Christian ethics areas of study-2010+

Christian
Religious Detailed Ethical
Tradition Area Studies

Depth Study

Monday, 28 June 2010

Students learn to:
describe and explain
Christian ethical
Syllabus teachings on bioethics
OR environmental ethics
OR sexual ethics


Sexual Ethics- the
ethics of sex

Areas of study Bioethics-the
ethics of science
and medicine


Sexual Ethics Contraception
Homosexuality
Masturbation
(n.b..embedded videos to
Pornography
lighten the mood as this stuff
gets so serious!! Other sexual
Apologies in advance if the ‘forms’ (better descriptor?)
humour isn’t your cup of tea!) e.g. pedophilia


Idea of the ‘importance of the family’.
(Blanket notion that can not be ‘issue’ speciﬁc)
Sex as a gift from God that should not be
abused or misused (across the board for a
number of issues within Christianity)
Sex for pleasure Vs Sex for procreation

Key points to keep in mind

Most important is the idea of the sanctity of
the individual and our place in God’s creation.
i.e we are created in God’s image, our body as
a temple etc


*Write without emotion or
passion….just the ‘facts’ as
the question dictates!*


Aquinas (Natural Law) posed the question
after surmising that reproduction is one of the
primary purposes of humanity, ‘What is the
natural purpose of the sex organs?’
-reproduction! (duh!)
.: any other use/purpose is not human and .:
intrinsically evil and morally wrong!

One thing to keep in mind during all of this


Sexual
relationships with
homosexuality individuals of the
same gender.
www.sexualcounselling.com/Glossary/
Glossaryh.htm


Yes, this is as brave as
I get on this one!!!


Key issues seem to revolve around
‘conception/procreation’, the sanctity of the
marriage relationship and the issue of the ‘type
of sex/lifestyle’ involved
Deﬁnite biblical stances on this issue

The issues

Natural Law states that homosexuality is
wrong as no children can come of a
homosexual relationship.
Issue of the nature and role of relationships
also needs to be considered and explored.

Natural Law


Clear biblical teachings (note plural) on
homosexuality as being ‘wrong’ in the eyes of
God

Biblical Teachings


“And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon
Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and
closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which
the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman,
and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is
now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall
be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one
flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife,
and were not ashamed. ”

Genesis 2:23-24.

Leviticus 18:22 says:
“Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; it is
an abomination.”

Leviticus 20:13 states:
“If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman,
both of them have done what is detestable. They must
be put to death; their blood will be on their own
heads.”

Leviticus

“ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies: These are the things
which deﬁle a man.

Matthew 15:19-20


“Because of this [idolatry], God gave them
over to shameful lusts. Even their women
exchanged natural sexual relations for
unnatural ones. In the same way the men also
abandoned natural relations with women and
were inﬂamed with lust for one another. Men
committed shameful acts with other men, and
received in themselves the due penalty for
their error.”

Romans 1


“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not
inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes
nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor
the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-10


Also the story of Sodom and Gomorrah
(Genesis 19), but opinion is split on the actual
message of the story (Jewish Vs Christian,
scholar Vs scholar etc)


Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of
Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the
people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said
to him, "Where are the people who came to you tonight?
Bring them out to us, and let's know them!" But Lot went
out to them at the doorway, and shut the door behind him,
and said, "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Here I
have two daughters who haven't known a man; let me bring
them out to you, and do to them as is good in your eyes.
Only do nothing to these people, because that is why they
came under the shadow of my roof."


Catholic: teaches that homosexual orientation
isn’t “bad” but rather the ‘lifestyle practices’
are not acceptable.
Acknowledges that the development of a
person’s sexuality is complex and individual.
Issue of procreation is very central ie not an
acceptable expression of human sexuality
Opposes unjust discrimination in any form

The Variants

Anglican: varying stances depending upon
varying scriptural interpretation.
Sydney Archdiocese condemns all homosexual
acts
Other diocese/expressions are more accepting
e.g ordination of gay clergy-Bishop in the US
Sydney disassociated itself in 2003 from same
sex unions

Threatens to split the Anglican Church


The prevention of
conception by the
contraception use of birth control
devices or agents
www.4sexual-pleasure.com/
deﬁnitions.html


Something to lighten the mood

Methods of contraception-condoms and
chemical methods. Can also include abortion
Reasons for using contraception e.g sex
before marriage, adultery etc
Major issue relating to sex for procreation Vs
sex for pleasure

The Issues

Key issue of the place and purpose of sex

i.e best within a loving and monogamous
relationship i.e marriage
‘Issues’ with this ‘logic’ that need to be (and
have been) addressed by religious groups.


“Be fertile and multiply; ﬁll the earth”
Genesis 1:28
No Christian faith until the 1930’s allowed
contraception until the Anglican Church
approved its use in cases of ‘dire
necessity’ (e.g when a woman wouldn’t be
able to survive another pregnancy due to
medical issues)


Most Protestant groups now approve the use
of modern contraceptives (in married
couples?) if it stops conception (as opposed
to destroying the fertilised egg)
Catholic Church - opposes the use of
contraception as all sexual acts must be open
to the transmission of life
- Natural family planning / ‘Rhythm Method’


Abortion
All groups appear to disapprove of using
abortion as a ‘last-ditch’ contraceptive method
as Christians are opposed to the notion of
taking life just because its inconvenient!
Those that see life as existing from the
‘moment of fertilisation’ also oppose the use of
the ‘morning after pill’.

Note: Dont try to argue abortion in
‘extraordinary circumstances’ e.g rape (1%)


masturbation Im not going to deﬁne it for
you….


Linked to the notion of procreation and
Aquinas’ ‘proper use of the sex organs’ (!!)
i.e ‘improper’ use of the sex organs for
‘personal pleasure’ and not procreation


Catholics: HUGE problem with it
1) linked to the issue of procreation
2) linked to the idea of ‘improper thoughts and
actions’
-idea of masturbation being very ‘similar’ to
being unfaithful to a partner and /or the idea of
pre-marital sex
Many Papal statements (encyclical’s) on the
issue


Protestants: Don’t seem to have a major
issue with it i.e haven’t really said anything
against it…. Linked to lack of speciﬁc biblical
references stating don’t do it? (see quotes)
Obviously individual church groups may have
issues with the issue of masturbation


"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not
commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone
who looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his heart."
NOTE: Not talking about the ‘end product’ but
what cause it i.e improper thoughts

Matthew 5:28.

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you
to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for
your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if
your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and
throw it away. It is better for you to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to
go into hell." (!!!)

Matthew 5:27-30.


“And if any man's seed of copulation go out
from him, then he shall wash all his ﬂesh in
water, and be unclean until the even[ing]. And
every garment, and every skin, whereon is the
seed of copulation, shall be washed with
water, and be unclean until the even[ing]."

Leviticus 15:16-18


This passage describes how Tamar's ﬁrst husband Er
was killed by God because he was wicked. Under
ancient Jewish tradition, Er's brother Onan was
required to marry and engage in sexual intercourse
with Tamar. Widows were not asked whether they
wanted to remarry. In many cases, the woman would
have experienced the sexual activity as a form of rape
-- something required by tribal tradition which they
had to endure. Similarly, nobody consulted the
widow's brother-in-law about his wishes in the matter.

The Story of Onan-Genesis 38:6-9

Their ﬁrst son would be attributed to Er. Because any
offspring would not be considered his child, Onan
decided to use a common and relatively ineffective
contraceptive technique to prevent conception. He
employed "coitus interruptus". That is, he disengaged
from Tamar just before he ejaculated, and "spilled his
semen on the ground." God was displeased at this
action and killed Onan also -- presumably because he
refused to follow Jewish tradition.

The Story of Onan-Genesis 38:6-9

Sexually explicit
pictures, writing, or
pornography other material whose
primary purpose is to
cause sexual arousal.
choices-az.org/resources/glossary/


Generally a big NO!!
Derogatory to females- ‘dehumanising’ and
stereotyping females
Sense of respect for self and others
Linked to the idea of adultery and pre marital
sex
Seen as the precursor to masturbation (which
is ‘worse’ than the act)


"I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with
lust upon a girl. I know full well that the Almighty
God sends calamity on those who do" (Job
31:1-3).
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit
adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a
woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28).


TASK.
Compile a list
all other sexual
Work out what
areas
you think the
ofﬁcial stance
is and why


Bioethics


Cloning
Genetic Engineering
Stem Cell Research
areas of study Capital Punishment
Euthanasia
Animal Experiments
Organ Donation


science ﬁction “Made to Order”

or 60 Minutes
16/11/2008
Web Version
science fact?


60 Minutes ~13 minutes (copied off their website)

“Bioethics concerns itself with the ethical
questions that come about in the relationships
between medicine and life, the research and
practice in these areas and the connections
with politics and law.”
-Macquarie

Bioethics??


Because bioethics is concerned with doing
‘what is right’, there is a major concern with
regards to the idea of ‘what is right?’, ‘how is
it going to be used?’ (and who controls it?)
and who makes the decision on ‘whether it is
right or not?’

Bioethics??


The process of
asexually producing a
cloning group of cells (clones),
all genetically identical,
from a single ancestor.
www.exploratorium.edu/genepool/
glossary.html


Understanding cloning in 10 simple steps
C/ youtube


The major issues revolve around the concepts
of:
• Playing God
• How far is too far? (i.e what can it be used
for Vs what should it be used for)
It is the issue of ‘how far is too far?’ that
poses the main area of discussion for
bioethicists.

The Issues


As its a difﬁcult (and relatively new) area, views
are divergent across the Church groups.
(generally NO)
Common thoughts include that cloning is
interfering with the ‘natural order’ so ‘purpose’
play a big part in this line of thinking
i.e cloning a human=playing God
Would/Does a clone have a soul? Individuality?

Christian stance


Also, the acquisition and destruction of
embryo’s as a part of experiments is a major
problem
i.e more failed cloning attempts of embryo’s
than successful cloning attempts+cloned
embryo’s are destroyed after 4-6 days!
Linked to same line of thought as abortion


Obviously the cloning of body parts (for
reconstructive surgery etc) poses another
interesting problem/issue..
n.b that this different to genetically
engineering/modifying a body part…..


A technology used to alter the
genetic material of living cells in
Genetic order to make them capable of
producing new substances or
Engineering performing new functions.
www.environment.gov.au/settlements/
biotechnology/glossary.html


Concern about the idea of playing God
i.e genetic engineering *can* be used to create
(or re-create) ‘new things’ that *may* go
against the natural order
e.g engineering animals that have been extinct
for 1000’s of years
Issue over ‘what’ more than ‘how’+ is this an
invasion into ‘God’s territory’ as creator?

The Issue

“Scientists with the Mammoth Creation
Project hope to ﬁnd a frozen woolly mammoth
specimen with sperm DNA. The sperm DNA
would then be injected into a female elephant;
by repeating the procedure with offspring, a
creature 88 percent mammoth could be
produced within ﬁfty years.”

http://www.livescience.com/technology/050412_mammoth_effort.html
posted: 11 April 2005


A cell from which other
types of cells can
stem cell develop.
research plan2005.cancer.gov/
glossary.html


Stem Cells that have not ‘developed’ have a
great ability to self renew or reproduce.
Researchers believe that these cells can be
used to repair tissues and grow new organs
Stem Cells can be easily obtained from
embryonic tissue e.g aborted fetuses hence
there is a major issue with Christians.


Note: there are now new technologies in
obtaining stem cells so the arguments against
are starting to diminish
Abortions/excess embryo’s from IVF (potential
life argument)-> umbilical cord and adult stem
cells (grown cells as they are found (dormant)
in major organs (e.g brain, heart etc)


It needs to be noted that Christians tend to
not have an issue with the principle of stem
cell research as its to do with ‘healing’
It is the way in which cells/embryo’s are
harvested (adult Vs embryo) that is the issue


“Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in
their synagogues, preaching the good news of
the kingdom, and healing every disease and
sickness among the people. News about him
spread all over Syria, and people brought to
him all who were ill with various diseases,
those suffering severe pain, the demon-
possessed, those having seizures, and the
paralyzed, and he healed them.”

Matthew 4:23-24


Major Task

HSC Questions
Pick a past question (your choice)
http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au
-> past papers
Two Questions (/6 and /20) that have
to be done and submitted.
You have 1 week to complete


Christian ethics areas of study-2010+

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