The Significance Of Christian "Forgiveness" In Modern Ethics

The present ethic ecology of human society is characterised by its disorderness and fragility, thus unable to fulfill the responsibility of ethic orientation and restraint required by modem social development. Therefore,an endeavour to attain global ethic is made in such a social background. The author believes that the global ethics rule resulting from ethics discourse represents the attempt to conform ethics resources and unify the dispersed minds. Yielding and mutual benefit is regarded as its guiding spirit which comes from human reflection on historic conflicts and realistic concern over cultured conflicts . Specifically ,the common basis for this realistic concern is the recognition and advocation of passive liberty and it is well shown in the global ethic rule: Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. The principle of passive liberty and the spirit of yielding and mutual benefit target some serious realistic social problems concerning modem conception which centers around rationalism, subjectivism, individualism, liberalism and utilitarianism and their negative influence on society. Nowadays ,there is a sharp confrontation between the powerful modern conception and global ethic orientation. Accordingly, the task of global ethics is demenstrated more in its realistic confrontation with modernism and its side-effect rather than only criticizing and questioning present ethic condition.Viewed from this point,the author thinks that at present the global ethic rule is faced with a great plight in which its guiding spirit of mutual benefit would cease to be effective. Due to the imbalance of rights and obligations among social members ,the global ethics cannot get access to corresponding rights from its obligations, which put a heavy burdern on the implamentation of the guiding principle of global ethics. A reasonable justification for obligation itself is the biggest challenge to be faced with. By means of religious belief , Christian forgiveness finds an effective solution to dealing with interpersonal hurt, and it also provides an alternative angle for the implemation of global ethic obligation.Christian forgiveness is based on a belief of divine love. Christianity gives a religious account of salvatio. According to this account, human beings were originally sinned because of their ancestors' betrayal against God. Whereas seeing people'shelpessness and hardships, God sent his only son Jesus Christ to save people from their bitterness. And Christ's heroic atonement on the Cross demonstrates God's divine love towards human beings. And his instruction and heroic deeds have been taken as the nuclea of Christian forgiveness. Benevolence, including loving one's neighbours and enemies has been animportant part of it as well. Divine love can serve as a universal ethic rule which provides a resonable source for global ethic obligation. What's more important .Christian forgiveness can be extended to a close examination of selfdisciplined ethics. Hence,the author finds that only through means of selfdiscipline can the implementation of global ethic obligation be possible. Therefore, religious belief is an inexorable direction of selfdisciplined ethic. And Kant's obligatory ethics provides an important reference for this viewpoint.From the above analysis, the author comes to a conclusion that the improvement of modernism and the present ethic ecology should be based on people's selfdiscipline. While selfdiscipline, in turn, requirs that people have a firm life belief. People who believe in global ethic rule can stand up against the modern trend and acquire the power to improve reality only by way of reshaping their belief.