Sources:

Richard Gula, Reason Informed By Faith, Ch.12

J. Philip Wogaman, Christian Ethics, pp.3-15

SCRIPTURE

- The bible has always been the starting point of Christian ethics
- Scriptures as the revealed Word of God must exercise a normative sacred claim on
individual Christians and the whole Christian community.
- However, this claim is grounded in the tradition of the community and must also be in
essential harmony with reason and human nature.
Pre-critical approach to Scriptures in Moral Theology
- Before the renewal of MT and the adaptation of critical approaches to biblical text,
moral theology did not integrate biblical materials in its moral reasoning.
- It only used scriptures as proof-text—a supplementary evidence to support conclusions
reached through natural law reasoning.
- Passages are taken out of their context, i.e. from the whole meaning of the text and
from the historical context of the text.
Critical approaches to Scriptures to Moral Theology
Four task to relate the scriptures in a critical fashion:
1. Exegetic task- determining the meaning of the text in its original context. What the text
means then has a controlling influence to what it means now.
 One needs to understand the historical circumstances surrounding the text, the
presuppositions of the author and his audience, the socio-economic and intellectual
environment, the language, the literary structures etc.
2. Hermeneutical task- determining the meaning of the text for today. As we seek to
understand the context of the bible during its time we are to be crucially aware of the
presuppositions and historical context that we bring in as we try to interpret the bible
text. We should remain aware that as the bible shapes our presuppositions, our
presuppositions also shape our interpretation of the bible.
3. Methodological task- we determined the use of the scriptures for various levels of
moral reflection. We can use scriptures as a revealed morality or as a revealed reality.
 As a revealed morality: we allow bible to determine the specific content of our
moral judgment. To allow scriptures to be a prescriptive authoritative guide for our
judgments. To allow scriptures to be a prescriptive authoritative guide for our
judgments.
e.g. commandments, beatitudes, radical sayings
 as revealed reality- record of relationship of God and human persons and we regard
the moral life as the believing person’s response to God’s invitation to enter into a
relationship with him. It informs bit does not determine the specific content of our
moral judgments.
e.g use of images of God’s kingdom (mustard seed, grain of wheat)
Parables of mercy (good Samaritan, Lost coin)
  using scriptures as a revealed reality and revealed morality allows moral theology to
draw from the richness of Scriptures to formulate moral norms and direct the formation
of our Christian Character.
4. Theological task- to determine ways to combine the bible with other sources of moral
wisdom—natural law, experience, church tradition, and magisterium.
 MT takes the middle way between proof-texting and using scriptures as the only source
of morality.
 Scriptures is a foundational source of moral wisdom but is not the only source.

On Reading the scriptures

Do I have to be a theologian in order to understand scriptures properly? How do I read the

vengeful punishing/difficult passages in scriptures? How will I know if I am properly interpreting
scriptures correctly?

 One way to test if we are properly interpreting the passage of scriptures is to judge the
interpretation by its fruits: ask these questions:
 Does my interpretation of this passage lead to acts that reflect the merciful and
compassionate love of Christ?
 Does it help me imitate Christ more authentically?
 Does my interpretation of this passage lead to my growth as a person loved by God?
 Does my interpretation lead to love my neighbor in the way of Christ?
 Does my interpretation of this passage lead to greater communion and less division
in God’s family?
 If yes- your interpretation must be correct
 If no or there are doubts- you need to change your interpretation or do some research.

Proof texting
- is a verse or short passage from the bible used by someone as part of his proof for a
doctrinal belief he wishes to substantiate to other.
- Proof texting ignores the context of the passage or chapter in which the particular verse
is located, as well as other passages related to the same topic. It also ignores the literary
and historical context in favor of a concept that sees scriptures as a string of vaguely
related thoughts, each with inherent truth.
- The primary rule of biblical interpretation is CONTEXT.