Ethics in the Bible
Ethics in the Bible refers to a framework of moral principles and directives that guide behavior, primarily articulated through the scriptures. The foundational ethical guidelines, such as the Ten Commandments, were believed to be divinely given to Moses and outline core moral imperatives including prohibitions against murder, theft, and adultery, as well as mandates for worship and respect for parents. A significant philosophical underpinning of biblical ethics is Divine Command theory, which posits that moral truths are rooted in God's will, a view developed by early Christian thinkers like Augustine and Ockham. However, the interpretation of these ethical directives varies widely across different religious and cultural contexts, leading to diverse understandings of their application today.
Contemporary discussions often address how biblical ethics intersect with modern governance, particularly in the United States, where debates arise over the role of religious ethics in public policy. Discrepancies exist between traditional interpretations, such as those held by Orthodox Jews, and more liberal approaches found in Reform Judaism and Christian denominations. Furthermore, as language and scholarship evolve, translations of the Bible can lead to differing interpretations of its ethical demands. This ongoing discourse reflects the complexity and relevance of biblical ethics in both personal conduct and societal frameworks, emphasizing the need for respectful dialogue among varied perspectives.
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Ethics in the Bible
The Bible prescribes a set of ethical beliefs, that is, what an individual should and should not do in various circumstances. There are varying schools of thought regarding strictness or adherence and interpretation as to what the rules mean. The major ethical belief system that stems from the Bible is known as Divine Command theory. Divine Command theory proposes that God knows what is the morally correct action and that God wants individuals to follow these directives. The Ten Commandments embody the ideals of Divine Command theory. Morality under Divine Command theory are tied directly to the existence of God and God’s commands. Concerns about the ethics expressed in the Bible include center on the language that is used and how it has changed over time and in translation, how various religions interpret the ethical requirements in the Bible, and the role of biblical ethics in U.S. government policy.
Background
The first formal establishment of ethics in the Bible is the Ten Commandments. According to the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, the Ten Commandments were written by God and given to Moses at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments require worship of only God, respecting his name and refraining from creating idols; respect for one’s parents; observance of the holy day of rest, or the Sabbath; and abstention from jealously. They also forbid murder, stealing, lying, and adultery. In the New Testament, Matthew holds the elements of the Ten Commandments to be the word of God, forming the beginnings of Divine Command theory.
Divine Command theory was more fully developed by early Christian thinkers William of Ockham, Saint Augustine, and Duns Scotus. John Calvin, founder of Calvinism, and Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, also had an impact on the development of Divine Command theory. According to Ockham, Augustine, and Scotus, an action is morally correct if God approves of it. This led to objections, such as whether an intuitively abhorrent action, such as genocide, can be correct if approved by God.
Divine Command theory was revised by Robert Adams. Adams modified the theory to include the condition that God may not, and does not, command cruelty or intuitively abhorrent actions for their own sake. According to Adams, such command would only occur in a larger scheme of necessity. Other philosophers, such as Michael Austin, argue that such a limitation, of not being able to command cruelty, imposes an inherent limit on God. According to Austin, this limitation entails that God would not be all-powerful, a flaw that many Christians hold to be fatal.
Overview
While the general messages of the Bible have not changed, the approach to interpretation has. Culture and the languages in which the Bible was written changed over time, along with scholarly understanding of the texts, resulting in differences in translation and interpretation. Significant disagreements exist over the ethical requirements that are set forth in the Bible and their application in the modern era. The role of biblical ethics in U.S. policy and government, for example, continues to be a source of controversy.
The first biblical stories were probably relayed by word of mouth. It is unknown how long the events in the Old Testament presumably occurred prior to be written down or even, with any certainty, when they were written down, though literacy in ancient Mesopotamia indicates very early dates. The books of the New Testament were first written in the Greek language, in the first century CE. The language of the Old Testament was either Hebrew or Aramaic. The Bible has since been translated into every written language. Translation from ancient languages always sparks debate over what the words of the original texts might mean.
The Bible is comprised of various ancient texts, some of which have been alternately included or excluded according to the judgment of the compiler. Thus, a number of texts are included in some versions of the Bible but not in others, and some are universally excluded, though they remain of scholarly interest. The Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, was itself the product of text selection over millenia before the Council of Nicea occurred in the third century CE, which sought to determine the authenticity and relevance of the texts that would be included in the New Testament. The Council of Trent, held in Bologna, Italy issued its own rulings in 1563. The ruling of the Council of Trent concerned seventeen separate decrees on various issues pertaining to the Catholic Church. One of these decrees made the Vulgate, Saint Jerome’s Latin translation, the official Catholic Bible. The King James English translation was published in 1611, and many translations have followed, primarily to modernize the language but also to produce either more accurate translations or versions that conform more easily to modern theologies.
There is controversy as to what ethical requirements in the Bible are controlling. There are statements in the New Testament that conflict with the Old Testament. Various denominations have different beliefs as to which scriptural directives are controlling. A wide difference of opinion exists, for example, between Orthodox Jews, who subscribe strictly to Jewish law as presented in the Hebrew Bible, and Reform Jews, who embrace the essential values of Judaism but do not keep Kosher or adhere to rules that seem to them outdated. There are 625 regulations within the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments included in this count. Christians believe that many of the ethical requirements of the Old Testament, such as circumcision and keeping Kosher, became unnecessary when Jesus "fulfilled" the law, though the Ten Commandments remained core tenets. Denominational divides often fall along arguments as to which proscriptions (e.g., same-sex relationships, the ordination of women, divorce) continue to apply and the doctrinal reasoning behind such arguments.
In the United States, there is disagreement as to what the role of biblical ethics should be in government. Many conservative leaning politicians believe that biblical ethics are foundational and should have a prominent role in politics, while liberal leaning politicians believe that ethics are the product of debate and consensus and should not be restricted by religious dogma. This conflict is illustrated in whether and how the Ten Commandments are displayed in federal and state buildings, most notably courthouses and capitol buildings. Nevertheless, the proscriptions against lying, stealing, and murder are universal cornerstones of civil and criminal law.
Bibliography
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