (2010). Christian ethics: Contemporary issues & options. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Hart, H. L. A. (2012). The concept of law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Fuller, L. L. (2006). The morality of law. Delanco, NJ: Gryphon Editions.

Talbot, M. (2016). Bioethics: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®). Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. They are used by permission. All rights reserved.

---

[i] See Paul’s discussion of the conscience in Romans 2:14-15.

[ii]  Since studying philosophy way back in college, I have always thought of the basic definition of humanism/secularism to be what was written by a pre-Socratic by the name of Protagoras who said: “Man is the measure of all things.” At the same time God showed me a verse contrasting this with His own view. In Jeremiah 17:5 it says “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” And then in verse 7 it goes on to add “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. “

[iii] This is opposite in meaning to the word rue, meaning to regret.