General Session.

• Lesson 10 - Overview.
  • What is wrong with the world?
  • What is wrong with the world?  “I am.” – G.K. Chesteron

·         Lesson 11 – What is Right and Wrong?

o   How do we determine the ‘right’ things to do from the ‘wrong’ things to do?….

§  Because government makes a law?

§  Because we feel good?

§  Because it is acceptable in society?

§  Because it makes financial sense?

§  Because it is normal in society?

·         Secular view.

o   Most “Secular Humanists adopt a theory of ethical relativism - the belief that no absolute moral code exists, and therefore man must adjust his ethical standards in each situation according to his own judgment.”

o   “If God does not exist, then He cannot establish an absolute moral code. Humanist Max Hocutt says that human beings "may, and do, make up their own rules... Morality is not discovered; it is made."  Max Hocutt, "Toward an Ethic of Mutual Accommodation," in Humanist Ethics, ed. Morris B. Storer (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1980), p. 137. http://www.christiananswers.net/q-sum/sum-r002.html

o   Source and foundation for Ethics.

§  There is no objective standard.  Because our origin is the product of random, purposeless chance, there is no ultimate way that things ‘ought’ to be.  With no standard, the sources of ethics are ……

·         Pragmatic/ Utilitarian – whatever works the best or makes me feel good;

·         Cultural norm – whatever everyone accepts as normal;

·         Government dictation – whatever laws the government establishes;

·         Biblical view.

o   There is an ultimate, objective standard.  Humanity was created with a design by God.

o   Because of the design, there is a way that life ‘ought’ to be lived that conforms to our nature.  Humanity’s design points toward a pattern for living; What is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ is determined by my design as a creation of God; and my nature as one made in the image of God.

o   As Creator, God offers insights and instructions for living much like the creator of some physical object, such as a vacuum, provides an ‘owner’s manual’ to understand how the item should operating.  There is a good and a bad – a right and a wrong – manner of operating.  If the object operates contrary to its nature, it will eventually break down and destroy itself.  This involves how one relates to themselves, to others, and to God.

Group Session.

• Consider the secular view and foundation for ethics.  If there is no over-arching design to humanity, is one nation or group able to comment on the right and wrong established by another nation or group?  Are we even able to say the Holocaust was ‘wrong’?
• Considering the secular view on origins.  Our origins are the product of random chance that depended upon the strong thriving and the weak dying.  If this is the O/S [operating system] moving humanity through time, does this have any bearing on what or how humanity would view ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in society?  Remember, under the secular view, when a person dies there is nothing.
• Read Deuteronomy 5.  Many characterize Christian ethics as a ‘divine command’ theory of ethics.  Under this theory, God simply ‘says so.’  God provides the rules and people obey.  Critics point out that if God commanded that lying is ‘wrong,’ He just could have easily commanded that lying is ‘right.’  Do you agree?  If not, how do you counter that assertion?  God commanded that we do not steal.  Could He have easily commanded that stealing is fine?  Are we simply left to be God’s mindless robots, following the decrees that He established at random?
• Read Deuteronomy 6:1-9 and Matthew 22:34-40.  Why would Jesus make the statement He did in verse 40 of Matthew?  Why are these two statements considered the most important of all God’s commandments?  Reflecting on Jesus’ statement in Matthew, can the commands given by God fit into “love God” or “love your neighbor?” 
• These two statements by Christ – “love God” and “love your neighbor” are not too specific.  Are they too vague to determine what is right and wrong in our lives?  Do we really need more particulars from God.  Consider the wedding vow “I will love you in sickness and in health, til death do us part.”  At wedding, the bride and groom exchange vows and not a volume of instructions for each other.  How do those general vows inform and determine the particulars of a life together?
• Read Colossians 3:1-17.  What are the rules for living?  What are the ‘rights’ and the ‘wrongs’ that govern our lives?  Are they simply God dictating rules to us or is our living reflecting His image and His pattern for us?
• Read Ephesians 5:1-21.  Again, consider the ‘rights’ and the ‘wrongs’ for people.  Are we to live in accordance to a patter or to some arbitrary divine rules?
• Read 1 Peter 1:13-21.   We are commanded to ‘be Holy’ just as God is Holy.  What does that mean?  Peter is quoting a text from the book of Leviticus.  How does this inform a biblical view of ethics [i.e. what we consider ‘right’ and ‘wrong’].  Consider Romans 12:1-2.  What does a holy, pleasing sacrifice to God look like in Allegheny County and in the world?
• Consider the pattern that God provides for living.  Is this pattern for everyone or just believers?  Does this pattern depend upon our belief or our faith for its value or authority?