Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics
Foundational issues in Christian spirituality and ethics are essential to understanding one’s worldview. The purpose of this assignment is to explore my worldview as a Christian by elaborating my understanding of ultimate reality, nature of the universe, human being, knowledge, basis of ethics, and purpose of existence Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics.
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What is ultimate reality?
According to Bogue and Hogan (2020), ultimate reality refers to the highest authority. In my Christian view, the ultimate reality is God. He is Supreme, Almighty, and creator of heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible. God is the unique source of all reality. He is supernatural. God is described as omnipresent, omniscient, eternal, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent (Bogue & Hogan, 2020). Consequently, we Christians believe that God, who exists as the trinity, created the world and was pleased with His creation. Additionally, God is the source of morality. For instance, He commanded man, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17)Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. God also demonstrates His supremacy through various miracles and powerful signs that are well documented in both the old and the new testaments of the Bible.
What is the nature of the universe?
As a Christian, the universe was created by God, who rules over it. It is composed of both physical and spiritual worlds. Human beings have been given power over the physical world to be fruitful and multiply and explore the resources within the physical world. However, the spiritual world involves an interaction of the spirit of God and the spirits of human souls. As a result, human beings can communicate to God spiritually through prayer. The existence of the spiritual world is demonstrated by Christ himself when he teaches his disciples to pray, and He is also seen interceding on behalf of us.
What is a human being?
As Christian, human beings are part of God’s creation and were made on the last day of creation. They are superior to other creatures, for they were made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27). Similarly, as human beings, we are blessed by the Almighty. But unlike God, human beings have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Roman 3:23)Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. The sinful nature of human beings is also depicted during the call of Moses when God orders him to remove his shoes, for he was standing on holy ground. However, God forgives us whenever we repent. Given the valuable nature of human beings as the image of God, human life must be respected and protected at all costs (Baumeister & Bushman, 2020). Likewise, human beings must be treated with dignity and love. Finally, God values his creation. For instance, God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ.
What is knowledge?
Knowledge is the sum of what is known. As Christians, knowledge is a gift from God. God (1 Corinthians 12:8). Additionally, Christians regard scientific knowledge as a consequence of the utilization of power that was given to them by God. Therefore, human beings must utilize knowledge as a service to humanity (Cuellar De la Cruz & Robinson, 2017)Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. The Bible remains the main source of Christian knowledge. Christians also acknowledge the limited nature of human knowledge and its hindrance by sin. Finally, Christians can pray to God to obtain knowledge through faith since knowledge is directly connected to God’s revelatory acts.
What is your basis of ethics?
Ethics refers to moral principles that govern an individual’s behavior. It encompasses systematizing, defending, and recommending the concepts of right and wrong behavior (Stanley et al., 2018). From a Christian point of view, God is the basis of morality. This is evidenced by the mentioning of the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the creation stories. Following the fall of mankind, human beings became aware of good and evil with an obligation to do good as evil doings are punishable. Subsequently, Christian ethics involves living a life pleasing to God that is guided by Christian scriptures and traditions. For instance, God issues commandments to the Israelites through Moses, which were to be followed, and these are later summarized into the two greatest commandments by Jesus Christ in the New Testament. Consequently, Christians rely on the Bible, a book penned down by human beings supernaturally inspired by God, as the most authoritative source of Christian morals and ethics.
What is the purpose of your existence?
The sole purpose of existence for Christians is to worship God and enjoy a relationship with Him forever. Christians exist to Love God and their fellow human beings, after which they will be rewarded with eternal life. Similarly, Christ encourages Christians to follow him and serve God through doing good deeds to the needy. Christ also redefines the purpose of life. For instance, He fights evil throughout His life, He is sentenced to death, resurrects and finally ascends into heaven, and finally promises to come back to judge the living and the dead. Consequently, Christians spend their life preparing for the second coming of Jesus Christ through service to God. Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics
Conclusion
Foundational issues in Christian spirituality and ethics are core to understanding one’s worldview. For Christians, God is the ultimate reality, and they live to serve Him. Human beings are special and have dominion over other creatures.
References
Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2020). Social Psychology and Human Nature. Cengage Learning.
Bogue, D. W., & Hogan, M. (2020). Practicing dignity: An introduction to Christian values and decision-making in health care. In Grand Canyon University. https://lc.gcumedia.com/phi413v/practicing-dignity-an-introduction-to-christian-values-and-decision-making-in-health-care/v1.1/#/chapter/1 Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics
Cuellar De la Cruz, Y., & Robinson, S. (2017). Answering the call to accessible quality health care for all using a new model of local community not-for-profit charity clinics: A return to Christ-centered care of the past. The Linacre Quarterly, 84(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00243639.2016.1274631
Stanley, S., Purser, R. E., & Singh, N. N. (2018). Ethical foundations of mindfulness. In Mindfulness in Behavioral Health (pp. 1–29). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76538-9_1
What would spirituality be according to your own worldview? How do you believe that your conception of spirituality would influence the way in which you care for patients?
Spirituality is the experience of one’s inner existence, a personal expression, and practice and how the person interprets the world and the inner universe (Bogue & Hogan, 2020). Spirituality is not synonymous of religion. Indeed, many regard themselves to be very spiritual and non-religious. Being spiritual does not need membership in a church, temple, or other religious organization, despite the fact that, many individuals express their spiritual needs via religion. How people connect with their spirituality is entirely up to them.
My spirituality, as a Christian, is based on the belief in the existence of only one God, creator of the finite and infinite, and the Trinity. God promotes love among people regardless of race, gender, religion, or social status. Human beings are children of God, who made us in his image and likeness and his spirit resides in each one of us. As children of God, we have received gifts of wisdom that allow us to develop abilities and skills. The gift of intelligence, the arts, science, and creativity allow us to apply knowledge to solve daily situations in our lives such as medical problems. In the tradition of Christian healthcare, acts of mercy are carried out under the guidance of a Christian spirit that upholds the principles of human dignity, solidarity, the common good, and subsidiarity (Cuellar De la Cruz & Robinson, 2017)Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. As a Christian, as a nurse, as a former firefighter, as a volunteer, I have dedicated my life to the service of others, under the principles that govern nursing ethics such as justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence (Gaines, 2021), following the command Jesus gave his followers “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matt 25:25-40).
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References:
Bogue, D. W., & Hogan, M. (2020). Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. In Grand Canyon University (Ed). Practicing dignity: An introduction to Christian values and decision-making in health care. https://lc.gcumedia.com/phi413v/practicing-dignity-an-introduction-to-christian-values-and-decision-making-in-health-care/v1.1/#/chapter/1
Cuellar De la Cruz, Y., & Robinson, S. (2017). Answering the Call to Accessible Quality Health Care for All Using a New Model of Local Community Not-for-Profit Charity Clinics: A Return to Christ-Centered Care of the Past. The Linacre Quarterly, 84(1), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00243639.2016.1274631
Gaines, K. (2021). What is the nursing code of ethics? Nurse.org. https://nurse.org/education/nursing-code-of-ethics/ Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics
