University of Virginia Library

Don't Need Conscience

"The whole point about
legalistic ethics, the ethics I
oppose, is that you don't have
to have any conscience. All
you need to know is the rule."
Mr. Fletcher remarked. "Then
you act according to what the
rule is, regardless of the
consequences."

Mr. Fletcher has been
criticized for ignoring the
Christian ethical view.

"I think there is no such
thing as Christian ethics," he
stated. "Ethically, Christians
and non-Christian could easily
agree as to what should be
done in any situation, and how
it should be done. The
difference comes into play
meta-ethically."

"Christians often give a
definite answer in terms of
ultimate sanctions, but the
three basic questions in all
ethical analysis are the "what",
the "how" and the "why." I
think the only distinctive thing
about so-called Christian ethics
is it sometimes answers the
why question."