Should Christian ethics follow the Bible as a source of commands, the principle of love alone, or the combined authority of scripture, church and reason?
Component 03 Christian moral principles: the Bible as a source of moral teaching, the roles of reason, conscience and Church, the principle of love (agape), and the distinction between heteronomous and autonomous Christian ethics.
An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 03 guide to Christian moral principles. Covers the Bible as a source of moral teaching (inspired word, revealed law, moral commands), the roles of reason, conscience and Church, the principle of agape, and the heteronomous and autonomous approaches, with the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
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What this dot point is asking
OCR Component 03 examines Christian moral principles: the sources and structure of Christian ethics. The key questions are how far the Bible functions as moral authority, what roles reason, conscience and the Church play, how central agape (love) is, and whether Christian ethics is heteronomous (obeying external law) or autonomous (taking personal moral responsibility). The exam rewards explaining these options precisely and then evaluating which best captures how Christians should decide what is right.
The answer
The Bible as a source of moral teaching
Reason, conscience and the Church
The principle of agape
Heteronomous and autonomous Christian ethics
Examples in context
Try this
Q1. "Christian ethics should be autonomous rather than heteronomous." Discuss. [40 marks]
- What the marker wants. An AO2 essay weighing obedience to external authority (scripture, Church) against responsible freedom guided by conscience, reason and love, judging which better expresses Christian morality. AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15.
Q2. Assess whether love (agape) is sufficient as the basis of Christian moral decision-making. [40 marks]
- Cue. Agape is scriptural and central, but critics say it is too vague without rules. Weigh the love command against the need for the guidance of scripture, reason and Church, and judge.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of OCR exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
OCR H573/03 2019 (style)20 marksAssess the view that the Bible is all a Christian needs for moral decision-making. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A 40-mark Component 03 essay on the six-level scheme (AO1 out of 25, AO2 out of 15). Explaining the positions earns AO1; the higher levels reward judging the sufficiency of the Bible.
Explain (AO1). The Bible can be seen as the inspired word of God, as revealed law, and as a source of moral commands. But Christians also draw on reason, conscience and the teaching authority of the Church, and many treat agape (the love command) as the heart of Christian ethics.
Evaluate (AO2). For the Bible alone: it is the authoritative revelation and gives clear teaching. Against: it needs interpretation, can seem to conflict with itself, and is silent on modern issues; reason, Church and conscience are needed to apply it, and a love-centred reading goes beyond proof-texts.
Judge. A top answer decides whether the Bible is sufficient alone or one authority among several, and defends the verdict.
OCR H573/03 2022 (style)20 marksCritically assess the difference between heteronomous and autonomous Christian ethics. (The full OCR tariff for this essay is 40 marks; the worked answer below is scaled to a 20-mark exemplar.)Show worked answer →
A levels-of-response essay testing AO1 understanding of the distinction and AO2 evaluation of it.
Explain. Heteronomous Christian ethics derives moral law from an external authority (God, scripture, Church): the Christian obeys commands given from outside. Autonomous Christian ethics holds that the believer, guided by conscience, reason and love, must take responsibility for moral decisions rather than simply obeying rules.
Evaluate. Heteronomy gives clarity and submission to God but can become legalism and stifle responsibility; autonomy respects conscience and maturity but risks subjectivism and detaching ethics from revelation. A love-centred ethic (agape) tries to combine both.
Judge. A high-level answer weighs whether obedience or responsible freedom better expresses Christian morality, and reaches a justified conclusion.
Related dot points
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An OCR A-Level Religious Studies Component 02 guide to conscience. Covers Aquinas's account of conscience as reason (ratio, synderesis, conscientia, vincible and invincible ignorance) and Freud's account of conscience as the super-ego producing guilt, with the contrast and the AO2 evaluation the exam rewards.
- Component 03 Augustine on human nature: the state before and after the Fall, original sin and concupiscence, the divided will, the summum bonum, and the necessity of God's grace, with strengths and weaknesses.
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Sources & how we know this
- OCR A Level Religious Studies (H573) specification — OCR (2016)
- The First Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 13, on love), World English Bible — Project Gutenberg (2005)