Ethics in the Bible

Ethics in the Bible refers to the systems or theories produced by the study, interpretation, and evaluation of biblical morals (including the moral code, standards, principles, behaviors, conscience, values, rules of conduct, or beliefs concerned with good and evil and right and wrong), that are found in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. It comprises a narrow part of the larger fields of Jewish and Christian ethics, which are themselves parts of the larger field of philosophical ethics. Ethics in the Bible is different compared to other Western ethical theories in that it is seldom overtly philosophical. It presents neither a systematic nor a formal deductive ethical argument. Instead, the Bible provides patterns of moral reasoning that focus on conduct and character in what is sometimes referred to as virtue ethics. This moral reasoning is part of a broad, normative covenantal tradition where duty and virtue are inextricably tied together in a mutually reinforcing manner.

Some critics have viewed certain biblical teachings to be morally problematic and accused it of advocating for slavery, genocide, supersessionism, the death penalty, violence, patriarchy, sexual intolerance and colonialism. The problem of evil, an argument that is used to argue against the existence of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God, is an example of criticism of ethics in the Bible.

Conversely, it has been seen as a cornerstone of both Western culture, and many other cultures across the globe. Concepts such as justice for the widow, orphan and stranger provided inspiration for movements ranging from abolitionism in the 18th and 19th century, to the civil rights movement, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and liberation theology in Latin America.

Overview

The Bible

According to traditional Jewish enumeration, the Hebrew Bible is composed of 24 books which came into being over a span of almost a millennium. As a result, many scholars believe the Bible is unsuitable for "doing philosophy." The biblical narratives, laws, wisdom sayings, parables, and unique genrés of the Bible are the sources of its ethical concepts. However, Barton also says there are problematic texts and the author's intent is not always easy to decipher. Much of biblical narrative refrains from direct comment, and there are problems in turning to the narratives for ethical insight.

Ethics

Philosopher Alan Mittleman says ethics in the Bible is not like western ethical theories in that it is seldom overtly "philosophical." It presents neither a systematic nor a deductive formal ethical argument, nor does it address traditional Western philosophical questions and arguments. The absence of Western approaches is not evidence there is an absence of ethics in the Bible however. Textual scholar Jaco Gericke writes, "The tendency to deny the Hebrew Bible anything philosophical when its rhetoric does not conform to Western varieties of philosophical systems actually involves a colonialist ethnocentric hermeneutical fallacy."

Epistemology

Secondly, there is epistemology in the Hebrew Bible.

Mittleman explains that ethics in the Bible are provided by patterns of moral reasoning that focus on conduct and character. This moral reasoning is part of a broad normative covenantal tradition where duty and virtue are inextricably tied together in a mutually reinforcing manner.

Logic

Fourth there is logic. The Bible's discourse contains assumptions about what constitutes valid arguments, the nature of language and its relation to reality. There is no real political theory, as such, in the Bible, however, based on "legal codes, rules for war and peace, ideas about justice and obligation, social criticism, visions of the good society, and accounts of exile and dispossession" the Bible does contain folk presuppositions of comparative political views. The Deuteronomist redaction of the Hebrew Bible especially emphasizes these ideas about the unity of politics and religion in a political state.

Biblical descriptions of divinely ordained monarchy directly underlie the understanding of Jesus as the "son of David" and the messiah (the anointed king) who at some point will govern the world.

Walzer says politics in the Bible is also similar to modern "consent theory" which requires agreement between the governed and the authority based on full knowledge and the possibility of refusal. Walzer asserts this is what makes it possible for someone like Amos, "an herdsman and gatherer of sycamore fruit", to confront priests and kings, and remind them of their obligations. Moral law is, therefore, politically democratized in the Bible.

War and peace

thumb|Midianite women, children and livestock taken captive by Israelite soldiers after all Midianite men had been killed and their towns burnt. Watercolour by [[James Tissot (c. 1900), illustrating the War against the Midianites in Numbers 31.]]

Warfare as a political act of nationhood, is a topic the Bible addresses ethically, both directly and indirectly, in four ways: there are verses that support pacifism, and verses that support non-resistance; 4th century theologian Augustine identified aspects of just war in the Bible, and preventive war which is sometimes called crusade has also been supported using Bible texts. Near Eastern scholar Susan Niditch says "To understand attitudes toward war in the Bible is thus to gain a handle on war in general".

Pacifism is not in the Hebrew Bible, but an ethic of peace can be found there. The term peace is mentioned 429 times in the Bible—and more than 2500 times in classical Jewish sources. Many of those refer to peace as a central part of God's purpose for mankind. Political activist David Cortright writes that shalom (peace in Hebrew) is a complex word with levels of meaning that embody the conditions and values necessary to prevent war: "social justice, self-determination, economic well-being, human rights, and the use of non-violent means to resolve conflict."

Most texts used to support pacifism are in the New Testament, such as Matthew 5:38–48 and Luke 6:27–36, but not all. Passages of peace from the Hebrew Bible, such as Micah 4:3: "They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks", are also often cited. According to theologian Myron S. Augsberger, pacifism opposes war for any reason.

Near Eastern scholar Yigal Levin, along with archaeologist Amnon Shapira, write that the ethic of war in the Bible is based on the concept of self-defense. Self-defense, or defense of others, is necessary for a war to be understood as a just war. Levin and Shapira say forbidding war for the purpose of expansion (Deuteronomy 2:2-6,9,17-19), the call to talk peace before war (Deuteronomy 20:10), the expectation of moral disobedience to a corrupt leader (Genesis 18:23-33; Exodus 1:17, 2:11-14, 32:32; 1 Samuel 22:17), as well as a series of verses governing treatment of prisoners (Deuteronomy 21:10–14; 2 Chronicles 28:10–15; Joshua 8:29, 10:26–27), respect for the land (Deuteronomy 20:19), and general "purity in the camp" (Deuteronomy 20:10–15) are aspects of the principles of just war in the Bible. God commands the Israelites to conquer the Promised Land, placing city after city "under the ban", the herem of total war. This has been interpreted to mean every man, woman and child was to be killed. This leads many contemporary scholars to characterize herem as a command to commit genocide. Michael Walzer writes that herem was the common approach to war among the nations surrounding Israel of the bronze age, and Hebrew scholar Baruch A. Levine indicates Israel imported the concept from them. Walzer points out that verses 15 to 18 of Deuteronomy 20 are very old, suggesting "the addition of herem to an older siege law." there is a limited war/(just war) doctrine consistent with Amos and First and Second Kings. From Deuteronomy 20 on, both war doctrines are joined without one superseding the other. Scholars such as Paul Copan and Nicholas Wolterstorff have argued that the perceived order to commit genocide and descriptions of genocide were an example of "hagiographic hyperbole".

Holy war imagery is contained in the final book of the New Testament, Revelation, where John reconfigures traditional Jewish eschatology by substituting "faithful witness to the point of martyrdom for armed violence as the means of victory. Because the Lamb has won the decisive victory over evil by this means, his followers can participate in his victory only by following his path of suffering witness. Thus, Revelation repudiates apocalyptic militarism, but promotes the active participation of Christians in the divine conflict with evil".

Criminal justice

thumb|The Sabbath-breaker Stoned. Artistic impression of episode narrated in [[Book of Numbers|Numbers 15. James Tissot c.1900]]

Legal scholar Jonathan Burnside says biblical law is not fully codified, but it is possible to discern its key ethical elements. Key elements in biblical criminal justice begin with the belief in God as the source of justice and the judge of all, including those administering justice on earth. Criminal justice scholar Sam S. Souryal says the Bible emphasizes that ethical knowledge and moral character, of those within a justice system, are central to the administration of justice. He adds that foremost among the biblical ethical principles that ensure criminal justice are those prohibiting "lying and deception, racial prejudice and racial discrimination, egoism and the abuse of authority." In the Bible, human judges are thought capable of mediating even divine decisions if they have sufficient moral capacity and wisdom.

Biblical ethicist Christopher Marshall says there are about 20 offenses that carry the death penalty under Mosaic Law. Within the historical and ethical context of covenant, it was believed the covenant community suffered ritual pollution from certain sins, therefore capital punishment protected the community from the possible consequences of such pollution, as well as punished those who had broken covenant. The patriarchal model of ancient Israel became an accepted aspect of biblical interpretation through anthropology of the nineteenth century. Feminist biblical scholars of second-wave feminism later appropriated it. However, others assert there are also evidences of a kind of metaphysical "gender blindness" in the Hebrew Bible. Third wave feminists began raising concerns about the accuracy of a claim of overarching patriarchy for ancient Hebrew culture. The biblical depiction of early Bronze Age culture up through the Axial Age, depicts the "essence" (that is the Bible's metaphysical view of being and nature) of both male and female as "created in the image of God" with neither inherently inferior in nature. Old Testament scholar Jerome Creach says the placement of the Genesis (1:1–2:4a) story at the beginning of the entire Bible shows it was normative for those who gave the Hebrew Bible canon its present shape.

Laws concerning the loss of female virginity have no male equivalent. These and other gender differences found in the Torah suggest that, within those texts, women are subordinate to men. Adultery was defined differently for men than for women: a woman was an adulteress if she had sexual relations outside her marriage, but if a man had sexual relations outside his marriage with an unmarried woman, a concubine or a prostitute, it was not considered adultery on his part. Pollution terminology is used for illegal sexual contact such as rape and adultery, and it is also used for legal and licit sexual intercourse, menstruation, and for some perhaps unavoidable diseases. This makes the Bible's view of the relationship between temporary ritual pollution and more serious moral pollution "murky."

Jesus held women personally responsible for their own behavior: for example there's the woman at the well (John 4:16–18), the woman taken in adultery (John 8:10–11), and the sinful woman who anointed his feet (Luke 7:44–50). Jesus dealt with each as having the personal freedom and enough self-determination to deal with their own repentance and forgiveness. There are several Gospel accounts of Jesus imparting important teachings to and about women: his public admiration for a poor widow who donated two copper coins to the Temple in Jerusalem, his friendship with Mary of Bethany and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, and the presence of Mary Magdalene, his mother, and the other women as he was crucified. New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III says "Jesus broke with both biblical and rabbinic traditions that restricted women's roles in religious practices, and He rejected attempts to devalue the worth of a woman, or her word of witness."

The New Testament names many women among the followers of Jesus and in positions of leadership in the early church. New Testament scholar Linda Belleville says "virtually every leadership role that names a man also names a woman. In fact there are more women named as leaders in the New Testament than men. Phoebe is a 'deacon' and a 'benefactor' (Romans 16:11–12). Mary, Lydia and Nympha are overseers of house churches (Acts 12:12; 16:15; Colossians 4:15). Euodia and Syntyche are among 'the overseers and deacons' at Philippi (Philippians 1:1; cf, 4:2–3). The only role lacking specific female names is that of 'elder'—but there male names are lacking as well."

New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg asserts three primary texts critical to the traditional patriarchal view of women and women's roles as being supported in the New Testament: "1 Corinthians 14:34-35, where women are commanded to be silent in the church; 1 Timothy 2:11–15 where women (according to the TNIV) are not permitted to teach or have authority over a man; and 1 Corinthians 11:2–16 where the male and female relationship is defined in terms of kephalē commonly translated head." Margaret MacDonald demonstrates these dangerous circumstances were likely the catalysts for the "shift in perspective concerning unmarried women from Paul's [early] days to the time of the Pastoral epistles". In the Roman Empire, shame was a social concept that was always mediated by gender and status. Harper says: "The model of normative sexual behavior that developed out of Paul's reactions to the erotic culture surrounding him...was a distinct alternative to the social order of the Roman empire." Anderson considers the Bible to permit slavery, the beating of slaves, the rape of female captives in wartime, polygamy (for men), the killing of prisoners, and child sacrifice. racist (Matt 15:26 and Mark 7:27), and placed no value on animal life (Luke 8:27–33).

Blackburn provides examples of Old Testament moral criticisms, such as the phrase in Exodus 22:18, which he says has "helped to burn alive tens or hundreds of thousands of women in Europe and America": "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." He states that the Old Testament God apparently has "no problems with a slave-owning society", considers birth control a crime punishable by death, and "is keen on child abuse". Additional examples that are questioned today are: the prohibition on touching women during their "period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19–24)", the apparent approval of selling daughters into slavery (Exodus 21:7), and the obligation to put to death someone working on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2).