Ethics: A Quick Glance
At Youth Pastor Summit we continually focus on four indispensable idea, leading to four key questions concerning ministry:
- Spiritual Formation: Who are we becoming?
- God’s Mission: What story is God telling?
- Ethics: How should we think?
- Leadership: Why and how do we influence?
In the previous weeks, Dr. Wallace and Pastor McDermott have done an incredible job of writing to ideas one and two. Now we turn our attention to an ever-evolving question: how should I think, and how should I help students think, about the tidal wave of moral decisions that crash upon the shores of their lives? I say ‘ever-evolving’ because the questions are always changing. The work of equipping students with an ethic is part of the assignment for every next gen leader. Ethics matter because when done right our students can stand on that shore, look at the tidal wave, and smile confidently knowing they will not be overwhelmed. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. First, where does our modern day word ‘ethic’ originate?
Unquestionably one of the great minds and philosophers in history was Aristotle (384-322 BC) who was a student of Plato (428ish – 348 BC), who was in turn a student of Socrates (470-399 BC). These three Greek philosophers would come to define one of the most important ages of intellectual thought in history. Known as the Classical period, their works would shape the future of Western thinking for over two thousand years. At first glance you might be thinking this either sounds ancient, boring, or even irrelevant. Welp, it is ancient but far from boring and incredibly relevant. Consider that everything from the arts to the sciences, math to literature, and even politics and government (think democracy) are still being impacted by the vast intellectual work of these men. Aristotle was recognized to be such an important thinker that King Philip II asked him to personally tutor his son…Alexander the Great.
One of Aristotle’s most important works is simply titled Rhetoric. In it he codifies the three main modes of persuasion: ethos, pathos, and logos. We learn from Aristotle that a person’s ability to help another person become convinced of an idea depends on how intentional one is with these three modes. Aristotle described logos, ethos, and pathos this way:
There are, then, these three means of effecting persuasion. The man who is to be in command of them must, it is clear, be able (1) to reason logically, (2) to understand human character and goodness in their various forms, and (3) to understand the emotions-that is, to name them and describe them, to know their causes and the way in which they are excited.[1]
So, we get the Rhetorical Triangle from the three modes of persuasion as written about by Aristotle in Rhetoric. Now let’s give some general grasp of these words and see how that informs our understanding of building a set of guiding principles.
First the word logos. Now this word would come to have a very special meaning in theology. It often refers to God’s special revelation and “in its unique meaning personifies the revelation of God as Jesus the Messiah.”[2] But Aristotle used it in a way that was consistent with classical Greek meaning both “reason” and “word.”[3] In this sense it is a mode of persuasion that appeals to a sense of logic and reason. The word pathos in the classical Greek literally means ‘suffering’. As a mode of persuasion, it focuses on what a person or audience may be feeling, or what might motivate them to consider an idea. When an author or speaker appeals so that the reader or audience feels something that elicits an emotional response, then pathos is being used as a mode of persuasion.
Ethics Explained
The word most relevant for our discussion today is ethos. The reason is because ethos, when properly understood, gives way to our understanding of ethics. It is a word that means ‘moral character’ and often refers to the credibility of the person who is doing the persuading. As a mode of persuasion ethos certainly speaks to the credibility of someone but also describes the moral character or guiding ideals of the persuader, a people or a culture. We need to understand ethos represents the moral character and credibility of the person doing the persuading, who also reflects the attitude, beliefs, and ideals of the audience.
So, what does this have to do with ethics, and furthermore why is ethics important? If ethos has to do with moral character and beliefs and ideals, then ethics are those ideals put into principles that can affect how we think, live, and make decisions. If ethos revolves around credibility and the idealistic version of what could be, then ethics is the expression of that in a potentially practical way. Let’s look at a very basic example of this. The apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 3:12-13,
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.
The moral character that we possess is itself a gift from God. To be chosen, or as Paul wrote elsewhere “set apart to the gospel of God”, means we are holy and loved by God. We therefore have the capacity to be compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, and patient. This all speaks to ethos:
-the credibility of God, he loved us and is the only one that can choose to make us holy
-his moral character expressed as holy ideals for our lives
The expression of this ethos is that we can choose to endure with one another and be quick to forgive if we are wronged. Our ethic when it comes to forgiveness can be summed up in one statement: “forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.” Ephesians 4:32. Ethos, then, is the foundation providing the credibility, belief, and ideals for ethics.
Ethics Practiced
Now let’s take a bit to understand a little more in depth this idea of ethics and how it can affect our thinking, living, and decision making. When we talk about doing the work of ethics, simply put, we are organizing principles from Scripture to inform how we should think, live, and make certain decisions. The Harper Bible Dictionary offered a great overarching summary of the importance of ethics:
“Ethical concerns occupy a central position throughout the Bible with respect to the actions of individuals as well as the whole community. At points this is presented in terms of general and absolute norms (as in the Ten Commandments), and in other places it can be discerned in the actions of people and the customs of the society.”[4]
One of my favorite characters in history is Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The German theologian-pastor-church planter turned spy who sought the downfall of the Third Reich during WWII. He would end up paying the ultimate price for his convictions being hung in a concentration camp at the age of thirty-nine. Bonhoeffer believed some of the most important work he did was a book he simply titled Ethics. In it he wrote,
“Those who wish even to focus on the problem of a Christian ethic are faced with an outrageous demand—from the outset they must give up, as inappropriate to this topic, the very two questions that led them to deal with the ethical problem: “How can I be good?” and “How can I do something good?” Instead, they must ask the wholly other, completely different question: what is the will of God?”[5]
It is to this end that we care so deeply about Christian ethics because we want to know and respond to the will of God. To put it even more specifically, we want Christ glorified in all aspects of our thinking, living, and decision making.
I believe a Christian worldview makes all the difference in our understanding of ethics. We pursue a Christian understanding of ethics because we are grateful for, and seek to exalt, Christ. We desire to live set apart, because Christ has called us and set us apart for the gospel of God (see Romans 1:1). Oswald Chambers describes this beautifully,
“Jesus Christ did not come to tell men they ought to be holy—there is an “ought” in every man that tells him that, and whenever he sees a holy character he may bluster and excuse himself as he likes, but he knows that is what he ought to be: He came to put us in the place where we can be holy, that is, He came to make us what He teaches we should be, that is the difference.”[6]
Therefore, ethics for the Christian should be moral decision making, empowered by the person and work of Jesus, according to the moral will of God. It is thinking and acting as a citizen of heaven about a host of moral issues, while living in a depraved and broken world. The work of ethics is more than figuring out what to think on any given topic, rather it is formulating principle-based paradigms for how to think in an ever-devolving culture. Or more simply put, doing ethics is like building a bridge from the current moral dilemma to the will of God.
Now back to the tidal wave of moral decisions rapidly approaching and crashing on the shores of our students lives. It is a daunting task, and one that you will never feel is completed. At times it can be frustrating and even discouraging. But take heart, God has not left us to our own to depend on earthly wisdom. We have heavenly help. Jesus still rebukes the wind, he still calms the seas, he still empowers us to navigate everything on the horizon.
[1] https://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/rhetoric.1.i.html
[2] Douglas Estes, “Logos,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[3] Arch B. D. Alexander, “Logos,” ed. James Orr et al., The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), 1911.
[4] Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature. (1985). In Harper’s Bible dictionary (1st ed., pp. 283–284). Harper & Row.
[5] Bonhoeffer, D. (2005). Ethics (I. Tödt, H. E. Tödt, E. Feil, & C. J. Green, Eds.; R. Krauss, C. C. West, & D. W. Stott, Trans.; Vol. 6, p. 47). Fortress Press.
[6] Chambers, O. (1947). Biblical ethics. Marshall, Morgan & Scott.