Running head: PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 1
Professional Ethics Statement
Laura Robinson
Concordia Portland
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 2
Professional Ethics Statement
Ethical guiding principles are not principles that are meant
to be dusty companions, rather they are meant to breathe life and
inform decisions people make. In studying ethics it quickly
becomes clear that there is no one statement that can cover all
of the range of issues that are confronted every day. Principles
are meant to be the needle pointing north, on the ethical,
compass at the very core of our being. Ethical decisions are
informed by peoples’ understanding of the ethics involve their
bodies, soul, mind, community, which are enacted every day in our
vocations.
Ethical
Foundations
A discussion of ethical foundations that inform my
decisions begins with looking at several theories of ethics. The
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 3
ethical framework which most closely aligns to my personal
beliefs is the “Divine Command” Theories (Hinman, 2006). This
allows a framework around which core ethical values can operate.
This theory states that what is ethical is what is commanded by
God. When God’s commands from the Bible are being followed then
behavior is considered ethical.
The ethics around which I build my life are a dynamic,
living, breathing interaction. Bonehoeffer’s (1995) views of the
coldness of the law the Pharisee’s were living under, are in
sense, the same ethics and law I would adhere to. It is taking
the cold law and allowing it to guide and inform life by adding
love and warmth to it. It is a daily, almost moment by moment
interaction with ethical standards at any given moment. It
involves checking a given standard against the Bible,
commentaries, and older Christians that are trustworthy. It is
definitely a process, not a static. It involves using my
Christian Reformed conservative upbringing and adding to that my
sense of understanding that I have wrestled with.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 4
My framework, according to Brown University site, Ethical
Framework, is a “Virtue Framework” (Bonde & Firenze, 2013). In
the Virtue Framework, there is the attempt to identify the
character traits (either positive or negative) that might
motivate in a given situation. Individuals are concerned with
what kind of person they should be, and what our actions indicate
about character. Ethical behavior is defined as whatever a
virtuous person would do in a situation. The real test is if my
motivations align with the will of God. In a sense it is
emptying of self and allowing Him to guide. Even in situations of
total failure, I believe that if my goal is His will and if I am
totally honest and believe that is what I am doing, then He knows
my heart, and I can rest in that.
The key ethical character traits I adhere to are: 1.
Integrity: You are true to what you say. 2. Trustworthy: Are you
able to be relied upon? Is your word honorable? Finally, 3. The
Golden Rule.
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“The Ethics of Conscience Theory” has played out in life
numerous times when I encounter situations where I hear the small
voice telling me that something isn’t “right”, or I shouldn’t be
engaging in some particular activity (Hinman, 2006). In “Ethical
Egotism” I am watchful for the “dying to self” (Mark 8:35) and in
the living for Christ (Hinman, 2006). “The Ethical Theory of
Duty” has also been operational in my life as I have grown up in
very ethical system and have had this applied to my life (Hinman,
2006). I believe that what I strive for is not doing something
“right” just because it’s “right” but because there is a Biblical
connection to it. “The Ethics of Rights” (Hinman, 2006) where
everyone has certain rights just because they are in the world is
important, but I tend to place more emphasis on it from the
reasoning of the Golden Rule, not just because of the fact
because you were born therefore you have these given rights. The
“Ethics of Justice” (Hinman, 2006) also is fraught with problems
due to its inconsistencies in the ways people are treated. Every
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 6
situation in life is different especially as lives have become
more and more complicated.
I believe it is vocational leadership that calls focus to
the importance of ethical practices. These would be leaders that
freely admit mistakes, hold all to accountability, and do their
best to model best ethical decisions and practices. This is
ethics in the workplace, and is putting the framework into
action. It is in a vocational setting that we use the ethics of
our bodies to be engaged in.
An Ethical Body
Ethics and ethical decisions are played out in a body
that is well cared for, so that the body may provide service in
the kingdom of God. Adequate nutrition, balanced diet, modest
dress, moderate living, etc. all factor in to ethically living
and caring for your body. At the core of ethical decision making
is the question: “am I responsibly using my body in a way that
will allow God to shine forth?” Or another “am I denying what I
want and allowing Him control?” We are to present ourselves a
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 7
holy, living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). As Willard (2003) says
“when Jesus taught about discipleship, he made it very clear that
one could not be the servant of the body and its demands and also
succeed in His course of training. This is the meaning of what He
said about denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and "losing
our life" for His sake.” In very simplistic terms, people may
want to live life on their own terms, (drugs, drinking, eating,
whatever) but when a life is turned over to Christ, the
individual loses control.
To be at its ethical best, the body should be at full
capacity to love and serve. This may differ for each person. For
example, Disability Advocate Joni Eareckson Tada, has been a
quadriplegic since the age of 17. Her body though laden with a
severe disability is still being used to its’ ethical best. She
also recognizes that part of her life is bound up with
suffering,” God really puts suffering front and center. He
doesn't get squeamish about it”(Brainyquote, n.d.). She is able
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 8
to recognize that although a body isn’t perfect, and there is
suffering involved, people are still able to serve.
The ethical view of body will influence vocational calling
as well communal living. Lives are rarely lived in isolation. Our
lives function only in community, and through community comes the
ability to live out Christianity. Palmer (1994) acknowledges that
we need to stay “connected to the community in which we find
life, for it understands that relationships are necessary if we
are to thrive” (p.33). This means that part of being an ethical
community member is that I am my brother’s keeper, encourager,
and sustainer, and that there is a responsibility for his ethical
body as well as my own. So, as community members there is need
to encourage a friend to stick to his diet, an office mate to
continue walking, and a friend to take her vitamins. There is no
part of this life that is not intricately woven into people,
their lives, and those communities.
Part of decision making is the understanding of how our
lives and bodies are affected by an ethical decision making
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 9
process. Living into Focus by Arthur Boers, prompts society to make
mindful decisions in the area of media usage. Society needs to be
conscious of how the use of television, movies, and computers can
quietly slip into mainstream life without conscientious thought.
Similarly, ethical considerations around the choice of foods, the
amount of exercise, or other alternatives that simply “slip in”
without thoughtful choice, needs to be paid attention to.
God created us as whole beings, with an integration of body,
mind, spirit and soul. To place the ethics of mind over the
ethics of the body is not God’s intention. Individuals must be
just as careful with the ethical intentions concerning the body,
as with ethical intentions around the mind or soul. We were
created as holistic beings, to serve God in all the areas of our
lives.
An Ethical Mind
In acknowledging our creation as holistically created
beings, and our charge to “… love the LORD your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5,
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 10
NIV); there is need to study the ethical principles around our
minds and have decision making principles applied to those areas
as well.
The connection between our minds and bodies needs to be a
well-planned, developed system that allows for each person to
clearly know and understand their values. As Willard (2003)
explained it “the spiritual side of the human being, Christian
and non-Christian alike, develops into the reality which it
becomes, for good or ill”(para.3 ). When there is a well-
developed ethical plan, then the body will automatically respond
at an ethical decision point. For example, there was a young girl
who sang at a professional basketball game. Obviously well-
rehearsed and excited to be singing in front of a stadium, she
came out to sing the National Anthem, and, forgot the words.
Maurice Cheeks (2003), coach of the Trail Blazers, immediately
without a moment’s hesitation stepped out, put his arm around
her, and began to help her by singing along. He had the entire
crowd joining in, and helped her complete the song. When ethical
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 11
values are firmly cemented and the knowledge of what you stand
for (mind) then the body will automatically and without
hesitation act in perfect harmony. We were designed to move and
react in perfect synchronization within all systems. Most
businesses’ leadership staff are generally more advanced in
years. Not because they can do the work better than someone else
younger, but because they have also had time to carefully work
through their value and belief system. Now these leaders are
better prepared to model. When they come into those decision
points in their careers, the mind has already decided and the
body follows.
Rationality plays a large part in our study of ethical
minds. We were created as creatures of reason. People should
understand their beliefs, and be able to explain them, and why
they believe them. At some point in life our beliefs shouldn’t
simply be the beliefs of our parents, ancestors, or ethnic group,
but each individual should be able to rationally discuss their
core values and ethics. Just as at some point young adults begin
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 12
to start their own households, as mentally young adults, part of
the process of the mind development must be in being able to
articulate our thoughts, beliefs and ethical perspectives.
Thoughts drive who we are and how we behave, it is imperative in
our mental development to formulate these ideas. The unity of
mind and body, melds all of our actions. If we believe in helping
our neighbor (true help, not just tossing ten dollars out the
window at a homeless person) then it actually means we have stop
our car, get out, interact, and develop relationships. As Willard
(2003) says about the transformation of our minds: “It is in our
thoughts that the first movements toward the renovation of the
heart occur. Thoughts are the place where we can and must begin
to change.” (para. 1) We need to be able to think and articulate
accurately by using our ethical minds. As Willard (2003) states
“What is thinking? It is the activity of searching out what must
be true, or cannot be true, in light of given facts or
assumptions. It extends the information we have and enables us to
see the larger picture, both clearly and wholly. It reveals
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 13
falseness, inaccuracy and error to those who wish to know. It is
a powerful gift of God to be used in the service of truth” (para.
18).
In allowing our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls to relate
as they were intended, we need to be mindful, of developing each
of these areas to our full potential, in our service to our
Creator. This means that we intentionally and rationally develop
our minds, and allow our predetermined ethical stance to guide
us. This happens minute by minute, hour by hour as thoughtful
decisions are played out in lives.
Ethical Soul
An ethical soul is more than our bodies, intellects, or
emotions. It is that ethereal part of ourselves that in the
Christian tradition is believed to be immortal. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church teaches that” ‘soul’ also refers to the
innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him,
that by which he is most especially in God's image: "soul"
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 14
signifies the spiritual principle in man” (Cathechism of the
Catholic Church).
Some characteristics of this ethereal part of ourselves are
as Palmer (2006) identifies: “Like a wild animal, the soul is
tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient: it
knows how to survive in hard places…” (Palmer, p58). He points
here to the resilient nature of soul or spirit. The soul, also a
home of our spiritual sides as mentioned by Willard “soul is here
defined as the hidden or 'spiritual' side of the person. It
includes an individual's thoughts and feelings, along with heart
or will, with its intents and choices. It also includes an
individual's bodily life and social relations, which, in their
inner meaning and nature, are just as 'hidden' as the thoughts
and feelings (Willard, 2006). Willard echoes the Catholic
Churches stance on the spirituality of the soul. We were created
as integrated beings, both body (dust of the earth) and soul
(breath of life). “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 15
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life,
and the man became a living being”(Gen. 2:7).
Even though the soul or spirit is a hidden entity, there
still exists a strong pull and tug between it and our bodies. As
the apostle Paul noted concerning the duality of our natures, and
the constant fighting with our sinful nature “That which I would
not that I do” (Rom. 7:19). Our souls are constantly being
attacked and it behooves us to put on the full gospel armor.
Situations where the soul struggles are many in our modern lives.
There are many situations especially in technology related areas,
besides the pornographic sites which are damaging; that subtlety
(or overtly) slip in sexual innuendos. Unless sensitivity to
these innuendos is preserved they may entirely slip by, and may
even become acceptable and allowed. To allow for the ethics of
our souls, the spirit must constantly be on guard and vigilant.
An attitude where “turn my eyes away from worthless things”
(Ps.119:37) needs to held. Even in our worldly vocations the
propensity toward unethical acts is rampant. This may be because
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even ethical people may not yet be congruent in their thought
and action beliefs. This battle rages every day, every minute
inside each person. It requires judgment calls continually. As
Palmer (2004) noted ”we are continually engaged in the evolution
of self and world—and we have the power to choose, moment by
moment, between that which gives life and that which deals death”
(Palmer, 2004, p. 48).
There are places where the soul is predisposed toward
unethical acts, but there are places that can be edifying to the
soul as well. Places such as a trustworthy friend’s home. Friends
are a source of edification or building of spirit, “by their
fruit you will recognize them” (Matt 7:16). Entire school
systems, churches, Bible studies, nature walks, quiet time, all
of these are potentially edifying times for the spirit. Even the
choice of books that you read can allow the soul to flourish. For
instance, someone offered me the book “Shades of Grey” and
although I was intrigued because I knew it was a popular book,
instead I chose “Falling Upward” by Richard Rohr about the soul
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 17
in the second half of life. The difference is that although I did
not choose the popular book, the one I did choose has been
continually feeding me even though it was over a year ago that I
read it. Soul edifying decisions have lasting value in our lives,
they allow for the connection to deepen between mind and body.
The soul or spirit is quiet, hidden and ethereal, but do
not take that to mean that the soul is weak or not resourceful.
The soul must be always on alert in the world to which we belong,
at the same time the balance to that is to find ways in which the
soul can renew and flourish.
The Ethics of Family and Community Care
Maintaining a balance ethically between family and
vocational life is a delicate line. It is a balance between
saying that family is first above work, yet when arriving home
with work that still needs to be accomplished, and emails to be
answered; it is a different message being sent. On emails in
general Boer says “email and other contemporary communication
forms displace and hollow out collegial relationships and
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 18
informal interactions, and then they leave us less prepared to
deal with each other when problems arise” (2012, p.115). If
family values are truly at the core of beliefs then parents need
to be careful about the message being sent to children. Borgman
(2006) echoes this when he say "Your home grounds your life most
immediately, and it's also the sphere of life where you have most
discretion and responsibility"(p.164).
As the role of family involves responsibility to core
purposes, so does the role played in vocations. Palmer suggests
that to sustain and align our responsibilities we need a “Circle
of Trust”. These are trustworthy people that will hold us for an
extended time period, in prayerful contemplation. This “Circle of
Trust” would be formed if there were a time we needed to search
for God’s will. These individuals would understand the situation
for which you are seeking clarification. "A circle of trust can
form wherever two or three are gathered—as long as those two or
three known how to create and protect a space for the soul”
(Palmer, 2004 p.63). This typically does not happen in work
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situations, although if it did, if we were able to connect souls
to vocations amazing things could happen.
The role of culture also plays a function in vocational
life. Borgmann explains our culture in terms of commodification.
Borgmann identifies this as an economy detached from the moral
restraints of time, place, and community (2006, p. 158). Our
society has become rampant consumers of not only technology, but
of “stuff” as well. People have become so accustomed to running
to the grocery store for anything needed, that the sensation of
need is almost being entirely eliminated. Boers(2006) expounds on
this when he says, we want things in life that are: “easily,
uniformly, and immediately available” ( p.6). The authors: Boers
(2012), Bonhoeffer (1954), Borgmann (2006) and Palmer (2004),
agree that the fundamental issue with our cultural is that our
society is so outwardly focused, that as a society we are missing
out on the quiet, centering purposes that will direct life paths.
My personal ethical orientation is closely linked to my
communal and cultural background, as the beliefs that I have and
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 20
continue to uphold are very close to those of my community. For
example, I grew up in South California, in a small Dutch
community heavily populated with immigrants and those associated
with the Christian Reformed Church. My father was a Christian
School teacher for the same school system that was tied to this
particular denomination. We then moved up to Central California,
where again we lived in a small Dutch community, attended the
Christian School, and went to the same denominations’ Christian
Church. When I graduated, I moved to Michigan to attend Calvin
College which is a college also tied to the denomination. I was
fully and completely grounded in the ethic and ethical stance of
my community. That is not to say there wasn’t a time in life
where I needed to make those ethics mine, and make the decision
to either stand upon them or step off. Over the years, I have
accepted some of those doctrines and allowed others that didn’t
fit with my beliefs to drop. One thing I was afforded though was
a very strong ethical framework on which to make my decisions.
People need a firm foundation from which to build, and then allow
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 21
ethics and communal relationships to develop around this, and
enhance it. These ethical frameworks give a foundation, and build
across novel situations in where there is exposure to cross
cultural situations. Burleson echoes this sentiment when she says
“In order to know who you are, you most first understand where
you come from” (Burleson, 2015).
Humans are not all different “races”; rather all are parts
of the greater whole which is humanity. “Caucasians, Africans,
Asians, Indians, Arabs, and Jews are not different races.
Rather, they are different ethnicities of the human race” (Abba
A, Cummings D, Hawkins E, and Vest E, 2015).
Ethics play a strong role in connecting family and
community. In fact communities can come to be defined by the
ethical values they hold. That certain communities hold certain
ethical standards is not a bad thing when the community supports
individuals and allows them to find their own truth, with the
encouragement of the community.
Duties of Ethical Vocational
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Most of our lives are spent at work and in work related
situations. We have an influence on the world, so it is important
that individuals develop a strong ethical framework from which to
vocationally serve. Our vocations are our calling from God. Just
as surely as a priest receives a call to go into the ministry, we
too have been called to serve. Bonhoeffer (1995) says “the
calling is the call of Jesus Christ to belong wholly to Him; it
is the laying claim to me by Christ at the place at which this
call has found me; it embraces work with things and relations
with persons” (p. 253). He goes on to say that all we accomplish
in the scope of work becomes part of our calling, and our
offering up to God. Markie (1994) echoes the fact that there is a
need to be ethical in the specifics of a teaching position, “we
have ethical obligations to our students, our colleagues, our
university, and in general to all those who join us in the
activity of higher education” (p.7).
The ethics of our body engages with our vocations in that
teachers and professors need energy to plan, develop and deliver
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 23
a classroom atmosphere that promotes and engages learners. Our
ethics of mind intersects with our vocations as Markie mentions”
the ethical dimension concerns how responsibly we use our
talents” (1994, p. 11).We have been blessed with talents of the
mind to be serving in a university setting, and we need to be
using those to best of our abilities. Finally, the ethics of our
soul interacts with our vocations by concentrating “in college
teaching…not on the basic teaching obligations that go with being
a professor, but on the ethical virtues that characterize an
ethically good teacher” (1994, p.13). These viewpoints on body,
soul, mind and community ultimately guide my decisions an
educator in today’s society.
PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 24
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http://brown.edu/academics/science-and-technology-studies/fr
amework-making-ethical-decisions
Bonhoeffer, D. (1995). Ethics. (N. H. Smith, Trans.). New York, NY:
Touchstone.
Borgmann, A. (2006). Real American ethics: Taking responsibility for our country.
Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Hinman, L. M. (2006). Ethics Updates [PowerPoint slides].
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PROFESSIONAL ETHICS STATEMENT 25
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