nd wrong. Wedo not believe God runs our lives like a puppet show. We arecompletely free to choose, but are not shielded from theconsequences of our actions as they interact with the restof the humans (also with free will). Some people feel thatwe do not have free will because God punishes us for thechoices he does not happen to like. Christians answer thatGod determines the standards of behavior because He is God,the Creator. Rather than punish, God simply allows people tochoose to reject Him. Since there is no happiness apart fromGod, permanent rejection of God results in permanentunhappiness. Without free will, no opportunity for choicesbetween right and wrong exist. Creatures without free willcannot have ethics because they have no choice.What Ethical Rules Have Been Revealed?When the rich young man asked Jesus what must be done toinherit eternal life, the response was: "You know theCommandments…" When Jesus was pressed further, he offeredthe chance to follow him as a disciple. Taking thesetogether, following Jesus while keeping the would seem tobe the revealed answer. Jesus also said that loving God andneighbor summed up the Commandments, but our poorunderstanding of love sends us back to the Ten Commandmentsand the example and teaching of Jesus as a practical guide.Some traditions hold the Beatitudes as the highest ethics(Matthew 5:1-12). Each of these "blessed attitudes" fulfillsGod's Law.Why Can't We Accept Some Rules and Not Others?Our own ethics must be built on revealed truth. Over timethe Church has spoken out on moral issues. Each teaching ofthe Church is built on some more basic ethical truth. Eachof these truths is built ultimately on the Ten Commandments,which originated with God Himself. Since God has commandedobedience and trust, to disobey any commandment is todisobey God in at least two ways. Jesus never said to obeymost God's Law. He did say that to disregard even thesmallest part of God's Law is to be conside...
