Biola Broadcaster - 1972-05

Biola Broadcaster - 1972-05

BROADCASTER MAY 1972

BROADCASTER

N U M B E R 5

M AY 1 9 7 2

V O L U M E 2

A P R IL RAD IO F EA TU R E S

Biola Hour Host . . .

President. . .

J. RICHARD CHASE

DON RANSON

Managing Editor. . .

EVELYN GIBSON

C O N T E N T S Does the End Justify T h e Means? J. Richard Chase

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Dea r Jane Ordinary

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Andre Bustanoby

*T h e Christian Home: Pa rt II

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Haddon Robinson

* Panel Discussions

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*T O R R E Y CON FER ENC E GU ES T SER IES Saul: A S tudy in T ragedy David D. Allen, Jr.

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Practical Holiness . David D. Allen, Jr. * A S tudy in 1Corinthians

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J. Richard Chase

*T h e M inistry o f The Holy Spirit Lloyd T . Anderson * E d ited B iola H o u r R ad io m essag es

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Cover Photograph by Kirk Potter • Junior Christian Education Major

WHEN REQUESTING EXTRA COPIES OF THE BIOLA BROADCASTER, PLEASE ALLOW TIME FOR DELIVERY.

Second Class postage paid in La Mirada, California. Printed in U.S.A. by Penn Litho­ graphies, Inc., Whittier, California. Address: Biola Broadcaster, 13800 Biola Avenue, La Mirada, California 90638.

BIBLE CONFERENCE In Hawaii June 17-29 Dr. J. Richard Chase Dr. Richard McNeely Chairman— Biblical Studies MOUNT HERMON August 6 -12 John MacArthur

Guest Bible Teacher Dr. J. Richard Chase Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland Ron Hafer Dr. Richard McNeely THE FIRS August 13-19 Dr. Ralph Keiper Guest Bible Teacher Dr. J. Richard Chase Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland Dr. Richard McNeely

Music for both weeks will feature John and Dawn Hess

In this brief yet comprehensive look at situation ethics, Dr. Chase gives the interested reader an un­ derstanding of the “cornerstone of situational ethics.”

Does The End Is it better to lie than to tell the truth and hurt a friend? Should you steal food to feed your hungry family? "Yes," say many who accept situational ethics. To them it is not a matter of doing wrong: if the situa­ tion is right, lying and stealing are wise and noble choices for they may help you accomplish good. At the crux of this philosophy is the familiar phrase, "The end justi­ fies the means." It simply means that the goal you set (the end) justifies the things you do (the means) to obtain your goal. I believe this phrase is unacceptable to the evangelical Christian. It is being used to justify a pattern of life that frequently cuts across the grain of the New Testament. Lying, stealing, adultery are hardly true options for the earnest Christian. But the phrase is presented powerfully and seems difficult to counter. Hopefully, this brief article, though it looks at only one facet of the problem, will help the Christian under­ stand and counter this cornerstone of situational ethics. Joseph Fletcher, in both his book, Situational Ethics, and in an earlier work, "The New Look in Christian Ethics," Harvard Divinity Bul­ letin, October, 1959, is adamant in stating that the end alone justifies the means. In fact, he opens and closes the seventh chapter of Situational Ethics with this stark message in italics, " Only the end justifies the means; nothing else.” The message comes through loud and clear even though he attempts to qualify his use of the phrase by writing, "That not any old end will justify any old means. . . . no situationist would make a uni­ versal of it!" Nowhere, however, does Fletcher ever alter this basic phrase. He is consistent and adamant in maintaining that this maxim alone provides the basic formula for decision making. Page 4

Justify The Means?

J. RICHARD CHASE

Now a few quick and obvious tests will show us that the phrase can get us into trouble. For example, the end or goal of profit does not justify false advertising, nor would our desire for a college degree justify cheat­ ing on exams. Something is obviously wrong here. Even Fletcher would point out that one is in trouble if he does not select the proper end. But remember, the phrase is frequently presented as a basic maxim without reasonable qualification. The root of the prob­ lem is far deeper than just quibbling over what goal one might select. A Christian need not even accept this phrase and then add that his goal (or end) is obedience to the whole counsel of God's word (e.g., the commandments and principles, as well as qualities of character such as love or joy). One can with solid historic backing simply reject the phrase as in error. The end does not justify the means, it may merely cause it. Aris­ totle, who is the prime historic source of the concept of ends and means, never suggested that the end justified the means. In the Eude- mion Ethics he said your goals or "ends" must be carefully selected for they will ultimately cause you to act to achieve them (i. 7.21). In that light we might then ask, is profit your goal? Be careful, profit may "cause" you to do something that may hurt others and grieve God. Is love for others your goal? Good, but be careful that in serving others you do not overlook your walk with the Lord. To Aristotle, the end caused, not justified, the means. In fact, Aris­ totle's word for cause is aitios, and it has more of a negative than right­ eous ring to it. At times it is used to convey the thought of "blame" or even "guilt." In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that prudence Page 5

or practical wisdom must guide us in carefully selecting our acts, or “means," even after we have carefully selected our goals, or “ends," e.g., vi. 9.7, 12.6, and 13.7. Nowhere is there any hint that the matter is as cut and dried as some would have us believe. In fact, Aristotle would say that we should be careful in selecting our goals for they will shape our whole manner of life. You see, the “end" or goal of life is the agent that causes us to act in certain ways. Of course, this is not new to the Christian who is familiar with such passages as Matthew 6:21, Colossians 3:1-7, and James 4. Now there is a vast difference between the words cause and justify. Yet this crucial middle part in the phrase, “the end justifies the means," is seldom ever commented upon. The phrase stands as a self-justifying maxim ready to dignify and bless any and every means. That is its error. By whose authority do we steal to satisfy our hunger — by the authority of the phrase that says it is justified? The Bible may not justify a given act, but the phrase will justify any and every act that moves you toward your goal. Even the pagan Aristotle was too intelligent to fall for a system of morality based on a self-justifying maxim. Morality consisted of far more than a phrase to him. In fact, he even believed that a person lacking virtue (and to him that could be simply one who “ loves pleasure," Nicomachean Ethics, vi. 5.6) could not even select proper ends, let alone choose acceptable means or acts from the good and bad alterna­ tives before him. Looking at this new phrase, "the end causes the means," we can understand why some people do the things they do. Or why we act in certain ways. But there is nothing self-justifying in the phrase. It is neither a philosophy of life nor a cornerstone for a personal ethic. It is simply one way of explaining behavior. The end does not justify the means, it may simply cause it. The key question for the Christian is still, "Are my goals and the things they cause me to do acceptable to my Lord in the light of the whole counsel of God?" Are our acts bringing glory to Cod (I Corinthians 10:31)? A6 I see it, there is, after all, no way to justify the works of unrighteousness. We must still “ live to the praise of His glory" (Ephesians 1:6), not to the uncertain sound of a man-made maxim.

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several times you have said you don’t see how Christ can possibly use you

An Open Letter to Jane Ordinary

by Andre Bustanoby ans:

biy boiition in tkz iuAinsAA cuonld you miynt a± cusLL Llssfi youn moutfi a L iu î ---- nobody cansA cufzat ¿ 2 finiAt IzaA dons fon you. n/zfisn g.SAUA CHiUt aHoiz J t u diicihLzi, D is didn’t cHooiz OLyni- fiic cHiamfii.oxD?otnan isnatoii. Dfz o H oîs Aim p is /2 sojiLs LiHs you. eSoms tosis fiîHsimsn; ons vaai. a fioLiticaL sxtisniiit. c/inotHsi a fiuHLican ---- a nobody in tHat îocisty. LSut tHsis msn tuinsd tHs Io n ia n ivoxLd ub- iids down fox dHxiit. Dioio did tHsy do it? DHiouyk tHsix bobuLai- ity? DHsy Had nons. DHsix flOAi- tion? DHsy Had nons. DHsix bocusn CUdA tHs jiocusn of ( 2 finiAt tfinpuyii tLis cdioLy Sfiinit. Q.ans, don t fonyst tfiat eus itiLL nssd tLis ondinany in tlis LiandA of C 2 /zniAt to tunn tlis cuonLd ufiAids docun. Copyright 7967 by Christianity Today, Reprinted by permission.

O'm iviitiny to HsLji you ifiaHs t/iii f ssLiny o f UAsLsAAnsAA tíiaé Lza± ousntaizsn you.