In this essay l am going to be looking at the relationship between biblical teaching and ethical behaviour. Because Biblical teaching and ethical behaviour do not correspond easily; each have a quite different purpose, method, set of presuppositions and subject matter. I am to discuss how biblical teaching addresses ethical behaviour and how they both have a correlation and do not correspond basically l will be looking at their similarities and differences. I am going to include examples from both biblical teaching and ethical behaviour so that l can compare and comment on the views from both perspectives. I will then add my own personal views on the relationship of both. Lastly l will end the essay with a conclusion with an analysis on whether they have or do not have similarities or differences.
Biblical teachings give guidelines to how a person should behave ethically because it is written in the bible that Jesus encouraged his followers to behave in ways that were morally good and that our belief in God should be reflected in a lifestyle which is visibly virtuous. Christians believe that the bible is authoritative and normative and that the bible is God's revelation to man and is to be used as the reliable guide in determining all matters of faith and behaviour. In the Bible God created laws The Old Testament created laws which dictated principles for people on how to act and behave (Rom. 7:7) as is evidenced by the Ten Commandments. And, the Old Testament Law is a guide to bring non believers to faith in Christ (Gal. 3:24). Likewise, the New Testament creates laws which dictate morality for those who are Christians. The laws in the bible dictate the way a person / Christian should act. A simple example to illustrate this would be. If a school teacher has a rule that notes may not be used in taking a test, then it is immoral for a student to use notes in taking one of this teacher's test, it is not ethical because it goes against the teachers rule. In biblical terms it would be committing sin because it will be seen as cheating and in the bible cheating is prohibited because the bible states that thou shall not lie.
But the problem is that social laws overlap with Gods laws in biblical teaching. For example, if another teacher has a rule that notes may be used in taking a test, then it is moral for a student to use notes to take the tests this will be ethical socially. But in Biblical teaching it will be seen as cheating, this is because the bible says thou shall not cheat whether given the permission to do so or not.
Another example of social laws conflicting with God's law is abortion. Society (government) thinks that it is moral to kill an unborn child in the womb, because it is still a foetus and that a woman has a right to her own choices. But with God this is immoral because in the eyes of God a foetus is seen as a real person and biblical teaching states that thou shall not kill. Biblically it will be seen as committing murder but socially it will be seen as making a decision of your own right. Personally as a christen l think that a Christian must stand with God and allow God's laws to dictate the moral standard by which we live. Somethings may be socially moral, but religiously immoral.
Biblical teaching and ethical behaviour are concerned about the manner of life people should live. But they also disagree on some of the acceptable behaviour for example Biblical teaching says in Leviticus 18:22, 23; 20:13,15,16 - A man lying with a male was an abomination. Meaning that God prohibits homosexuality because it is not an ethical way to behave and it is considered immoral because God created male and female and told them to reproduce. God's natural order is for male and female to mate and reproduce. But homosexuality is an unnatural abuse of reproductive mating.
It also makes it difficult for homosexuals to marry because in the bible God told male and female to reproduce and said man should be "one flesh" with his wife. The sexual union and reproduction must occur within the marriage bond, which gives children a family with both a father and a mother to raise them. Homosexuals also cannot achieve this Divine purpose for marriage. First, reproduction is physically impossible for them, by themselves. Even if they could obtain children, how could they train them to "honour your father and mother" as it is written in the bible? The "family" should teach children to relate to both father (male) and mother (female). Throughout Scripture, only heterosexual marriage gives children the family relationship God appointed.
Basically what lm trying to prove is that Even if Homosexuals seek the right to marry, and if human law would agree, what about the requirements of Divine law. Making Bible teaching and ethical behaviour have a difference between them.
As a Christian l would be expected to follow the biblical teachings only but because l think both biblical and ethical behaviour are trying to make the world a better place l would follow both perspectives on how a person should behave. This is only because that there are some rules from both sides that l agree and disagree with. For example l would disagree with the biblical rules on abortion because l think that abortion should take place in some circumstances i.e. due to rape as a result the baby might not be wanted or teenage pregnancy because most teenagers are not ready to become teenage parents.
As l mentioned above that both ethical behaviour and biblical teaching establish laws that dictate human behaviour. It is common for the social laws to conflict with the biblical teaching laws. Because the way Christians and society appeal to different authorities for what is right and wrong. Overall they both have similarities and differences to how a person illustrate declare good behaviour
