Love “God is love and has proved that love is everything that He does. Paul links faith, hope, and love, and accomplishes that ‘the greatest of these is love’” -1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 How is love described in the Bible? “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Love is emotion of strong feeling and personal affection. The greatest statement about love is the great commandment, “Jesus said to him ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind’” (Matthew 22:37).
It is the love that Jesus and St Paul talked about in the Bible – AGAPE. Situation ethics is ideal because agape appeals to both theists and non-theists: C. S. Lewis was a theist and he said ‘love himself can work in those who know nothing of him’; whereas B. Russell was an atheist and said ‘what the world needs is Christian love or compassion’. Situation ethics means that there is no ethical standard that can be uniformly or consistently applied, for each situation demands its own standard of ethics. It basically states that sometimes other moral principles can be cast aside in certain situations if love is best served. Situation ethics was created upon the belief that there are no universal moral rules or right because each case or situation is unique and deserves a unique solution.
doing whatever will have the best outcome in any situation. This is where situation ethics links to Utilitarianism looking for the best interests of everybody and not harming anyone. Another feature of Situation ethics are the six working principles, one of them is that love is always good, a quote from Fletcher "nothing itself in or itself except love" this quote shows that love is harmless and if everyone considers love for one another there is no harm in life. Another principle is love is the only means and if love is
It is said to be the will to seek another person’s greatest good no matter what that person has done towards you in the past. It is said to be an attitude of good will to all. An example of this love is God’s Love for us all. Jesus showed his love that he had for us when he died for us. It is good for us to have Agape love too –“Love your enemy”.
Can Your Code of Ethics Be Wrong? Lonna Shelton-Soward Liberty University Abstract In counseling, whether Secular or Christian based it is crucial to understand and practice ethical codes. Similarities and differences in the American Counseling Association (ACA) code of ethics and the American Association of Christian Counseling (AACC) code of ethics, aim to do no harm. In the AACC Code of Ethics it clearly states, “Christian counselors acknowledge that the first rule of professional-ministerial ethical conduct is: do no harm to those served.” (AACC, Section, ES1-100, p.9). Counselors advocate change at all levels to improve the quality of life for individuals or groups, while eliminating obstacles that make it difficult to receive proper services.
Situation Ethics is the teleological theory which aims to bring the greater good, it’s similar to the idea of utilitarianism which was also aiming for the greater good for the most amount of people. Situation Ethics looks at the intentions instead of the outcome. This is the opposite of the deontological ethics which focuses on the intrinsic rightness or wrongness of actions. The theory would also acknowledge the consequences of the actions, not the actions themselves, therefore it suggests that the action would be ‘good’ if it brings out a good consequence. Situation Ethics runs on the idea of agapeistic love which is the Christian concept of unconditional love, which is how the greater good works.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the people’s lives whereby He restrains sin, preserves morality and order in life. Common grace is not a work of regeneration. Contrary to the Arminian view, common grace does not cause a person to turn to God. This leads us to look at Special Grace. Special grace is different from common grace in that it is irresistible; it produces spiritual renewal in the total nature and hearts of men.
Like the Puritans, he planned to combat natural inclinations by building a life of strong moral preservation. While Franklin did not have as devoted a belief in God as the Puritans, he did believe in God and believed in the importance of good deeds and services. He also believed that all crimes were punishable, like the Puritans, who believed that God gave punishments to all wrongs. Franklin listed out virtues and sought to accomplish each in a specific order. His notion of virtues differed, however, from the Puritans who believed that being close to God was most virtuous and focused on reading scripture and prayers instead of being good citizens.
How can situation ethics be regarded as a useful ethical theory? Situational ethics are a Christian theory, the fundamental principal is that love overrides all other moral rules. Love in this sense is the Christian view of love, not selfish, individual love, but the wider concept of 'agape' unconditional love for all. IF all ethics can be overridden by Love, then, there are no rules, there can be no rules. Everything can be overridden by Love/Agape, it can be used as an excuse to justify any action.
In Luke 6:9 Jesus implies, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath, "Then said Jesus unto them, I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life rather than to destroy it?" Sabbath keeping and Sabbath healing