Ethics OPINION PIECE: Is Christian ethics relativistic or absolutist?

Opinion Piece: Respond with your opinion to this forum thread. Agree, disagree, etc. NO SOURCES REQUIRED. 550 words For the question, is Christian ethics relativistic or absolutist? I will begin by defining the two. Relativism is moral judgments of right and wrong that varies from person to person. This is saying that my beliefs will not be yours and vice versa. Absolutes are morals that apply to everyone and not just a selected group. This implies that certain morals are not questionable. Respond with your opinion to the following: “Some strengths and weaknesses that defend relativism include the diversity thesis which states there are no universal morals that are held by everyone. Another is morals are constructed by the cultures and there are no moral absolutes and how there is a conflation with universal being acknowledged, but maybe not valued. Moral Reasoning “For Example, a moral value held by at least some societies is that it is wrong to torture innocent people. But perhaps those who think torture is OK are simply mistaken and perhaps it really is wrong to torture innocent people.” (Jones 2017). One of the defenses for the universal morals has been labeled as the Golden Rule only doing to others as you want to be done to you. So, when discussing Christian ethics being relativistic or absolutist is based on the personal values of the Bibles for each person. “ We’ve all heard atheists claiming that” we can be good without God”, that “ we don’t need the Bible to know right from wrong,” that we should be “ good for goodness’ sake.” (Robertson McQuilkin 2014). This quote sounds like it has come from someone with a more relativistic view who seems to be more tolerant of people’s views. “We do this, first, because of the convictions that the bible is a divine revelation and thus a source of genuine knowledge for human beings- not mere “preferences” or “personal values.” It gives us true guidance for living wise and faithful lives- guidance that includes moral facts.” (Robertson McQuilkin 2014). From the information that I have gathered the Christian ethics can strongly seem to be an absolutist because Christians turn to the Bible based on knowing right from wrong and are confident that the answers are trustworthy. “Though we may utilize other sources for assistance in understanding and applying biblical truth, we shall treat the Bible as our final authority. And we will seek to apply biblical principles as well as direct mandates, but we will attempt to go only as far as Scripture itself goes and maintain the emphasis of the Bible itself.” (Robertson McQuilkin 2014). This thought is not only for the authors describing the purpose of their book, but it reflects many Christians and their beliefs. The differences between ethical relativism and subjective elements in Christian ethics. Again, the term relativism is when morals are varied from groups and societies. Subjectivism is a type of relativism but now states it to be merely a personal preference and that there is no way to be objective. Relativists are very close to slipping into the absolutists and subjectivist since relativists fall into the middle of the two extremes. The difference is that Christian ethics disagree with relativism because of the claim morality is based on a history of accidents, objective moral truths that universally binding whether it is their preference or not. These subjective elements in Christianity are differences in topics of divorce, war, sabbath, etc. The Lord our God has secrets known to no one. (Deut 29:29)”