Rights and responsibilities

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CHRISTIANS AND THE BIBLE...
The Bible is the Christian holy book, made up of 66 books split into the Old and the New
testaments
The Old testament was written before Jesus, and contains the 10 commandments
The New testament is concerned with the life and teachings of Jesus
For Christians, the Bible carries authority and is a guide for decision making because it was
inspired by God
Some Christians believe the Bible is the literal word of God, and argue that it contains moral
teachings for the modern world
However, some believe it was inspired by God or needs interpreting…read more

CHRISTIANS AND AUTHORITY OF THE
CHURCH
The Church is the community of Christians who believe in God and Jesus(the church is a place o
worship)
Some people believe that the Bible is the only authority, but some Christians also look to the
Church for moral guidance
Different Christian Churches (eg Roman Catholics or Baptists) have ways of deciding how issues
should be resolves
The Church has authority as Christians believe that God speaks through the Church, that Jesus a
through the Church and they can trust leaders (vicars, bishops, archbishops) to tell them about
God's will
The teachings of the Church are important to many Christians; Roman Catholics only use the
teachings of the Church as a moral guide as they believe that the Pope and bishops can interpre
the Bible and teach others…read more

CHRISTIANS AND CONSCIENCE
Conscience is an inner feeling of the rightness or wrongness of an
action that God has given to everyone
Some believe it is a useful tool, but does not always work
Christians believe that they should look to the Church and the Bible to
moral guidance, then follow their conscience- Christians should never
act against their conscience
They use their conscience when they are faced with a moral dilemma
Christians differ as to the exact reliability of conscience…read more

CHRISTIANS AND SITUATION ETHICS
Situation Ethics is the idea that Christians should base moral
decisions on what is the most loving thing to do
In the 1960's, a Christian minister suggested that love should be the
only principle upon which to make moral choices
The New Testament stresses the importance of love- "Greater love
has no man than this, that a man ley down his life for his friends"
Many Christians would use Situation Ethics along with other ways of
making moral decisions. However, some use it as the only moral
guide
It is very similar to Jesus' Golden Rule- "Do to others what you would
have them do to you"
Many believe that Situation Ethics are good as every situation is
judged individually and has a Christian intention…read more

CHRISTIANS AND VARIETY OF MORAL
AUTHORITIES
Christians use four different authorities-
The teachings/laws of the Bible
The teachings or guidance of the Church
Their conscience
Situation Ethics
Some Christians will use only one, but most use a combination. They
differ as to the exact nature of moral authority
The Bible is used as a supreme moral guide as it contains the basic truth
of what God wants
For many Christians, performing good actions is vital to leading a good
life- some will form pressure groups to achieve this…read more