a I Try to Live a Good Life. Why Isn't That Enough?	3Back to Home

4 Navigation --------------- Homepage St. Matthew St. Matthew 2 St. Mark St. Luke St. Luke 2 St. John St. John 2 Acts of Apostles Acts of Apostles 2 --------------- The Letters --- Romans --- 1. Corinthias --- 2. Corinthias --- Galatians --- Ephesians --- Philippians --- Colossians --- 1. Thessalonians --- 2. Thessalonians --- 1. Timothy --- 2. Timothy --- Titus --- Philemon --- Hebrews --- James --- 1. Peter --- 2. Peter --- 1. John --- 2. John --- 3. John --- Jude --------------- The Apocalypse

Perhaps this paragraph should be called "By Way of Introduction." Its purpose is to point out that for the rest of this book we will be doing something rather different. So far we have been examining some weighty problems and questions -- everything from the Trinity to tornadoes, from Eden to eschatology. But it is not enough just to look at problems and questions. We have to be sure that we relate problems and questions to where we are, right now. From now on we are going to be looking at the impact of all these Biblical beliefs upon the way we live and act today. We usually call this realm of personal and social conduct the realm of ethics. The Bible has a good deal to say about ethics. It makes clear that our religious convictions -- what we believe about God, about human nature, about history, about life and death -have a great deal to do with the way we act. It suggests, in fact, that we cannot separate religion and ethics from each other. They always go together. That is the "theme" of this chapter. If you have listened to much music, you know that a popular form for a symphonic movement is the "theme and variations." The same theme is played several times, but each time in a way that is slightly different. An Objection to the Theme DISGRUNTLED READER (not the least hypnotized by the bass clef): Now wait a minute. Wait just one minute. What makes you so sure the theme is a good one? I'm not at all sure I like it. I don't even believe it's true. I try to live a good life. I try to be decent to my neighbors. Why isn't that enough? If we all did that, this world would be a pretty fine place to live in. Why should you insist on dragging religion and God into this discussion? Why isn't ethics itself enough? Can't I lead a good life without believing in God? In the light of this telling challenge, let us play our theme once more -- a little more fully this time-and let it and the four variations upon it serve as an attempt to meet Disgruntled Reader's objections. The out-and-out Biblical affirmation is that there is no sphere of life from which God is "cut off." There is no "sacred" realm of life that is unrelated to the "secular," no secular realm that can be understood apart from God. The whole Biblical approach prohibits us from dividing life into such watertight compartments. We see a clear-cut example of this in the covenant agreement made at Sinai. God's demands and concerns invade every area of life. It is not enough just to believe in God or worship God. Those who agree to believe in God and worship God must also bring their life in its totality under the divine will. A reading of Ex., chs. 20 to 23, will show this. Everything is to be made conformable to God's will, from regulations concerning stealing, cursing, animal husbandry, and real estate transactions to regulations concerning borrowing, sacrificing, courtesy to strangers, and telling the truth. All of life belongs to God. We are accountable, not simply to our consciences or to society, but to the Giver and Sustainer of life. Religion and ethics can never be separated. They are two sides of the same coin. Now let us get at the same thing in another way. What happens in point of fact when people do separate religion and ethics? We must acknowledge that many people who don't believe in God live selfless and devoted lives which are a challenge and a rebuke to professing Christians, and no selfrighteous Christian should be allowed to forget this fact. However, it is fair to ask whether this "ethic without religion" can sustain and perpetuate itself for very long. Think of that large tree in the park near your house. If a disease attacks the tree and kills the roots, you may not know this for some time, because the branches and leaves will continue to live for a while after the roots are dead. But sooner or later the branches will dry up and the leaves will wither, for they cannot live long without the life and vitality that the roots furnish. The same thing is true of the problem we are discussing. Historically, the roots of ethical concern and responsibility have been religious faith. To say that ethics should be cut off from religion is thus like saying that the branches and leaves can live without the roots. It just won't work. It may appear to work for a time, just as the tree lives for a little while after the roots die. But it won't work long. The rootless "ethic without religion" will finally succumb. And even though the individual may do this for a while, it is doubly hard for society as a whole. As our culture tries to enhance this split between religion and ethics, we find that the ethics get more and more dubious. The notion that truth and honesty and justice are important is replaced by the notion that "business is business," which means, finally, that "anything goes." Put simply, If you can, be honest (it's safer). If you can't be honest, be legal. If you can't be legal, don't get caught. God conquers death God gives us the power to conquer The Only Real "Answer" A Question You Can't Avoid Some Current Answers -- a Dime a Dozen The First Part of the Biblical Answer What Is the "Image of God"? Some Consequences The Second Part of the Biblical Answer What Sin Is Supplying Some Documentation What Sin Is Not Getting Straightened Out How Can I Be Changed? The Third Part of the Biblical Answer The First Step After the First Step The Heart of the Matter Not Once and for All Some Hints for Growing -- Tried and Tested A Final Warning Why Isn't "Individual Religion" Enough? The Case Against the Church -a Bagful of Objections When Did the Church Get Started? Just What Is a "Covenant"? The "New Covenant" Becomes a Possibility Those Words of Jesus to Peter Those "Upsetters of the World" A Rebuttal of the Case Against the Church Why the Church? Last Judgment? Second Coming? What Do They Mean? The Inescapability of Eschatology The Point of Biblical Eschatology: History Is Going Somewhere The Dangers of Literalism Exploring New Testament Eschatology The Kingdom of God A Few Bits of Help The Gift of God Schatology and "What I Do Today" What Happens When I Die? Sheol -- Where God Is Not Present The Community of the Resurrection Paul's Attempt to Describe the Christian Fact A "Spiritual Body" The Facts of the Case I Try to Live a Good Life. Why Isn't That Enough? The "Micah" Variation The "Worship and Action" Variation The "Therefore" Variation The Biblical faith that God is the Creator