Can anyone pose a specific problem of professional morality for which the
Law of God has no relevance?
I have been a design and research engineer in both big and little
technology-driven companies, and a consultant to such companies, for over
25 years. I have yet to encounter an ethical issue for which the Law of God
does not have fairly direct relevance. (In perfectly fulfilling the Law,
Christ's conduct would represent the highest expression of it rather than
some other ethic, and is included in what I mean by the Law of God.)
It seems as odd to me to be looking primarily to general revelation
(natural ethics) to find God's intentions for humanity as it is to look to
general revelation (nature) to establish grounds for his existence. The
value and specific purpose of special revelation (the Word of God) is that
we otherwise lack an adequate foundation on which to work out moral
specifics. (I distinguish between ethics and morals; ethics is the branch
of phil. addressing the question of what is the good. An _ethic_ is the
body of general principles that answer the philosophical questions, and
morals are the interpretation of an ethic for specific applications. In
this sense, "professional ethics" is a moral code. Ref: _Philosophy of
Creative Enterprise_ and lecture notes, Prof. W. Dwaine Ritchins, U. of
Oregon)
Because the solutions to the problems posed by philosophy lie outside of
philosophy itself, a professional ethic will be a component of a worldview,
biblical or otherwise.
Burgy and others have pointed out that ethics has a non-trivial
subject-matter, and I do not contend that it is trivial to apply biblical
ethics to all particular situations. Jurisprudence is an entire field of
study for just this reason. But judges characteristically look to both
precedent and existing law from which to judge new cases. So is the
tradition of the church. Historically, in the Christian West, professional
ethics has been largely a reflection of an already existing consensus based
on Christian ethics.
I am not suggesting that we should ignore nonchristian approaches to
ethics, but that they should not be a starting or integration-point for
Christians. The Church Fathers made use of Greek philosophical thinking in
which to express orthodoxy, which itself was an answer to philosophical
issues raised in Greek culture. What is significant in their efforts is
that they were careful to develop biblically extrapolated answers in the
language of Greek philosophy instead attempting to Christianize the
Hellenistic worldview. (Ref: _Creeds, Councils and Christ_, Gerald Bray,
IVP, p. 87.)
Dennis L. Feucht
Innovatia Laboratories
American Scientific Affiliation Newsletter Editor
Great Lakes Rocket Society
14554 Maplewood Road
Townville, Pennsylvania 16360
(814)789-2100
dfeucht@toolcity.net