ADA MAE D.

ABELLERA
CHRISTIAN ETHICS 4
LESSON 5

REFLECTION PAPER

EXPLAIN 5TH to 10TH COMMANDMENT

5. You shall not kill.

This commandment only teaches us that we do not have the right to take others lives.
God has given us the life that we live and it is only Him who has the right to take it.

6. You shall not commit adultery.

This commandment teaches a person to become loyal and contented with the person
that God made for him. No man is an island that is why God created men for women. And in
today’s social norm, men for men or women for women. Who are we to judge? As long as they
stick to the person they chose to love and no longer look for another.

7. You shall not steal.

It is another commandment which teaches us contentment of what we only have. We

must not be insecure and get what is not due to us.

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

In everything that we do, we must always think about the consequences. In this time
when fake news is rampant, we should be careful with our words and say only what is true and
what we know with basis or probable cause. Let us avoid hearsay telling.

9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.

We must learn to see the beauty of what was given to us. Once we picked that one
person we want to spend the rest of our lives with, we should stick to that person. And if ever we
are in the search for that someone, we must make sure that we do not choose someone who
belongs to someone else already. It is not easy to be cheated upon.

10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Aside from the prohibition in taking someone else’s wife or husband, we must learn also
not to take the simplest things which already belong to others like goods, properties and the like.
If we do not know how to be contented with small things, we will not also be contented even with
big things.
HOW THEN CAN CHRISTIANS JUSTIFY PARTICIPATING IN WAR OR SUPPORTING
THOSE WHO DO?

Man is created according to the image and likeness of God. Thus we must
respect human beings.War is a state of armed conflict between states or societies, that is how it
is defined in law. For me, participating in it is justified in the sense that the State is after saving
more lives than losing them. Our world now is very chaotic. People against people. State
against state. Sometimes, these aggressions cause the war which will take lives. If a state will
just be silent there might be more tragic consequences. Sometimes, states engaged in it in
order to put an end to conflicts.

1. Is there positive biblical teaching in your church regarding the role of our society
and the Christian's responsibility toward it?

Yes, there is. Romans 13:1-7 provides for the same. Part of the said verses are the
following:

Submission to Governing Authorities

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which
God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently,
whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those
who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Christians must submit themselves to the duly constituted authorities which means submission
in sense of positive obedience in a way that parallels the need of Christians to submit to one
another in the framework of the Christian community. The said verses further provides:

“
Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible
punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”

2. What documents and people are available to assist Christians in better

understanding their privileges, protections and responsibilities as citizens of your
country?

The authorities are those who have been established by God. The scriptures did not
provide specifications. What it provides are the following: ” the one in authority is God’s
servant for your good”. We must trust God’s plans for us and the people He uses as
instruments of His will.

3. How can the church as a community of God’s people support the principle of the
Society and its constitutional role while avoiding dangers of participation in the
politics of a particular party? What can individual Christians do that the church
cannot do? In light of Paul's teaching, how do you feel about your own level of
conformity to the laws of your Community?

In the Philippines, we have the separation of the State and the Church. Thus, we cannot
avoid that there are conflicts that might exist between obeying God and obeying human
authorities. As for me, once confronted with such situation, I will always decide based on my
conscience. After all, an individual Christian has the leeway to judge besed on personal beliefs
unlike the church who must always stick to its teachings.

4. Are you satisfied with your actions as a citizen? Explain.

Nobody is perfect but I am satisfied with my actions as a citizen. I think I only do what I
believe is right. As long as I do not hurt other people, as long as obey the duly constituted
authories, as long as I know how to pray and recognizes the presence of God in my life, I think
I am doing nothing against the State and against the Church.