Theological Ethics

Evil, Ethics, and the Imagination: An Interview with Richard Kearney, Part I

by Ronald A. Kuipers

Part I of an interview with the Philosopher Richard Kearney on the theme of evil.

David Clough and Michael Leyden, "Claiming Barth for Ethics: The Last Two Decades" in Ecclesiology vol. 6 number 2 (2010) 166-182

by Michael Leyden

Martin Wight on War: Towards a Better Understanding of the Enigma

by Lucas Freire

First draft only. ISA 53rd Annual Convention. San Diego: 1-4 April, 2012.

Martin Wight’s contribution to British IR is well-known. His radical defence of Christian pacifism is often contrasted... more Martin Wight’s contribution to British IR is well-known. His radical defence of Christian pacifism is often contrasted with his acute sense of ‘tragedy’ in the analysis of power politics. Such tension has been characterised as an ‘enigma’. Some have claimed that Wight changed his mind over time, labelling his position as ultimately ‘realist’ in the classical sense. However, this notion must be challenged in light of his own negative opinion on realism read against the religious and intellectual background of his work. In this paper it is argued that there is a considerable degree of continuity in Wight’s reflections on realism and war since the early pacifist phase. For this reason, judgement on whether or not Wight has abandoned pacifism later in his career should at least be suspended. However, a closer look at his statements which at first sight seem to support realism and to eschew pacifism actually opens up space for the opposing view that he remained sympathetic to pacifism and critical of realism even in the later years. In any case, it must be granted that his approach to activism considerably changed over time and that the whole issue was subsequently treated as a private matter.

Hagar: A Portrait of a Victim of Domestic Violence and Rape

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published on the Feminism and Religion Project.

This week Twitter has been a flurry with information for victims of  domestic violence and rape.  This... more This week Twitter has been a flurry with information for victims of  domestic violence and rape.  This ranges from the U.S. redefinition of rape to include men to Nigeria’s first anti-rape toll free hotline for women.  There is even a male movement to stand against rape.  This problem is an ongoing issue, one that shows no sign of diminishing or going away.  According to Amnesty International, one in three women worldwide have been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused and their abuser is normally someone they know.  As I contemplate this very difficult issue, I am reminded of the Biblical Hagar in Genesis 16. The story of Hagar and Sarai is abundant

Men Can Stop Rape (http://www.mencanstoprape.org/)

in ethical situations that draw in the reader and presents complex issues that can be very troublesome.  If you take the text hermeneutically, through an ideological examination in its English translation, we have an Egyptian woman, who is also referred to as slave or concubine, forced to engage into sex with her owner’s husband for producing an heir.  Here the abuser is a woman with a docile and obedient husband portrayed by Abram.  What can we  glean from such a story for today’s battered women?  Hope or horrific defeat?

David Newheiser, "Tradition, Novelty, and the Need for Discernment" (The Living Church, 29 Jan 2012).

by David Newheiser

A pdf for download may be found here: http://sites.google.com/site/dnewheiser/TLCexchange

"Moral Agents in the Built Environment: Performing the Ethical Function of Architecture through Interpretation

by Elise Edwards

Presented at the 2012 Society of Christian Ethics annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The task of architecture is usually understood as an aesthetic or utilitarian endeavor; my study of the ethical... more The task of architecture is usually understood as an aesthetic or utilitarian endeavor; my study of the ethical approach provides an expanded perspective.  Drawing from Karsten Harries’ The Ethical Function of Architecture, I argue that architecture presents interpretations of an ethos for a specific time and place.  Architecture’s ethical task can be performed by moral agents who interpret the built environment according to their community’s ethos and Christian conceptions of justice and human flourishing. Interpreters should assess whether architectural projects support justice and liberation goals as these interpreters respond to contextual and normative questions about their communities and specific buildings.  In the presentation of this paper, I use images from the US Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate how an interpreter would critique an architectural work in this way, determining if their built environment interprets an appropriate community ethos and serves the common good.

Theology is ethics: how Karl Barth sees the good life

by Andy Alexis-Baker

Alexis-Baker. "Theology Is Ethics: How Karl Barth Sees the Good Life." Scottish Journal of Theology 64, no. 4 (2011): 425–38.

Since Immanuel Kant, moral reasoning has been divorced from classical theology and reinscribed onto self-contained... more Since Immanuel Kant, moral reasoning has been divorced from classical theology and reinscribed onto self-contained individuals. Shorn of theological particularities, modern ethics tries to identify behaviors to which every right-thinking person can assent. A basic premise of classical moral philosophy, however, was that if we know who we are and what our telos is, then we can have a good idea of how we ought to act. In his Christology, Barth reappropriates this classical view of ethics and situates it christologically. Because Jesus' human nature finds its being and telos in his divinity, Barth found an ethical pattern in the anhypostasis-enhypostasis doctrine. Restoring people to their proper place as creatures rather than Kantian demi-gods, Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human by being obedient to the Father. We cannot divinize individuals or the church, but the church exists enhypostatically. This anhypostatic-enhypostatic Christological pattern orders our activities, making worship the first task of ethics. In prayer and in Sabbath keeping, Jesus shows us his utter dependence on God through supplication and rest. In these acts of worship, Christians act as they were created to act. We respond obediently to our Creator. But we also find an orientation toward other people in Christology. Love of enemies has everything to do with the content and shape of God’s command. It is involved in the telos of human life in being Christ-like.

Reforming Luther on Vocation

by Brandon Jones

Presented at the ETS 2009 Annual Meeting

Vocational theologies were once a popular and important part of Protestant worldviews, but they fell into hard times... more Vocational theologies were once a popular and important part of Protestant worldviews, but they fell into hard times during the last hundred years. There has recently been a resurgence of interest in vocational theologies, especially Neo-Calvinist ones. In this paper, I argue that Lutheran vocational theologies may be more beneficial to churches than their Neo-Calvinist counterparts are, but one predominant reading of Luther on vocation has stunted interest so far. This is unfortunate because a reassessment of Wingren's portrayal of Luther's vocational theology reveals that Luther's own vocational theology is not as suffering-driven or limited as Wingren makes it out to be. As a result, broader Lutheran accounts such as Meilaender's prove true to the Lutheran tradition and may offer better, and more realistic frameworks within which to reflect on work for churches today.

Théologie Orthodoxe et Modernité

by Georges NAHAS

Nahas, G. N. (avril-juin 2011). Théologie Orthodoxe et Modernité. In Contacts, No 234, France. (Déjà publié en juin 2010) in Service Orthodoxe de Presse (SOP), No 349, France)

En tant normal, l’Eglise vit son existence dans le monde dans un climat de tension inhérent au fait qu’elle est dans... more En tant normal, l’Eglise vit son existence dans le monde dans un climat de tension inhérent au fait qu’elle est dans ce monde sans lui appartenir suivant les propres paroles du Christ. Au vingtième siècle, l’Eglise fut mise à vive épreuve et ceci est dû à une multitude de facteurs historiques, politiques, culturels etc. L’Eglise Orthodoxe en particulier a connu des pressions allant jusqu’à la persécution, des exodes massives qui l’obligent à repenser ses structures canoniques déjà centenaires, et enfin un défi universel au niveau de la pensée philosophique et sociale qui mène le croyant à se poser des questions légitimes tels que :
-          Est-ce qu’il y a contradiction entre la théologie orthodoxe et la Modernité ?
-          Est-ce qu’un tiraillement existe vraiment entre la Tradition et la Pensée Moderne ?
-          Est-ce que l’Orthodoxie est faite pour un témoignage qui dépasse dans ses fondements le temps et l’espace ?
Cet article essaiera dans un premier temps de contextualiser le problème, puis d’exposer ce qui peut être considéré comme les trois éléments de base de la Tradition Orthodoxe et qui serviront à répondre aux questions posées à partir de trois exemples (Personne et Société, Ethique et Morale, Corps et Chair) afin de ne pas rester dans les généralités théoriques.
En conclusion, l’article soulignera ce qui suit :
a.      La théologie orthodoxe a le potentiel d’entrer en dialogue avec la Modernité. Mais ce potentiel a besoin d’être développé et mis en évidence comme un effort commun de l’Eglise Orthodoxe, Une et Catholique.
b.      L’Eglise orthodoxe a besoin de créer des forums de discussion entre pasteurs, hommes et femmes de sciences, hommes et femmes de bonne foi, jeunes gens et jeunes filles, sociologues et pédagogues, afin d’élaborer dans la continuité une vision d’avenir.
c.      La vie de l’Eglise Orthodoxe est régie par la Foi, les Ecritures Saintes et la Tradition Vivante. C’est au nom de l’ouverture avec laquelle sa théologie a su harmoniser ces différentes composantes de son message qu’elle est appelée à dialoguer avec la Modernité.

A Teologia Política da Missão Integral no Brasil e a Filosofia Social Reformacional: Aproximações.

by Guilherme de Carvalho

CARVALHO, G. V. R. A Teologia Política da Missão Integral no Brasil e a Filosofia Social Reformacional: Aproximações. In: CARVALHO, G. V. R. (Org.); LEITE, Cláudio A. C. (Org.); CUNHA, M. J. S. (Org.). Cosmovisão Cristã e Transformação: Espiritualidade, Razão e Ordem Social. 1 ed. Viçosa: Ultimato, 2006, v. , p. 237-276.
ISBN: 978-85-86539-93-0

Diálogo crítico entre o pensamento político neocalvinista e a teologia política da missão integral no Brasil,... more Diálogo crítico entre o pensamento político neocalvinista e a teologia política da missão integral no Brasil, destacando os problemas da influência do pensamento de esquerda sobre a política cristã e os caminhos para sua correção.

O Dualismo Natureza/Graça e a Influência do Humanismo Secular no Pensamento Social Cristão

by Guilherme de Carvalho

CARVALHO, G. V. R. O Dualismo Natureza/Graça e a Influência do Humanismo Secular no Pensamento Social Cristão. In: O Dualismo Natureza/Graça e a Influência do Humanismo Secular no Pensamento Social Cristão. (Org.). Cosmovisão Cristã e Transformação: Espiritualidade, Razão e Ordem Social. 1 ed. Viçosa: Ultimato, 2006, v. , p. 123-173.
Número da revisão: 1; ISBN: 978-85-86539-93-0

Uma aplicação da análise Dooyeweerdiana dos motivos-base da cultura ocidental ao problema do desenvolvimento do... more Uma aplicação da análise Dooyeweerdiana dos motivos-base da cultura ocidental ao problema do desenvolvimento do pensamento social cristão no século XX, focalizando a teologia da libertação e o ensino social da Igreja Católica Romana.

O Senhorio de Cristo e a Missão da Igreja na Cultura: A Idéia de Soberania e sua Aplicação

by Guilherme de Carvalho

CARVALHO, G. V. R., O Senhorio de Cristo e a Missão da Igreja na Cultura: A Idéia de Soberania e sua Aplicação. Em: Fé Cristã e Cultura Contemporânea: cosmovisão cristã, igreja local e transformação integral. Viçosa: Ultimato, 2009, p. 57-95. Em:
RAMOS, Leonardo, CAMARGO, Marcel, AMORIM, Rodolfo (Organizadores). Fé Cristã e Cultura Contemporânea: cosmovisão cristã, igreja local e transformação integral. Viçosa: Ultimato, 2009, 219 p. ISBN 978-85-7779-030-2 [Add to Citavi project by ISBN]

Continuação das discussões da rede sobre cosmovisão cristã e transformação. O volume contempla temas de missão... more Continuação das discussões da rede sobre cosmovisão cristã e transformação. O volume contempla temas de missão integral, teologia bíblica, política, psicologia, economia e arte. Eu contribuo com os dois primeiros capítulos, que problematizam o paradigma evangélico de missão integral propondo uma abordagem teologicamente mais definida, a partir da tradição neocalvinista.

'Consuming the Body: Contemporary Patterns of Drug Use & Theological Anthropology,' in Public Theology in Cultural Engagement, ed. Stephen Holmes (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2008), pp. 94-130.

by Luke Bretherton

El paradigma autónomo teónomo: Una alternativa para fundamentar la moral en el protestantismo latinoamericano.

by Luis Tapia

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo buscar una alternativa al problema la fundamentación de la moral en el... more El presente artículo tiene como objetivo buscar una alternativa al problema la fundamentación de la moral en el contexto cristiano protestante/evangélico latinoamericano. Se presentan los paradigmas dominantes en la fundamentación de la moral cristiana y se propone el paradigma autónomo teónomo como alternativa de solución. Finalmente se ofrecen algunas correcciones teológicas como ayuda para que las comunidades protestantes y evangélicas latinoamericanas puedan aceptar dicho paradigma.

The Catholic Way of Treating Animals: why God gave us animals and not machines

by Cheryl Abbate

To be human is to be free: a protestant contribution to the discourse on human dignity

by Willem Fourie

God in the Cave: A Look Back at Robert Adams' Finite and Infinite Goods

by James Wetzel

Published in the Journal of Religious Ethics

God in the Cave: A Look Back at Robert Merrihew Adams, Finite and Infinite Goods

When Finite and Infinite... more God in the Cave: A Look Back at Robert Merrihew Adams, Finite and Infinite Goods

When Finite and Infinite Goods was published in 1999, it took its place as one of the few major statements of a broadly Augustinian ethical philosophy of the past century. By ‘broadly Augustinian’ I refer to the disposition to combine a Platonic emphasis on a transcendent source of value with a traditionally theistic emphasis on the value-creating capacities of absolute will. In the form that this disposition takes with Robert Merrihew Adams, it is the resemblance between divine and a finite excellence that makes the finite excellence objectively of value, and it the correspondence of an obligation to a divine command that makes the obligation objectively obligatory. I look closely at the complexity of this ethical division of labor—between the good and the right—mainly as it appears in the context of Finite and Infinite Goods, but also with attention to the broader corpus of Adams’ writings, particularly his work on Leibniz and the essays of his that have been gathered together in The Virtue of Faith. I argue that there is a creative tension in his work between his desire to secure an objective basis for ethics and his affirmation of the value of grace, a love that is not proportioned to the excellence of its object. This tension, I further argue, ought to be resolved in the direction of grace.

Review of Bryan N. Massingale, Racial Justice and the Catholic Church (Orbis Books, 2009)

by Michael Iafrate

published in the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion, 2010

Destructive Obedience: U.S. Military Training and Culture as a Parody of Christian Discipleship

by Michael Iafrate

The Conrad Grebel Review 29.2 (Spring 2011): 4–30.

Using the theme of “discipleship” found in the witness of the peace churches but neglected in Roman Catholic theology,... more Using the theme of “discipleship” found in the witness of the peace churches but neglected in Roman Catholic theology, this paper interrogates concrete practices of military training and culture in the contemporary United States. Viewed through the lens of discipleship, military training is described as a process of discipleship in its own right, including practices of conversion and deliberate conscience (de-)formation that are fundamentally at odds with Christian discipleship and ultimately destructive to both the soldier and the victims of the US military. American Catholics can learn much from the peace churches in terms of ecclesial praxis for resisting the "destructive obedience" that is central to military discipleship.

What is the relationship between religion and morality?

by Lawrence Lazarus