Theological Questions
As with many other philosophical or theological questions, the answer to the question of morality and its benefits depends upon to whom the question is addressed. Of equal importance to the response is that person’s worldview. Each student reading this overview has and acts out of their weltanschauung, or worldview.Every ethical system is part of something bigger . . . that can be called a worldview . . . [which] consists of our beliefs and assumptions about how the world fits together. As is the case with ethical systems, everyone has one, whether it is acknowledged or not. (Wilkens, 2011, p. 19)Consciously or unconsciously, a worldview hinges on the answers to questions about five subcategories of philosophy. They include questions about:· God· Metaphysics, which is related to the nature of reality· Epistemology, which is related to the nature of knowledge· Anthropology, which is related to the nature of humans and their cultures· EthicsIdeas regarding morality hinge on an individual’s responses to questions such as:Is there a God? What is he like? Is human nature innately good, or is humankind fallen, fatally flawed by some original sin? Are human beings just highly evolved reasoning animals, or are they the crown of God’s creation? Can human beings only trust empirically verifiable data, or can personal intuition or divine inspiration be equally valid ways of
