How long were ethics and morality facets of human behavior before christianity came along to claim them as?

Question

it's own?

Answer 1

Scientists estimate that modern humans have been around for about 200,000 years now. And it's safe to assume that we have certainly always acted in accordance with a kind of behavioral code, however primative it may have been.

But you don't even need to stop at 200,000 years. Almost all animals today exhibit forms of ethics, in that their behavior usually follows established rules within their species and immediate groups. Think of wolves, ants, herds of buffalo, etc. There is no reason to assume that our early evolutionary ancestors behaved any differently (i.e. they also behaved according to a kind of societal codes).

Many animal species exhibit the ethic of reciprocity, for example. This is the genesis (pun intended) of the so-called "golden rule", which was nothing new when jesus supposedly advocated it.

And many scientists now believe that ethics such as reciprocity may be virtually imbedded in our genes (Dawkins' "selfish gene", as an example) as a result of evolution. In other words, animals and people who naturally behave selfishly by protecting themselves, their family or tribe members, or (ironically) by being kind to others, have probably been biologically more successful.

Written moral codes have probably existed for about as long as written language has existed (several thousand years now). The Code of Hammurabi goes back to almost 2000 BC, I believe. And the Egyptians and Chinese were "writing" long before that.

Answer 2

Did Christianity claim Ethics and Morality as it's own?

Even outside religion, you would still need to learn ethics and improve on you morals. It is a principle i think, of which most religions and even, the law of government around the world are based on.

Answer 3

The Code of Hammurabi of the Sumerian civilization dates to 1760 BCE. To my knowledge this is the first code of moral behavior that we have The code also contains the punishments for transgressing what was considered proper behavior.

Answer 4

Ethics and morality were put to the test in the beginning at the creation of mankind in the Garden of Eden. Guess what? They failed the test.

Answer 5

Many Christians realize that most of Jesus teaching was from the holy scripture of what is now the Old Testament. The way he delivered it, though, was far more radical.

Answer 6

I don't think Christianity ever maintained such a position. I'd be interested to see if you can support that claim.