Readers of this chapter who have heard or seen radio and television debates which have included representatives of Churches, may well have got the impression that all one has to do in using the Bible in ethics is to discover an appropriate text and apply it to the matter at hand. Indeed, the impression is often created, whether intentionally or not, that this rather mechanical way of using the Bible in ethics is the only one that is “true” to the Bible; and at the level of what I have called in the previous chapter “popular fundamentalism,” many ordinary churchgoers find it difficult to resist the argument that if something is commanded in the Bible then it should be obeyed or observed.

The aim of the present chapter is to set the debate about how the Bible might be used in ethics in an historical context. Just as the study of the Bible has always been critical, so its use in ethics has always been sophisticated. Recognition of this is a necessary prerequisite for contemporary positive use of the Bible, an outline of which will conclude the chapter.

Because it comes from the ancient world, the Bible says nothing about many contemporary problems. Those who seek guidance on whether it is legitimate to manufacture weapons of mass destruction as a deterrent, or whether building an airport runway is more important than preserving the habitat of threatened species of wildlife, will get no direct help from the Bible. This is no surprise.