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Session 1 RS 4 Reflection Paper
Session 1 RS 4 Reflection Paper
Lecture:
The Christian life is more than ethics but not less. God’s will include callings, gifts,
responsibilities and activities for specific groups and individuals that do not apply
to everyone. These elements form important parts of the Christian life for
different people. But the ways in which we carry out these elements of God’s will
are in the sphere of Christian ethics.
God’s will includes not just W____?____ we do as followers of Jesus but H___?
____ we do it. The Christian life embraces the ways in which God wants all
Christians to live as they carry out their daily lives and work. This is the heart of
Christian ethics and is at the heart of what God desires of all of us if we are to
please him. Understanding God’s moral will, and making decisions and carrying
out actions that reflect it, constitute the central challenge of this course.
The purpose of this course is not to examine the whole spectrum of ethical
theories, though such a study is useful for understanding the various moral
orientations of the people we encounter from day to day. As Christians, we believe
that the appropriate foundation for human conduct is rooted in the character of
God and is disclosed to us through divine revelation found in the Bible, Christian
community, and through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.
God’s character and moral will for human beings has been revealed to us first
through the Old Testament fathers and prophets and finally, most clearly of all, in
the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, our primary, though not exclusive, concern
in this course is to understand and apply the moral will of God to our lives.
Although Christian behavior is properly influenced by diverse categories of ethical
theory, we accept the religious or divine commands of God himself as having final
moral authority for us. Therefore, we seek to evaluate all of our moral obligations
in the light of God’s revelation.
The story of Cain and Abel is a sad one. These two men, children of Adam and Eve,
brought sacrifices to God (Genesis 4:1-16). We read that God had respect for Abel
and his offering but not for Cain and his offering. The assumption here is that Abel
was making his sacrifice in obedience to God's word in a way that Cain was not
(Hebrews 11:4). The apparent jealousy of Cain led him to murder his brother Abel,
thus bringing God's judgment upon himself.
1) As you think about your life and work, write down two or three moral issues
that are of concern to you at this time.
2) Why do you believe that God wants His people to engage in some concentrated
thought, discussion and decision making with regard to moral issues that affect
our lives and that of our colleagues? Explain.
Please follow the Format: Times New Roman, font 12, space 1.5) 1 or 2 pages
short bond paper. Ex.