Welcome to "Living: Christian Moral Principles & Christian Moral Action"
Hello and welcome to your study guide for one of the most exciting themes in OCR AS Level Religious Studies (H173/03: Developments in Christian Thought)! This unit explores two foundational questions: How do Christians decide what is right and wrong? and What happens when those moral principles are put to the ultimate test in times of crisis?
In this unit, we will break down two key topics:
1. Christian Moral Principles: Where does moral authority come from? (The Bible, Church Tradition, Reason, and Love).
2. Christian Moral Action: How German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer put faith into dangerous, real-world political action during Nazi rule.
Exam Snapshot: Component H173/03 is a 1 hour 15-minute written exam worth 60 marks (33.3% of your AS Level). You will write two 30-mark essays chosen from three options. Each essay tests both AO1 (Knowledge and Understanding) and AO2 (Analysis and Evaluation) in equal measure.
---Part 1: Christian Moral Principles
Don't worry if ethical theories feel abstract at first. Think of Christian moral principles as different "navigation systems" believers use to guide their daily decisions. Christians draw on three main sources of authority: Scripture (the Bible), Church Tradition, and Human Reason.
1. The Bible as the Sole Authority (Sola Scriptura & Theonomous Ethics)
Theonomous ethics literally means "God-governed ethics" (theos = God, nomos = law). Under this view, moral rules come directly and exclusively from God through the Bible.
Propositional vs. Non-Propositional Revelation:
• Propositional Revelation: God communicates direct, literal, factual truths and commandments. The Bible is seen as the inerrant (error-free) word of God. If the Bible forbids or commands something, that rule is absolute and timeless (linked to Divine Command Theory).
• Non-Propositional Revelation: The Bible is seen as a human record of encounters with God. It requires prayerful reflection, historical context, and interpretation rather than a word-for-word rulebook approach.
Key Biblical Reference Points:
• The Decalogue / Ten Commandments (Exodus 20): Foundational moral laws such as prohibitions against murder, theft, and adultery.
• The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7): Jesus radicalises the Old Testament law, shifting the focus from external rule-following to internal purity of heart, humility, and self-sacrificial love (e.g., turning the other cheek).
• Pauline and Apostolic Epistles: Practical moral guidance written to early Christian communities dealing with everyday moral challenges.
2. Church, Tradition, and Reason (Heteronomous Ethics)
Heteronomous ethics means "governed by several external sources" (heteros = other). Proponents argue that the Bible alone is not sufficient because it was written in an ancient culture and does not mention modern issues like genetic engineering or artificial intelligence. Therefore, Christians must combine Scripture, Church Tradition, and Reason.
The Catholic Approach & The Magisterium:
• In Roman Catholicism, moral guidance is safeguarded and interpreted by the Magisterium (the official teaching authority of the Pope and the bishops in communion with him).
• Apostolic Tradition: The continuous oral and practical teaching of the apostles passed down through centuries via church councils and papal encyclicals.
• The Church acts as a living, continuous interpreter of God's will.
Reason and Natural Moral Law:
• Formulated famously by Thomas Aquinas, this view holds that God gave humans innate rationality to discover moral truth.
• The Synderesis Principle: A basic rational orientation in all humans to "do good and avoid evil."
• Conscience: The God-given faculty of reason applying universal moral principles to concrete situations.
3. Love (Agape) Alone (Autonomous Christian Ethics)
Autonomous ethics means "self-governed ethics" (autos = self). Here, morality is not anchored in rigid external rulebooks or institutional decrees, but in one single, overarching Christian principle: Agape (unconditional, self-giving love).
• Jesus summarised the entire Law into two commands: love God, and love your neighbour as yourself.
• Modern thinkers like Joseph Fletcher (Situation Ethics) and Paul Tillich argued that strict legalistic rules can become heartless. Instead, love must be applied flexibly to every unique situation.
4. The Big Debate: Is Christian Morality Distinctive?
• Yes (Distinctive): Christian ethics requires faith in Jesus Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, redemption, and unique biblical values like radical self-giving forgiveness.
• No (Universal / Accessible to all): Through Natural Law and general human reason, anyone—religious or secular—can discover fundamental moral truths like justice and human dignity.
Memory Aid: The Three "-Onomies"
• THEOnomous: GOD alone via the BIBLE (One source).
• HETEROnomous: MANY external guides: Bible + Church Magisterium + Tradition + Reason.
• AUTOnomous: SELF-DISCERNMENT using the single compass of AGAPE (Love).
Key Takeaway & Common Pitfalls for Christian Moral Principles
Examiner Warning: Do not confuse this unit with general Philosophy and Ethics papers! You must demonstrate theological knowledge—mention the Magisterium, Sola Scriptura, the Sermon on the Mount, and Aquinas' Synderesis. Furthermore, do not assume Sola Scriptura means reading without any interpretation; even biblical literalists must interpret language and literary genre.
---Part 2: Christian Moral Action (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
How do moral principles work when your country is hijacked by an evil dictatorship? To explore this, OCR focuses on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945), a German Lutheran pastor and theologian executed for resisting Hitler's Nazi regime.
1. Historical Context: Living Under Tyranny
When Adolf Hitler rose to power in 1933, the state co-opted the national church into the Nazified "German Christians" (Deutsche Christen), blending Christian imagery with anti-Semitism and Nazi ideology.
• The Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche): Bonhoeffer and other dissident leaders broke away, declaring that Jesus Christ—not Adolf Hitler—is the sole leader (Führer) of the Church.
• The Barmen Declaration (1934): The founding document of the Confessing Church, firmly rejecting state control over Christian doctrine.
• Finkenwalde: An underground, illegal seminary run by Bonhoeffer to train young pastors in radical communal discipline and prayer.
• Resistance and Martyrdom: Bonhoeffer joined the German military intelligence agency (the Abwehr), which served as a cover for a conspiracy to overthrow Hitler. He was arrested in 1943 and hanged at Flossenbürg concentration camp in April 1945, just weeks before the war ended.
2. Duty to God vs. Duty to the State
Many German Christians cited Romans 13 ("Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities...") to justify blind obedience to Hitler. Bonhoeffer fiercely rejected this interpretation.
He argued that the State is only legitimate when it maintains justice and protects human rights. If the State fails, the Church has three distinct duties:
1. Question the State: Directly challenge and hold the government accountable.
2. Aid the Victims: Comfort and protect those oppressed by state action, regardless of their faith.
3. Jam a spoke in the wheel: Take direct political action to stop the machinery of injustice. Bonhoeffer famously declared that the Church must "not just bandage the victims under the wheel, but jam a spoke in the wheel itself."
3. Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace
In his famous book The Cost of Discipleship (Nachfolge), Bonhoeffer attacked the spiritual laziness of the comfortable German church.
Cheap Grace (billige Gnade):
• Grace sold cheaply on the market like bargain goods.
• Preaching forgiveness without demanding repentance; baptism without church discipline; communion without confession.
• It is the justification of the sin without the justification of the repentant sinner.
• Result: Christians live secular, passive lives, ignoring societal evil.
Costly Grace (teure Gnade):
• The treasure hidden in the field for which a person sells everything they own.
• It calls the individual to follow Jesus Christ (discipleship) at personal cost.
• It is costly because it costs a person their life; it is grace because it gives them true life in Christ.
4. Church as Community & "Religionless Christianity"
• Community and Discipline: In his book Life Together, Bonhoeffer described how the secret seminary at Finkenwalde practiced collective prayer, mutual confession, and solidarity. Morality cannot be sustained in isolation; it requires a disciplined spiritual community.
• Religionless Christianity in a "World Come of Age": From his prison cell, Bonhoeffer observed that modern humanity had outgrown traditional, superstitious, "metaphysical" religion. Christians should not look for God as a "stop-gap" for human weakness, but encounter God at the centre of real life through self-sacrificial love and standing with the oppressed.
5. Taking Responsibility (Verantwortung) and Guilt
Bonhoeffer did not believe in neat, abstract ethical rulebooks. Real discipleship requires taking concrete responsibility in history.
• Plotting assassination involved breaking God's commandment: "Thou shalt not kill."
• Bonhoeffer did not pretend that murdering Hitler was "morally clean." Instead, he recognised that failing to act was a greater evil.
• He accepted personal guilt for his actions, threw himself entirely onto God's mercy, and trusted in divine forgiveness.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in the Exam
1. Don't write a history biography: Examiners constantly warn against candidates spending two pages telling the story of Bonhoeffer's life. Focus your essay on his theological ethics: Cheap vs. Costly Grace, Romans 13, Church community, and Responsibility (Verantwortung).
2. Bonhoeffer was NOT an anarchist or absolute pacifist: Do not claim Bonhoeffer hated all governments. He believed civil authority is ordained by God to keep order; civil disobedience and resistance become an agonising duty only when the State becomes corrupt and tyrannous.
3. Cheap Grace is NOT just "free forgiveness": It is specifically the intellectual acceptance of doctrine without actual repentance, discipleship, or obedience.
Quick Summary & Revision Checklist
Before sitting your exam, make sure you can confidently explain and evaluate:
• The differences between Theonomous, Heteronomous, and Autonomous Christian ethics.
• The roles of Propositional Revelation, the Magisterium, and Natural Law (Aquinas) in moral choices.
• The debate over whether Christian ethics is distinctive or universally accessible through reason.
• Bonhoeffer's critique of the German church using Cheap Grace vs. Costly Grace.
• Bonhoeffer's three-part response to the State (including "jamming a spoke in the wheel").
• The role of the Church community at Finkenwalde and the concept of taking on guilt and responsibility.