Is this true?

Is the right thing to do always the

most loving thing?

Give an EXAMPLE to back up your

POINT.EXTENSION: Can you give a

COUNTER ARGUMENT to your

own point?

ObjectiveTo use memory

recall, exam questions, a

real life scenario, and biblical quotes to understand the Christian principle of Situation Ethics

Joseph FletcherAmerican Christian Minister

Grade CAll will be able to use memory

recall to define and describe what is meant by Situation

Ethics.

Grade BMost will be able to explain the

concept of agape and apply the principle of Situation Ethics to making moral

decisions.

Grade A/A*Some will be able to evaluate and express an opinion on the principle of Situation Ethics.

Your GOALS for the end of

this lesson are…

Outcomes

What is ?Finish the following sentence LOVE IS...

In English we only have ONE word for LOVE that is often understood to mean romantic love.

In Greek they have FOUR words for LOVE...

EROS – Passion, desire, romantic love.STORGE – Love for your family.PHILIA – Love for your friends.

AGAPE – The greatest love.

What do you think is meant by the ‘greatest love’?

Unconditional love- loving others as we love ourselves, both friend and

enemy.To get to that grade B: Can you give at least one EXAMPLE of AGAPE?

Grade BMost will be able to

explain the

concept of agape.

Did you achieveYOUR goals?…

Outcomes

What is Situation Ethics?

The principle of Situation Ethics uses love

(agape) as a basis for all moral decisions.

Listen and watch the following slides

carefully...

You will be expected to use your MEMORY to

DEFINE and DESCRIBE what SITUATION

ETHICS is.

What is Situation Ethics?Situation Ethics is a

CHRISTIAN approach to making moral decisions.

It was put forwards by JOSEPH FLETCHER a Christian Minister in the 1960’s during a time of great

social change.

He said...

Love should be the only

consideration when making

a moral decision.A GOOD

decision is one that aims

to do THE MOST

LOVING THING.

He based this on...The simple teachings of

JESUS...

My command is this: love each other as I

have loved you (John 12:15)

He also said...

A person should only obey the Bible and the Church if that

teaching results in the MOST

LOVING thing to do.

Fletcher was clear about what type

of love that should be applied

– AGAPE (an attitude towards

people rather than a feeling).

Showing AGAPE makes it possible

to love your enemies and act in loving ways towards people who have not

done anything to deserve love.

From memory complete the following on

your worksheet...

WHAT?WHO?

HE SAID...?

What is Situation Ethics?

Complete PAGE 56 QUESTION 1 of your

REVISION WORKBOOK

complete WITHOUT NOTES against the 2 minute clock.

Make a note of your time in the margin.

Now SELF MARK your work.

REMEMBER 2 MARKS for an accurate definition1 MARK partially correct

definition0 MARKS incorrect

Situation Ethics – The idea that Christians should base moral decisions on what is the most loving thing to do.

The Golden Rule– The teaching of Jesus that you should treat others as you would like them to treat you.

EXTENSION: Also complete question 2

within the 2 minute time limit

Grade CAll will be able

to use memory recall to define and describe what is meant by

Situation Ethics

Did you achieveYOUR goals?…

Outcomes

There are several verses in the New Testament that stress the importance of love (agape) in making moral

decisions...‘Love your God with all your heart, and all your soul...and

love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27)

‘Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends’(John 15:13)

‘And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as

he has commanded us’ (John 3:23)

What inspired Situation Ethics?

Read the following scenario carefully…Using the above quotes and the principle of Situation

Ethics (AGAPE) what do you think a Christian (who ONLY USES SITUATION ETHICS to make moral

decisions) would do?

Grade BMost will be able to apply the principle of Situation

Ethics to making moral

decisions.

Did you achieveYOUR goals?…

Outcomes

During the Holocaust, a group of Jewish people hid in the sewers of a German city as the SS police marched in the streets overhead. Amongst the group there was a mother with her baby. The woman’s baby began to cry. No matter what she did, the mother could not get her baby to stop. If the baby continued to cry , it was only a matter of time before the Nazis heard, and then they would all be discovered.

Rather than risk the lives of everyone down there, she smothered her baby to death with a blanket, and let the corpse float down the sewer.

This was taken from the memoirs of a Holocaust survivor who detailed how she escaped Nazi imprisonment.

Did the woman's actions follow the principle of Situation Ethics?Was this the most loving action?

Applying Situation Ethics?

EXTENSION: Do you think that morally, this was the right course of action?

Grade A/A*Some will be

able to express an opinion on

the principle of Situation

Ethics.

Did you achieveYOUR goals?…

Outcomes

Think Pair Share

YES NOComplete the following...

Use what you have learnt today about situation ethics to EVALUATE whether you think it works as a

moral code.

Once you have some ideas share with a partner.

YES NO

Every situation is judged individually rather than a blanket right or wrong e.g. murder is wrong.

It is dependant on a person being able to predict what will happen to determine what is most loving, and this is impossible.

It has a genuine Christian intention, of which the basis is LOVE.

In theory, anything (murder, adultery etc...) could be justified if the person felt it was the most loving thing to do.

Acting out of LOVE is a positive thing, so it would bring positive consequences.

It works in extreme cases but not in everyday society where we are used to having rules and laws.

Does it work?

Complete PAGE 56 QUESTION 3 of your

REVISION WORKBOOK PLEASE CHANGE ‘the Golden

Rule today TO ‘Situation Ethics’ So the question

reads…Do you think it is always

possible to apply Situation Ethics?

complete WITHOUT NOTES against the 4 minute clock.

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/Make a note of your time in the

margin.

Now SWAP and PEER MARK each others

work.REMEMBER mark on those

P’s and E’s and KW’s and Q’s.

Give them a mark out of 4 and a clear TARGET.

Grade A/A*Some will be

able to evaluate and express an opinion on

the principle of Situation

Ethics.

Did you achieveYOUR goals?…

Outcomes

How would Situation Ethics be used to solve the following dilemmas?

1. A 15-year-old girl is pregnant after being raped, and is considering abortion.

2. A terminally ill man asks his wife to help him commit suicide.

3. A man is considering committing adultery on his wife who has Alzheimer's

and cannot remember him.

Plenary...