‭‘‬ ‭ETHICS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH‬
‭Christopher Burgos‬
‭THEOLOGICAL ETHICS‬
‭ heological Ethics‬‭provides the discipline‬‭of‬
T ‭better. Here, God is best known as the‬‭Holy‬
‭Christian Ethics with‬‭theological postulates‬‭such‬
‭as the following:‬
‭(A)‬‭The postulate of a good God who is‬
‭thought of:‬
‭-‬ ‭ e is thought as a Creator‬‭,‬‭the source of‬
H ‭ iew of God. In this view, God is best described as‬
‭creative powers, he is the‬‭God of providential‬
‭care, forgiving grace, self-giving love,‬
‭genuine concern,‬‭and‬‭purposive existence‬
‭for humankind and the entire creation.‬‭His‬
‭creativity is beginningless and endless. He is‬
‭best described as‬‭Father‬‭who is eternally‬
‭Creator and Grace‬‭(Gen. 1:1, Rey. 22:21).‬
‭-‬ ‭ e is thought of as a Redeemer,‬‭the source of‬
H ‭wrong, and what is right,‬
‭redemptive powers. He is the‬‭God of‬
‭reconciliation and restoration‬‭, as well as of‬
‭reconstruction‬‭and‬‭reformation‬‭. He came to‬
‭reconcile us and all the world to‬‭restore‬
‭brokenness‬‭, to‬‭reconstruct society‬‭, and to‬
‭reform human conduct‬‭,‬‭attitudes‬‭,‬‭values‬‭and‬
‭ways of life‬‭—all for total salvation and‬
‭wholeness upon himself. In this regard, God is‬
‭best known as the‬‭Son‬‭, who had came to be‬
‭born,‬‭lived‬‭among men, went about doing good,‬
‭and‬‭died‬‭for them (Gal. 4:4: Jn 1:1, 14; Acts‬
‭10:38; Rom. 5:8). )‬
‭-‬ ‭ e is thought of as Judge and Counselor‬‭, the‬
H ‭has been shaped by nature and yet in turn he‬
‭source of justifying and comforting powers. He‬
‭is portrayed as a‬‭God of justice, not‬
‭distributive but redemptive, not equal but a‬
‭bias‬‭even for the worst of us—changing a‬
‭man’s status from that of one who is rejected‬
‭because of his sin to that of one who is‬
‭accepted in spite of it. Deeply embedded in his‬
‭justice is‬‭righteousness‬‭—the challenge for‬
‭men to be all goodness as the heavenly Father‬
‭is all good. He also provides‬‭wise counsel‬‭,‬
‭comfort‬‭and‬‭inspiration‬‭. He‬‭points out‬‭to us‬
‭what is‬‭wrong‬‭,‬‭bad‬‭, etc. and‬‭convicts‬‭us. But‬
‭TERM‬
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‭ e inspires us to overcome our sins and do‬
h
‭Spirit‬‭whose judgement and comfort manifest in‬
‭his life-creating-sustaining presence power (Ps.‬
‭139:7-10; Acts 14:17; Mt. 5:48; Acts 9:31; Jn‬
‭14:26; Rom. 8:26-27).‬
‭Here, we have the‬‭traditional trinitarian‬
v
‭Father, Son and Holy Spirit.‬‭God is one but he‬
‭has three major functions and modes of revelation‬
‭in human history. One major implication of this‬
‭view of God for Christian Ethics is this:‬‭God gives‬
‭us at least three possibilities in life‬‭—‬
‭1.‬ ‭is to be‬‭creative and invent new things‬‭for‬
‭the welfare of the people;‬
‭2.‬ ‭is to be‬‭corrective to point out‬‭what is‬
‭3.‬ ‭possibility, is to be‬‭redemptive‬‭. that is, to‬
‭save lives by means of fostering‬
‭understanding and unity among people.‬
‭In other words, the trinitarian view of God offers‬
‭us an open door for developing and sustaining‬
‭various lifestyles.‬
‭(B)‬‭The postulate of basically a good man and‬
‭purposive life.‬
‭-‬ ‭ e is a created being,‬‭who possesses a‬
H
‭physical body which is his essential‬
‭creatureliness and continuity with nature. He‬
‭shapes nature and extends control over it.‬
‭While finite and biological, there is something‬
‭spiritual in him that is closely related to God‬
‭who is‬‭infinite‬‭(Gen. 2:7; 1:26-27; Ps. $:4-8).‬
‭-‬ ‭ e is a fallen being,‬‭one who has‬‭inordinate‬
H
‭self-love that leads him to rebel‬‭against his‬
‭Creator. This is the basic structure of man’s‬
‭being which has fallen into disorder, imbalance‬
‭and alienation. In short,‬‭he is a‬‭sinner‬‭(Gen.‬
‭3-11; Rom. 3:23). ,‬
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‭-‬ ‭ e is a potential-saint‬‭,‬‭though fallen and‬
H ‭One‬‭implication of this view for‬
‭alienated from his Creator, he still possesses a‬
‭“residum of original righteousness,”‬‭a‬‭flash‬
‭of basic goodness‬‭, an‬‭awareness‬‭of the‬
‭f‭u ‬ ndamental alienation‬‭from God, from other‬
‭people, from the world, and from one’s own‬
‭self-hood. Therefore, man has the capacity to‬
‭stand up and to return to his Maker (Lk. 14:1-7,‬
‭8-10, 11-32).‬
‭ his view of man has rich implications for‬
T ‭this God-given world is the proper place of the‬
‭Christian Ethics. On one hand, it implies a realistic‬
‭view of man, he has‬‭capabilities which are‬
‭beyond our knowledge and expectations.‬
‭Created in God's own likeness, he has untapped‬
‭possibilities and gifts within himself of which he‬
‭may not even be aware of. On the other hand, it‬
‭also implies a person has limitations both:‬
‭physical‬‭and‬‭spiritual.‬‭Thus,‬‭we should not‬
‭expect too much of him or disappointments‬‭for‬
‭their failures, we also‬‭should expect them to do‬
‭great things‬‭. On the whole, we can‬‭expect no‬
‭less than the best‬‭in them because they are‬
‭basically good and purposeful in their lives.‬
(‭ C) The postulate of basically a good and‬
‭friendly world.‬
‭Christian Ethics‬‭is this:‬
‭In this world each individual person has a‬
‭ hance to respond according to his understanding‬
c
‭and reflection on the action and nature of God—‬
‭which could easily emerge in terms so‬
‭philosophical‬‭,‬‭moral‬‭and‬‭legal‬‭, and all can be‬
‭vague‬‭and‬‭confusing‬‭.‬
‭The other is the‬‭ethical implication‬‭: since‬
‭Christian life, the place where the‬‭“Christian is‬
‭called to be a Christian,”‬‭every believer can‬
‭fulfill his creatureliness through his reflection on‬
‭the action and nature of God, that He is eternally‬
‭Creator and a God of Grace,‬‭and that man is his‬
‭creation. Further, this provides a constant‬
‭reminder that‬‭everything we have in our lives‬
‭and this world and its fullness are‬‭not really ours‬
‭but just a‬‭stewardship‬‭, and‬‭only God truly and‬
‭rightfully owns them‬‭. What a great time to strive‬
‭too to be ethical in a good and friendly world‬
‭which is favorable for our existence and‬
‭conducive to our welfare. Indeed, this is an open‬
‭universe where each individual person has a‬
‭chance to develop and grow and mature as a‬
‭child of God.‬

‭-‬ ‭ his world is created by a good God,‬‭and‬

T
‭therefore, it is‬‭good and friendly.‬‭The object of‬
‭God’s love and concern, this world is a human‬
‭world of‬‭interdependency‬‭and‬‭reciprocity…‬
‭characterized by every man’s need for each‬
‭other. It is the‬‭sphere‬‭of God’s liberating and‬
‭renewing activity—the‬‭arena‬‭in which God is‬
‭acting and showing people his loving and‬
‭redemptive activities‬‭—the theater of God’s‬
‭being with man. Since it’s his handiwork,‬‭“he‬
‭has the whole world in his hand.”‬‭Indeed, it’s‬
‭designed for a purpose with man:‬‭God’s world‬
‭to become the world of man.‬‭(Gen. 1:1, 31;‬
‭Ps. 24:1-2; Isa. 45:1, 5-6; Jn. 3:16).‬

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