Is the Bible boring?

The Bible

Is the Bible boring? We might have a debate and the

answer would probably be that I would say ‘no’ and the majority of you might say ‘yes’.

Is the Bible relevant to your study of Philosophy & Ethics?

Then the answer has simply to be ‘yes’.

The Bible

Common errors when trying to persuade examiners that you are using the Bible:

The Bible says: Do not kill – wrong

It says do not commit murder All life is sacred – wrong

It says all life was created by God Jesus said all people are equal – wrong

(though he might have believed they were.)

The Bible

Proof texts are dangerous

If you hunt hard enough you can probably find a text to say almost anything you want if you take it out of context

What is the purpose of the following text for example:

The Bible

The sons of Noah who went out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Ham was the father of Canaan. These three were the sons of Noah; and from these the whole earth was peopled.Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. He drank some of the wine and became drunk, and he lay uncovered in his tent. And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brothers outside. Then Shem and Japheth took a garment, laid it on both their shoulders, and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father; their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father’s nakedness. When Noah awoke from his wine and knew what his youngest son had done to him, he said,“Cursed be Canaan; lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.” He also said, “Blessed by the LORD my God be Shem; and let Canaan be his slave. (Genesis 9:18-26)

The Bible

Until towards the end of the last century it was used by the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa to justify apartheid.

The Bible

Another issue involves interpretation. What does this passage actually mean?As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27-29)

Does it mean that all these people are equal or does it mean that all Christians are equal?

The Bible

Here is a problem with translations:“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” (Matthew 1:23)

The writer of Matthew’s gospel was working in Greek and was quoting the Book of Isaiah which was written in Hebrew:Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

When the Hebrew was translated into Greek the meaning was changed from ‘young woman’ to ‘virgin’.

The Bible

Creatio ex nihilo is a matter of faith in the Catholic church and influences many of the debates about God’s involvement in the world and the Problem of Evil:

The text says:

The Bible

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:1‐5)

The question is ‘was there nothing’ or ‘was the formless void something pre-existent’?

The Bible

Now to the matter of women – In Genesis there are two accounts of

creation. Scholars believe that they are not put in the Bible in the order that they were written.

However, the account in Genesis 1 says:

The Bible

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it…

So, men and women were created at the same time, both in the image of God

The Bible

In the account in Chapters 2 & 3 however:The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die.” Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken.” Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. (Genesis 2:15‐25)

The Bible

Here it appears that the Man was made first and the women second, from the rib of the man.

However, what the translation does not show is the underlying structure of the Hebrew text.

In the first sentence: ‘The Lord God took the man…’ the Hebrew word translated as ‘man’ actually means a human being without any indication of sex. The distinction between male and female does not happen until after the woman is created. So, perhaps, at first, the human being was without sex and the difference does not occur until after the second human is made.

The Bible

This view of women has caused problems however:Likewise, tell the older women to be reverent in behaviour, not to be slanderers or slaves to drink; they are to teach what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be self-controlled, chaste, good managers of the household, kind, being submissive to their husbands, so that the word of God may not be discredited. (Titus 2:3-5)

The Bible

The Bible does not say ‘Do not kill’ – the Hebrew in Exodus 20 is ‘Do not commit murder’.

‘Do not kill’ does not make sense because, in Exodus 21 we find:

Whoever strikes a person mortally shall be put to death. If it was not premeditated, but came about by an act of God, then I will appoint for you a place to which the killer may flee. Whoever strikes father or mother shall be put to death.

Whoever kidnaps a person, whether that person has been sold or is still held in possession, shall be put to death. Whoever curses father or mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:12-17)

The Bible

Perhaps this attack on Victorian society by Alfred Clough might be worth a thought:

The Bible

“The Latest Decalogue”Thou shalt have one God only; whoWould be at the expense of two?No graven images may beWorshipped, except the currency.Swear not at all; for, for thy curseThine enemy is none the worse.At church on Sunday to attendWill serve to keep the world thy friend.

The Bible

Honour thy parents; that is, allFrom whom advancement may befall.Thou shalt not kill; but need’st not striveOfficiously to keep alive.Do not adultery commit;Advantage rarely comes of it.Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,When it’s so lucrative to cheat.Bear not false witness; let the lieHave time on its own wings to fly.Thou shalt not covet, but traditionApproves all forms of competition.

The Bible

The sum of all is, thou shalt love,if anybody, God above:At any rate shall never labourMore than thyself to love thy

neighbour.

Using the Bible in questions about Religious Ethics

questions specifically on religious ethics are never very popular and are often the worse done of any question

the questions are designed to be answerable from the ethics of any religion

the vast majority of answers are from Christian Ethics

this presentation will look at approaches from Christianity

Using the Bible in questions about Religious Ethics

there are two ways of approaching these questions: to refer to the Biblical texts and

teachings to write in relation to a theory which is

essentially Christian

Biblical Texts & Teachings

Using the Bible often seems to scare students to death

There are still a lot of seemingly innate negative responses to picking up a Bible when students are studying Philosophy & Ethics

Biblical Texts & Teachings

In answering any question on Christian Ethics it is essential to be able to refer to the texts

Quotes are not important Paraphrases are important: not just

‘Jesus said love everyone’

Sermon on the Mount

The core of Jesus’ ethical teaching can be found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7)

Jesus’ teaching begins from a Jewish basisJewish Law is: Apodictic – based on absolute

commands e.g. do… do not… and Casuistic – if… then…

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon begins with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12)

These can be seen as a reworking of the Ten Commandments

Most students not seem afraid of the Ten Commandments

Sermon on the Mount

(Ensure that you remember that, whatever the translation used, the Sixth Commandment is ‘Do not murder’ not ‘Do not kill’)

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus requires his followers to observe the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12‘In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.’

Sermon on the Mount

This is a positive statement about the Golden Rule

Rabbi Hillel (c.70BCE-10CE) had expressed it as a negative:‘Do not do to others what you do not wish them to do to you.’

Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount demonstrates that ethics is part of the relationship with God

All ethical rules are based on the will of God as shown through Jesus’ teaching

Kingdom of God

Teachings about the nature of the Kingdom of God does not need to be considered in applying the idea of the Kingdom to Religious Ethics

Kingdom of God

The Kingdom is the relationship between a Christian and God

Entry into the Kingdom is a complete surrendering to God’s will

This surrender is central to the Kingdom

Kingdom of God

Ethics becomes irrelevant as everything is done according to God’s will

‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ (Mark 1:15)

Paul

Other than the gospels, the main source for Biblical Christian ethics is found in the Epistles of Paul

Paul

Paul wrote that human life was transformed by the gift of the Spirit and freed from the Law

Paul

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-25)

Paul

In his letter to the Romans: Paul explains the central idea that the power of Christ could transform the life of a human and help them to understand and obey the will of God

Paul

Paul’s central argument is found in Philippians:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:1-5)

Christian Ethical Theories

Many people answer these questions from the perspectives of Natural Law or Situation Ethics

Some also use Divine Command theory or Virtue Ethics in its later formulations

Christian Ethical Theories Natural Law

Based on Aquinas, this is usually seen as a Roman Catholic approach to ethical issues

Situation Ethics Found in Situation Ethics (1966),

came from the work of an American Episcopalian Joseph Fletcher (1905-91).

Christian Ethical Theories Fletcher argued for a position which

stood between antinomianism and legalism.

This is based on the Christian principle of αγαπη - agape (Mark 12:29-31, John 14-16 and 1 John 4:7)

Christian Ethical Theories

One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12-29-31)

Christian Ethical Theories

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:12-13)Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (1 John 4:7)

Christian Ethical Theories

Situation Ethics has critics:

Christian Ethical TheoriesThe Roman Catholic Church:

Conscience thus formulates moral obligation in the light of the natural law: it is the obligation to do what the individual, through the workings of his conscience, knows to be a good he is called to do here and now. The universality of the law and its obligation are acknowledged, not suppressed, once reason has established the law's application in concrete present circumstances. The judgment of conscience states “in an ultimate way” whether a certain particular kind of behaviour is in conformity with the law; it formulates the proximate norm of the morality of a voluntary act, “applying the objective law to a particular case”. (Veritatis Splendor 1993)

Christian Ethical Theories

The late Anglican theologian Professor Gordon Dunstan who wrote:‘It is possible, though not easy, to forgive Professor Fletcher for writing this book, for he is a generous and lovable man. It is harder to forgive SCM Press for publishing it.’

Using the Bible in questions about Religious Ethics

This presentation suggests ways in which questions which deal with religious ethics can be answered

It does not tell you how to get to like reading the Bible.