Introduction to Ethics - Session 1

Sean Doherty

- 7 minutes read - 1282 words

Introduction to the module

In the language of Romans 12, Christians are called to live according to God’s ‘good, perfect and pleasing will’ in joyful response to what God has done for us in Christ (‘in view of God’s mercy’). This requires ‘discernment’. That is, it is not an automatic process, but an intentional one to which Christians individually and the church corporately must give their attention.

This module offers you the opportunity to grow in that process of discernment, recognising that you will bring experience and wisdom into the module but seeking to bring that experience into deeper conversation with the Christian tradition of moral thought.

The module begins by examining contemporary ethical approaches, before exploring how we should draw on the Bible and the Christian tradition in order to discern God’s will. This is then brought to bear on a couple of contemporary moral issues. The aim is that by studying this small selection, you will be equipped to apply what you have learned to other areas.

The module page below gives guidance on how to prepare for the sessions by suggesting preparatory reading. Each section also includes a range of reading material that will help you reflect on the issues explored in the sessions and complete the assignment.

Key

  • Suggested preparatory reading specifies basic material which you may choose to study in advance of the relevant session. This material has been selected with its online accessibility in mind.

  • Further Reading specifies additional resources that you would benefit from consulting before or after a session, especially if you choose an assignment on this topic.

  • Hub: There are also eBooks on ethics available on the Common Awards hub here.

Introduction to session 1

The first part of this session aims to introduce students to the aims and presuppositions of the module, and to set some ground rules for discussion of sensitive topics. The second half will give an overview of some of the approaches to ethics and morality most influential on contemporary culture and therefore ourselves, and give students the opportunity to assess them critically from a biblical and theological perspective.

Suggested Preparatory Reading

  • BONHOEFFER, Dietrich, Discipleship, chapter 1, 'Costly Grace.' On DTL as The Cost of Discipleship.

Dictionaries of Christian ethics:

  • ATKINSON, David J. & David Field (eds.), New Dictionary of Christian Ethics and Pastoral Theology. Leicester: IVP, 1995. Also on DTL.

  • GREEN, Joel B, Jacqueline E Lapsley, Rebekah Miles and Allan Verhey (eds.), Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics. On Perlego and DTL.

  • MACQUARRIE, John & James Childress (eds.), A New Dictionary of Christian Ethics. London: SCM, 1986. On DTL as The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics.

There are many good introductory textbooks and readers, such as:

  • DOWLER, Edward, SCM Core Text: Theological Ethics. London, SCM, 2011. Available on Moodle via Hub > Online books > SCM Books.

  • FLOYD-THOMAS, Stacey M., and Miguel A. De La Torre (eds. ), Beyond the Pale: Reading Ethics from the Margins (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Pres, 2011).

  • GILL, Robin (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics Second Edition. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).

  • GILL, Robin (ed.), A Textbook of Christian Ethics. Multiple editions, most recently Fourth (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014).

  • JUNKER-KENNY, Maureen, Approaches to Theological Ethics: Sources, Traditions, Visions (London: T&T Clark, 2019).

  • KUNHIYOP, Samuel Waje, African Christian Ethics (Nairobi, Bukuru & Grand Rapids: Hippo Books, an imprint of WordAlive, ACTS and Zondervan, 2008).

  • MESSER, Neil, SCM Study Guide to Christian Ethics. London: SCM, 2006.

  • OTT MARSHALL, Ellen, Introduction to Christian Ethics: Conflict, Faith, and Human Life (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018).

  • WELLS, Samuel and Ben Quash (eds.), Introducing Christian Ethics. Second Edition. Oxford: Blackwell, 2017. Also on DTL. Wells and Quash have also produced a helpful companion volume, an Introductory Reader to Christian Ethics.

  • WELLS, Samuel. and HAUERWAS, Stanley (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004 | 2006). Also on DTL.

The Cambridge University Press Series, New Studies in Christian Ethics is available on DTL and worth searching on various topics.

Further Reading on the nature of Christian ethics

  • *GREEN, Bradley G., Covenant and Commandment: Works, Obedience and Faithfulness in the Christian Life. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2014. Also on DTL.

  • LEE, Hak Joon, Christian Ethics: A New Covenant Model. Eerdmans, 2021, especially Part 1. Also contains chapters/sections on most of the topics covered in this module, and many others.

  • *HAUERWAS, Stanley, and WELLS, Samuel, ‘Why Christian Ethics was Invented’ Chapter 3 in The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics. Oxford: Blackwell, 2004. See also, 'How Christian Ethics Came to Be.' Available on DTL.

  • HUBBARD, Scott, 'Grace Is Not a Thing: Why Spiritual Renewal Begins with a Him.' October 25, 2020.

  • IKECHUKWU ODOZOR, Paulinus, Morality Truly Christian, Truly African: Foundational, Methodological, and Theological Considerations. University of Notre Dame Press, 2014. On DTL.

  • LIPSETT, B. Diane, and Phyllis Trible, Faith and Feminism: Ecumenical Essays. Presbyterian Publishing, 2014. Part 3: Theology and Ethics. Also on DTL.

  • *LUTHER, Martin, On the Freedom of a Christian and Two Kinds of Righteousness. LW v. 31, pp. 297-306. This is a fairly short, early sermon by Luther explaining both the difference between justification by faith and righteous deeds, but also the inseparable connection between them.

  • MAY Jr, Roy H, Ethics Without Principles: Another Possible Ethics - Perspectives from Latin America. Wipf and Stock, 2015.

  • O’DONOVAN, Oliver, Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics. Leicester: Apollos, 1994, pp. 11-30.

  • REED, Esther, The Genesis of Ethics: on the Authority of God as the Original of Christian Ethics. London: DLT, 2000, esp. chapters 3 and 5.

  • ROBB, Carol S, 'A Framework for Feminist Ethics' in From Christ to the World: Introductory Readings in Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), pp. 223-9. Available on DTL.

  • SCHUSSLER-FIORENZA, Elisabeth, 'Ethics and Feminist Theology' in Robin Gill (ed.), A Textbook of Christian Ethics. Multiple editions, most recently Fourth (London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2014), pp. 109-114.

Further reading on particular Christian moral concepts

  • BACOTE, Vincent, 'Natural Law: Friend of Common Grace?' in Natural Law and Evangelical Political Thought, eds. Jesse Covington, Bryan McGraw and Micah Watson (Lexington Books, 2012). Available on DTL.

  • COCHRAN, Elizabeth, Protestant Virtue and Stoic Ethics. 2017. Available on Perlego, and her book on Jonathan Edwards is on DTL.

  • JUNKER-KENNY, Maureen, Approaches to Theological Ethics: Sources, Traditions, Visions (London: T&T Clark, 2019).

  • LEBACQZ, Karen, 'Implications for a Theory of Justice' in From Christ to the World: Introductory Readings in Christian Ethics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994), pp. 254-60. Available on DTL.

  • MAINA, Wilson Muoha, The Making of an African Christian Ethics: Benézét Bujo and the Roman Catholic Moral Tradition. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2016. Especially chapter 2 on natural law and Bujo’s critique. On DTL.

  • PORTER, Jean, Justice as a Virtue: A Thomistic Perspective. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016.

  • WRIGHT, Tom, Virtue Reborn. London: SPCK, 2010.

Further reading on contemporary 'moral soundtracks'

Session 1 slides