For those who are not aware, "situational ethics" is a doctrine--which has its roots in the 19th Century--that in Christianity, love is the highest ethical principle, and always trumps all others. An example of this is in Moby Dick, Ishmael joins Queequeg in worshiping a pagan idol, because he says in Christianity love is the most important ethical principle, and he does that out of love for Queequeg; the principle of love overrides the injunction against idolatry.
My issue with situational ethics is that "love" here seems to be conceived in purely secular terms. This is not "love" in the mystical sense of God's energies, this is love in a very pedestrian, secular sense. For instance, situational ethics is often used today to justify churches conducting homosexual marriages.
My issue with situational ethics is that "love" here seems to be conceived in purely secular terms. This is not "love" in the mystical sense of God's energies, this is love in a very pedestrian, secular sense. For instance, situational ethics is often used today to justify churches conducting homosexual marriages.