The Deontological Absolutist Approach To Christian Ethics

Ethics is the study of moral philosophy, namely understanding which actions would be considered righteous or wicked. The secular interpretation of ethics explains that every person has a conscience that grimaces at evil and warns the wicked to repent. However, secular ethics has differing explanations as to why humans have this innate ability to know what behaviors ought to be avoided or encouraged. The scientific explanation posits that man’s conscience came from instincts that evolved due to biological necessity. Other explanations claim that one’s culture, society, and personal philosophy all play a role in creating one’s sense of moral ought. This form of morality is exercised in three ways: deontological, teleological, and aretaic. The
Christians should strive to understand the inclinations of the heart of God in moral issues and in daily life. Thus, Christian ethics are based on following God. The deontological absolutist approach to Christian ethics is to strictly follow God’s rules written in the Bible, specifically the Ten Commandments and the New Testament for Christians. The teleological approach focuses on whether the results will honor God and aid fellow Christians. Another approach is to consider how Jesus would act in a moral dilemma, but this approach is flawed because the New Testament was written in a completely different culture from our postmodern world. It would be better to understand how Jesus viewed Old Testament scriptures, how Jesus lived his life in the context of his time period, how Jesus taught his fellow disciples, how his disciples taught other Christians, and how the Holy Spirit acts as a holy conscience that guides Christians towards the inclinations of God. Thus, Christians should learn to be biblically informed and to be empowered by the Holy
However, I think that murder should be the only crime to merit the death penalty, and that there needs to be undeniable proof that the criminal is guilty. Other heinous crimes, such as rape and treason, can merit a life sentence so that the criminal is no longer able to harm society. However, humans are created in the image of God, so a human who unjustly takes a life has also forfeited his life. The executioner is allowed to execute a murderer because that person forfeited his own life by his own wicked actions. The act of murder does not include killings in self-defense or in a just war, since the perpetrator is forced to kill to protect himself/herself or his/her fellow human