) Description of some common misunderstandings concerning what Theological
Ethics involves, including a valid definition of Theological ethics.
Introduction
Theological ethics is a complex subject in that it extends to every facet of our lives, our communities, our country, and the whole planet. How should we behave in relation to these realms? What do we base our behavior on? Firstly, let us look at how people can misunderstand Theological Ethics:-
a) Ethics is not simply drawing up two lists.
Merely looking at what is right and wrong on two lists does not do justice to the field of ethics. Ethics are far more complex, and are dependent on context. We need to know the source of these ideas of right and wrong. What were the conditions under
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Ethics concerns both the individual and social spheres. Ethics affects every aspect of life, be it personal, family, social, economic, national or global, and includes how we treat other creatures and our environment.
(Kretzschmar 2004:19-25).
Definition of Theological Ethics:-
Theological (or Christian) Ethics encompasses an analysis of our moral principles (norms and values) of what is right and wrong, looks to find methods of good ethical decision making and performing right actions, and concerns itself with the formation of moral character. It is also invested in societal regeneration as well as searching for answers to a wide range of moral issues facing us today, like hiv/aids, sexuality, health care, disparities between rich and poor, human rights, politics, the economics of a globalised world and environmental concerns (Kretzschmar 2004:24,36-39). Catholicism defines it as
”...a search for those approaches, norms, character traits, and choices that enable people to live well individually and together.”*
2) An outline and evaluation of the following ethical approaches:- Existentialism (Soren