Christian Ethics 4

Session 3—Ethics in Relation to Worldviews

In the previous session we considered a Christian world-view and its influence on ethics. We
would like to analyze two other world-views (African and Islamic) and the ethical patterns that
spring from them.

What is a Worldview? (by Kasongo Munza. A Letter to Africa About Africa. Transworld Radio-
Africa, 2008.)

Webster’s dictionary defines worldview as: “a comprehensive, especially personal, philosophy,

or conception of the world and of human life.” Every culture has its own worldview. It is usually
not something a person goes around thinking about. Worldview is assumed and subconscious.

Compare a worldview to putting a pair of colored glasses. Some sunglasses are pinkish in color,
some are green and some are brown. When a person wears one of these their view of the
world seems normal to them, and only changes when they remove one set of glasses and
exchange them for another color.

Cultures are a result of their respective worldviews. Worldview helps the individual deal with
life within his culture.

An African World-view

Why do we often find it difficult to live as God wants us to live and thus fall short of all that God
designed us to be and to enjoy? One reason is our natural tendency to put ourselves and the
groups to which we belong at the center of our lives rather than God. But even when we want
to obey God and to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, we find obstacles not only within our
self-centered, flawed human nature but also in the habits, practices and ways of thinking of our
society. Our manner of treating other people, which is learned from childhood, may not be in
harmony with the ways of God. Our parents, our families, our schools, our religious leaders, our
tribal chiefs, our peers in society, our employers, and our political authorities have all taught us
ways of thinking and acting that may work against some of the commandments that the God of
the Bible has given us.

This is true in every society, time and place. These kinds of influences always pose problems for
those who follow Jesus faithfully. 32 The pressure to conform to what others expect of us is
often very strong. In fact, to go against the will of our families or our ethnic group or our
religious leaders can actually be dangerous. During the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 people who
refused to participate in the slaughter were considered enemies and killed by members of their
own tribe. If obeying God’s commands brings us into conflict with the values and habits of our
social group we become vulnerable to loss of status and respect, loss of security, loss of
membership in the group, or even loss of life.

Many of the patterns of thinking and acting in our African families and societies are in harmony
with God’s commands. Respect for parents and elders, sharing of resources with those in need,
the high value placed on human relationships, and many other values parallel biblical teachings.
For this we are grateful. But in every society, there exist ways of thinking and acting that
contradict God’s will. The roots of these wrong attitudes and actions are often to be found in
beliefs we hold that do not reflect the truth about God, ourselves and the world. The false
beliefs need to be exposed to the light of God’s Word so that we can clearly see the difference
between right paths and wrong paths and choose the paths of moral faithfulness to him.

Questions for Discussion

Discussion on African World-view: Foundation of Traditional Ethics in Africa by Paul Mpindi (See
Article #1 in Appendices at end of handbook)

-- Is this idea of seeing God primarily as a way to meet my own needs part of your tradition?
What is wrong with this notion?

--How might this utilitarian notion of good and evil influence moral behavior?

--Think of ideas or actions from your context that are culturally acceptable but that violates
Jesus’ command of loving God and neighbor.