Christian Ethics Notes, Quizzes & Revision
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Christian Ethics
Topic: Christian Living Today β (Christian Religious Education, age 15)
- What Christian ethics means.
- Where Christian ethical values come from.
- Common ethical problems facing youth in Kenya today.
- How to use road-safety rules as Christian responsibilities.
- Practical solutions to youth ethical issues.
- How to apply Christian values when making daily decisions.
1. Meaning of Christian ethics
Christian ethics is the study of what is right and wrong from a Christian point of view. It helps believers choose actions that reflect the character of God β love, honesty, justice, mercy and respect for others. For a Christian, ethics comes from following Jesusβ teachings and trying to live as God wants us to.
2. Sources of Christian ethics
- The Bible: Jesusβ example, the Ten Commandments, and teachings in the New Testament (e.g., Sermon on the Mount) guide moral choices.
- Church teaching and tradition: What the church community teaches about right living (sermons, catechism, prayer life).
- Conscience: God-given sense of right and wrong that can be formed by Scripture and prayer.
- Reason and experience: Using common sense, life experience, and good counsel (parents, pastors, teachers) to decide rightly.
3. Ethical issues facing youth today (especially in Kenya)
Many young people meet choices that test their values. Below are common issues and short explanations.
Pressure to drink alcohol, smoke, or behave in ways to fit in.
Choices about love, dating and sexual activity with long-term consequences.
Use of drugs and alcohol that harm health and future plans.
Hurtful messages, spreading rumours or pressure from online trends.
Cheating in exams, stealing, or accepting bribes that break trust.
Risky behaviour like not wearing helmets, speeding, or overcrowded matatus.
4. Road safety: Christian responsibility and practical rules
Keeping safe on the road is a moral duty because it protects your life and the lives of others. Here are practical rules you should follow (Kenyan context):
- Wear a helmet if you ride or are a passenger on a boda boda; helmets save lives.
- Always wear a seat belt in cars; insist passengers do the same.
- Use pedestrian crossings (zebra crossings) and footbridges where available.
- Avoid using a phone while driving or crossing the road β stay fully alert.
- Do not overload vehicles (including matatus and boda bodas).
- Follow traffic lights, road signs and speed limits; obey police and traffic officers.
- If you see dangerous driving or a crash, help in a safe way: call emergency services and offer calm support.
Helmet? Seat free? Driver sober? Visible number plate? Phone off and hands free? If any is unsafe, refuse and choose a safer option.
5. Solutions to ethical issues facing youth
Christian ethics encourages practical and community-based solutions:
- Education: Teach values in schools, churches and homes (honesty, respect, self-control).
- Mentoring and counselling: Youth groups, pastors and teachers to guide choices.
- Strong families: Open communication at home about dangers and choices.
- Law and enforcement: Support fair enforcement of traffic, safety and anti-corruption rules.
- Peer leadership: Young leaders who model good choices and resist harmful trends.
- Community programs: Sports, clubs and service projects that give young people purpose and healthy options.
6. How to apply Christian values when making daily decisions
Use a simple, practical decision-making process rooted in Christian ethics:
- Identify the choice: What exactly is the decision or problem?
- Think about values: Will this action show love, honesty, respect, justice or responsibility?
- Check the Bible and pray: Are there Bible teachings or prayers that guide this choice?
- Ask advice: Talk to parents, a pastor, teacher or a wise friend.
- Consider consequences: Short- and long-term effects on you and others.
- Choose and act: Make the choice that best fits Christian values, then do it with courage.
- Reflect: Afterward, think about what happened and what you learned.
Situation: Friends want you to try alcohol at a party. Steps: Identify the choice β Remember that respect for your body and self-control matter β Pray and ask a parent or mentor β Think: could this harm school work or reputation? β Say βNoβ politely and suggest a safer activity β Reflect on the choice later.
Reflective questions (for personal or class use)
- Which Christian values are strongest in your life? Which need more work?
- Name two ethical problems you see in your neighbourhood. What can you do about them?
- Think of a time you had to make a hard choice. Which step above could have helped you more?
- How can your church or school help improve road safety among youth?
Lord, help me to choose what is right, protect me on the roads, give me courage to resist wrong pressures, and guide my steps so I may live in love and truth. Amen.