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This week for Theology Terms Tuesday we will be talking about some basic presuppositions of Christian Ethics taken from my Christian Ethics class by Dr. Charles McCullough, here we go:

The Starting Point: The Nature of God

God is by nature ethical, concerned with how men ought to act.

He reveals His person, power, purpose in history.

He is just, holy and righteous as well as gracious and loving. 

The Core: Christ

Christian ethics is based on the example, teaching, and Spirit of Christ.

The imitatio Christi infers that the Christian is to demonstrate love  and forgiveness and hope as well as justice and responsibility.

The Tangible Authority: Special Revelation

The Scripture is inspired, authoritative, and trustworthy

The whole Bible speaks to how man ought to live in light of his  relationship to God.

Its contemporary relevance resides in broad principles and truths  which underlie the narrative.

The Context: The Christian Community in the World

The world poses the questions.

The Church is the context for ethical reflection and deliberation for  the Christian on those questions.

The Church offers a place for discourse on biblical content and promotes  civil and respectful debate in the context of Spirit-created  interpersonal relationships.

The Church is responsible for influencing the social order in the direction  of conformity to the will of God. This is a transformative  influence effected primarily by the presence of changed individual  lives in the community and the combined voices of individuals  toward shaping public policy.

The Power Source: The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is active in every phase of ethical decision and moral  action, illuminating Scripture, speaking in and through the  conscience, shaping decisions and empowering actions.

The Reality of the Situation: Tension

Christians are free to decide; they are responsible for their decisions.

Christians will face a constant tension between the ideal (God’s will)  and the reality of a broken, sinful world; between what ought to be  and what is.