1. "Go and do likewise" - Every man in fact has a legitimate claim to be seen, affirmed, and accepted. Christian Ethics is not neutral.
2. "Set your mind not on high things, but condescend to the lowly" - Man lives alpne by the fact of God's waiting upon man, God's patience and forgivesness that man cannot live except by also waiting, having patience, receiving forgiveness, and in turn forgiving others. Christian Ethics is not optimistic.
3. "Do not destroy that for which Christ has died" - Commission to trust man as there is no reason to doubt ourselves or others, no reason to hate or despise each other, no reason why we should be unconcerned for each other. Christian Ethics is not pessimistic. "You can, for you should" "You can, for you may."
4. "I am God almighty; walk in My paths and be godly" - Responsibility on the basis of personal election and calling, Christian Ethics is not collective. Obedience in the meaning of Christian Ethics takes place always in the solitude of one man before the one God. Understand all truly human existence as taking place in man's own free decision and as his own free posture, which does not allow the individual to be bound by any prior decision of some higher authority or by the will of the mass to which he belongs.
5. "You are all brothers" - Summons to community on the basis of men's common need and the help which is common to all. Christian Ethics is not individualistic.
6. "He who is the greatest among you is the slave of all" - Summons to service. Christian Ethics is not aristocratic. The highest dignity of man, that he is called to intercede ever again for the others before God and for God before the others and to clothe this highest dignity in deepest modesty.
7. "You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole mind and all your strength" - Summons to wholeness. Expect everything from God, and from God everything. Christian Ethics is in no sense dualistic. It allows no split or separation, no glance into a present without a beyond, and no glance into a beyond without seeing its light shining into the present. It allows no talk of prayer which does not of itself lead into work, and no talk of work which is not grounded in prayer. It knows no soul apart from body, nor a body apart from soul, no private sphere without public responsibility, and no public responsibilty without the quiet pole of privacy.

Christian Ethics is clear, meaningful, and realistic. It can be understood only from looking back upon this history, and looking ahead to the man who is called to action by this history. Christian work is the fruit of Christian faith, Christian law is the form of the Christian gospel, and Christian ethics is the imperative of the indicative of Christian dogmatics.

Labels: Personal Sharing