The environment has only recently been recognised as a concern and thus placed on the agenda of Christian Churches with the use of environmental ethics. These ethics are a part of environmental philosophy which considers the ethical relationship between humans and the natural environment. Ethical teachings in Christianity are based on the three fundamental issues upon which the creation stories are based. These teachings have been derived from biblical traditions highlighting the fact that God is the creator of all things, what God created was good and that human beings have stewardship and responsibility over these creations. It is therefore believed that humans must work in conjunction with God to ensure that the fragile environment is nurtured and protected.
Christianity has organised its principal beliefs into a structured systematic theology in which it draws its sacred writings and traditions from. These principal beliefs include the divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ, the death and resurrection, the Trinity, revelation and salvation. Through the ethical and moral teachings of Christianity and characteristics of religions which consist of sacred texts and writings, rituals and ceremonies, beliefs and believers and ethics; these beliefs can be expressed and connected with the life of adherent’s. The divinity and humanity beliefs identify that Jesus Christ was both fully divine and human, and that he is the second being of the trinity. This intended that he was the divine Son of God and recognised as being ‘one with the Father’.
Christians believe that God created the world and all that is in it. It is believed that humanity is created in the image of God, and that God gave people free will therefore there is good and evil in the world. The Ten Commandments are guidelines received by Moses from God on how adherents can lead good lives. They should not be avoided in fear of punishment, but embraced as a way to be saved from The Fall, where humans make sinful choices. Adherents believe meaning can be found in their response to evil and suffering.
According to Luther, a strong faith is the foundation and necessity for a good Christian life. Luther defines a true Christian as “a spiritual, new, and inward man.” Luther makes it clear that no outward or bodily actions are connected with the “liberty or the slavery of the soul.” No evil bodily or external works will injure the soul. Nor will any pure external actions or works save the soul. The most important thing for Christian salvation is the Bible, or as Luther refers to it, “the most holy word of God, the Gospel of Christ.” In order for the soul to be saved, we need the word of God, nothing more. In order to receive salvation, one must have faith in the word of God and “preach Christ”.
There are five primary precepts to Natural Law, Aquinas believed that these precepts came from God. They were derived from looking at our nature and surroundings. Primary Precepts are defined as being five rules that everyone should strive to have in their nature, they are: the preservation of life, reproduction, to educate and nurture the young, to live peacefully in society and to worship God. These primary precepts are classed as always being true, regardless of situation, and are instilled into all human beings, which provides Natural Law theory with its absolutist view point. One strength of this absolutist view point is that it provides us with a very straight forward and simple approach to decision making; as rules are common to all people in all communities they are therefore easier to follow.
There are lots of different interpretations of which source of morality is the greatest for use within the contemporary world. There are also two main categories these sources fall into; intellectual or instinctual. The Bible “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, in order that the man of God may be fully qualified, equipped for every good work.” For orthodox Protestants (Jehovah’s witnesses) and Evangelical Christians they affirm the Bible, first and foremost, as the inspired narrative of God's loving plan of redemption for His creation. These sects of Christianity tend to believe that the Bible is the only method that should be used when making ethical decisions, with writer Carl F. H. Henry calling ‘biblical ethics’ ‘Christian ethics.’ There is a diversity of approaches in the Bible which Christians can use to make ethical decisions; the Old Testament which includes the Decalogue, many of which have been applied in practical law today (‘thou shalt not kill’); and the New Testament involving the teachings of Jesus and St. Paul and the Golden Rule (‘treat others how you’d like to be treated’). The Bible is the witness to the central events of the Christian faith.
Inspired by the miracles of Jesus Christ, they believed that the Kingdom of God would appear on earth, and that the faithful should work to achieve it. They preached for salvation through work for social justice.
Part Two: Articulate the Biblical/Christian worldview for the following 5 questions: origin, identity, meaning/ purpose, morality, and destiny. The question of origin simply asks “How did life begin?” and “How did mankind come into existence?” (Weider & Gutierrez, Consider, 2011, p.55). The Earth and everything in it was spoken into existence by God (Gen. 1:1). Christians believe this to be the origin of life for all things and that God gave us his breath and we became a living human being (Gen. 2:7). The question of identity wants the answer to “What does it mean to be human?” and “Are humans more important than animals?” Christians believe that humans were indeed made in the likeness of God (Gen.1:26) and that we were put here to look after and protect this wonderful Earth that God created for us.
For example, Mark 12:31 states, “ …’You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’” as Jesus’ proclamation of human relationships with one another and God. The biblical worldview acknowledges that God created man in His own image. Therefore, man should also value human relationships that are similar to their own valuation of God. This realization is vital to the biblical worldview. Otherwise, self-serving human relationships stand in our way of becoming one with Jesus Christ and go against the Word of
The biggest difference that defines the AACC code is their mission which is described to “… help achieve the primary goals of the AACC- to bring honor to Jesus Christ and his church, promote excellence in Christian counseling, and bring unity to Christian counselors” (AACC Code of Ethics, 2004.) The code was written with a biblical foundation which inspires all of the ethical guidelines. The AACC (2004) code began with 7 foundations outlining the base for their Professional Counselors to follow all being Christ centered. The ACA Code of Ethics focused more on being open to cultural differences. One example was found in their preamble “Association members recognize diversity and embrace a cross-cultural approach in support of the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of people within their social and cultural contexts (ACA Code of Ethics, 2005.)