Elements of a Decision Procedure for Christian Social Ethics

1972 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Decision Procedure ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Ideal Observer ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
The Way

Several philosophers have observed an affinity between a role that an understanding of God has in Christian ethics and a role of an ideal observer in their own ethical theory. R. M. Hare has even gone so far as to assert that, “Since for many Christians God occupies the role of ‘ideal observer,’ the moral judgments which they make may be expected to coincide with those arrived at by the method of reasoning which I am advocating.” Now, Hare is correct in observing that God and an ideal observer have certain characteristics in common. But God is not simply an ideal observer. And some of the differences between God and an ideal observer may be as important as the similarities for the way in which Christians make moral judgments. It is therefore somewhat hasty of Hare to assume that his method of reasoning is identical to the method of reasoning appropriate in Christian ethics.

Ethics in Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Bulley
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Policy Context ◽  
Ethical Norms ◽  
Policy Arena ◽  
The Way

Ethics and foreign policy have long been considered different arenas, which can only be bridged with great analytical and practical difficulty. However, with the rise of post-positivist approaches to foreign policy, much greater attention has been paid to the way that ethical norms and moral values are embedded within the way states understand their own actions and interests, both enabling and constraining their behavior. Turning to these approaches raises a different question to whether ethics and foreign policy can mix, that of how best to understand, analyze, and critique the role that ethics inevitably play within foreign policy making? What are required are perspectives which, instead of constructing an ethical theory in the abstract and applying it to a concrete situation, start from the ethics of the foreign policy arena itself. Two ways of looking at ethics are especially useful in this regard: a virtue-ethics approach and a relational-ethics approach. These can be best explored by observing how they work in a particular foreign policy context, such as the highly controversial U.K. decision to join the invasion and occupation of Iraq from 2003. This was a policy where ethics came particularly to the fore in both the decision-making process and its justification. The case study can therefore help show the types of questions virtue and relational ethics ask, the way they work as analytical and critical frameworks, and the problems they raise for the role of ethics in foreign policy. They also point toward important future directions for research in the area.

The Contribution of John Howard Yoder to Recent Discussions in Christian Social Ethics

1992 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-399
Author(s):  
Joel Zimbelman
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
John Howard Yoder ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
The North ◽  
Interpretive Method ◽  
John Howard ◽  
Theological Vision

The publication ofThe Politics of Jesusin 1972 established John Howard Voder as the most intellectually compelling, critical, and constructive Mennonite theologian of this generation. In that volume, Voder articulated an interpretive method and a substantive doctrinal position that affirmed his sectarian and ‘restoration’ theological vision but at the same time gained him a serious hearing in several corners of the North American Christian community. His recent tenure as President of the Society of Christian Ethics and appointment in the Department of Theology at Notre Dame University are only two examples of his standing among ecumenically-minded Christians.

Sociological Self-Knowledge, Critical Realism, and Christian Ethics

2020 ◽  
pp. 095394682098407
Author(s):  
David Cloutier
Keyword(s):  
Critical Realism ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Alasdair Macintyre ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Self Knowledge

In his 2016 book, Ethics in the Conflicts of Modernity, Alasdair MacIntyre spends considerable time discussing how disputes between different moral theorists and different forms of practice might be adjudicated. A crucial addition to the tradition-constituted historical narrative approach of Whose Justice? Which Rationality? is his introduction of what he calls ‘sociological self-knowledge’. The present article outlines what MacIntyre means by this and suggests that his approach here dovetails well with Christian ethicists who have advocated the use of critical realist sociology in Christian ethics. MacIntyre’s account stresses the importance of ‘a grasp of the nature of the roles and relationships in which one is involved’, a grasp helpfully conceptualized by critical realists. Daniel Finn also notes that the use of critical realism to analyze structures must be paired with a basic typology, and MacIntyre’s sociological self-knowledge, I argue, rests on precisely such a typology between two different types of moral practices. The article concludes by suggesting much more attention be paid to these ‘moral-social’ analyses when addressing apparently intractable disagreements in Christian social ethics.

scholarly journals Perempuan dan Kepemimpinan Gereja: Suatu Dialog Perspektif Hermeneutika Feminis

Kurios ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 114
Author(s):  
Bobby Kurnia Putrawan
Keyword(s):  
Church Leadership ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Theological Study ◽  
Feminist Hermeneutics ◽  
The Church

The feminist movement became a movement that moved and challenged the church from the comfort of male domination. The role of women is increasingly strengthened and developed in various aspects of life, including aspects of church leadership. This resulted in debates among male-dominated church leaders; whether women's leadership roles can be accepted or rejected. This article is presented to add to the theological study of women and their leadership in the church through the perspective of feminist hermeneutics while upholding respect and authority for the Bible. The method used is grammar-accommodative, which is a combination of grammatical understanding of the text and translatively translated. Finally, the involvement of women in the formation of Christian social ethics in the future will broaden the horizon of understanding the interaction of women and men in social structures and ecclesiastics. Abstrak Gerakan feminis menjadi sebuah gerakan yang menggugah dan meng-gugat gereja dari kenyamanannya dominasi laki-laki. Peranan perempuan semakin diperkuat dan dikembangkan di pelbagai aspek kehidupan, termasuk aspek kepemimpinan gereja. Hal ini ini berdampak perdebatan di kalangan pimpinan gereja yang didominasi laki-laki; apakah peranan kepemimpinan perempuan bisa diterima atau ditolak. Artikel ini disajikan untuk menambah kajian teologis mengenai perempuan dan kepemimpinannya di gereja melalui perspektif hermeneutika feminis, dengan tetap menjunjung tinggi penghargaan dan otoritas terhadap Alkitab. Metode yang digunakan adalah grammar-akomodatif, yang merupakan perpaduan pengertian teks secara gramatikal dan diterjemahkan secara akomo-datif. Akhirnya, keterlibatan perempuan ke dalam pembentukan etika sosial Kristen di masa depan akan memperluas cakrawala pemahaman tentang interaksi perempuan dan laki-laki dalam struktur sosial dan kegerejawian.

scholarly journals Den kristna etikens dubbla utmaning

2021 ◽  
Vol 97 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel Åsberg
Keyword(s):  
Natural Law ◽  
Social Ethics ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Common Life ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
The Trinity

Christian social ethics has long endured a polarizing debate between a universal ethics based in creation, often framed in terms of reason or natural law, and an ecclesial ethics based in revelation. With no satisfactory conclusion to the debate in sight, and adding to it an exceedingly complex cultural situation in which to navigate, many seek to find new ways of framing the alternatives. The "twin challenge" of Christian social ethics in a pluralistic and post-secular setting is here identified as articulating a social ethics that acknowledges the tensions between the specificities of the Gospel and culture while simultaneously providing a framework and resources for building a common life across confessional borders. One way of addressing this challenge is to ground ethics in the Trinity. While creational ethics generally emphasize the first article of the creed, an ecclesial ethics tend to focus on the latter two. Grounding Christian ethics in the Trinity is an attempt at a holistic approach, tending to both particular and universal concerns. One such effort is found in Carl-Henric Grenholm's attempt at articulating a contemporary Lutheran social ethics grounded in a trinitarian framework. By way of identifying a number of tensions within Grenholm's proposal, this article offers some pointers on the requirements of a trinitarian ethics in a pluralistic and post-secular context. It argues for a more complex construal of secularity and the need for a robust Christology and eschatology to provide a critical lens on culture. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of on-going, complex negotiations beyond secular matrices and communities of virtuous actors capable of performing them.

Recent Work in Ethical Theory and Its Implications for Business Ethics

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis G. Arnold ◽  
Robert Audi ◽  
Matt Zwolinski
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Business Ethics ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Ethical Pluralism ◽  
Moral Framework ◽  
Ethical Decisions ◽  
Recent Developments

ABSTRACT:We review recent developments in ethical pluralism, ethical particularism, Kantian intuitionism, rights theory, and climate change ethics, and show the relevance of these developments in ethical theory to contemporary business ethics. This paper explains why pluralists think that ethical decisions should be guided by multiple standards and why particularists emphasize the crucial role of context in determining sound moral judgments. We explain why Kantian intuitionism emphasizes the discerning power of intuitive reason and seek to integrate that with the comprehensiveness of Kant’s moral framework. And we show how human rights can be grounded in human agency, and explain the connections between human rights and climate change.

scholarly journals In search of an appropriate contemporary approach in Christian ethics: Max Weber’s ethic of responsibility as resource

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Etienne De Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Social Ethics ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
The Core ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
Contemporary Approach

The article addresses the question: ‘To what extent can Max Weber’s ethic of responsibility be a helpful resource in the search of Christian Social Ethics for an appropriate contemporary approach’? This question is addressed by, first of all, providing a summary of Weber’s famous speech Politics as a Vocation in which he developed his view on the ethic of responsibility; secondly, providing an interpretation of his view; and, thirdly, critically discussing the extent to which this ethic can serve as a resource for Christian Social Ethics in its search for an appropriate contemporary approach. The conclusion is that although some aspects of Weber’s view on the ethic of responsibility are unacceptable to Christian Social Ethics, the core of it is commendable. Some of the implications of incorporating an ethic of responsibility approach in Christian Social Ethics are also briefly discussed.

Philia and Social Ethics

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-37
Author(s):  
Catherine Cowley
Keyword(s):  
Social Ethics ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Social Teaching ◽  
Christian Social Ethics ◽  
Human Love ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Preferential Option ◽  
Different Characteristics ◽  
Significant Opportunity

Benedict XVI's first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, treated the different characteristics of human love and their expression. The first section discusses eros and the second shows how agape provides the essential framework for Catholic charitable organisations. I will be arguing that by omitting any reflection on the role of philia, he missed a significant opportunity to retrieve an important part of the Tradition and expand our usual understanding of the elements of social ethics. Part I briefly gives the background of Benedict's non-use of philia in his encyclical and indicates the basis for the view that philia has no place in Christian social ethics. The favoured approach is that of agape. Part II presents Thomas Aquinas' view of friendship and how it might counter the shortcomings identified by the authors in Part I. Part III applies his view of friendship to the key principles in Catholic social teaching of solidarity and preferential option for the poor. Part IV concludes with some general summary remarks.

scholarly journals Liberating Discernment: Language, Concreteness, and Naming Divine Activity in History

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 562
Author(s):  
Tyler B. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Colonial History ◽  
Essential Point ◽  
Divine Activity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Objective Distance ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Way

One of the revolutionary insights of early liberation theology was that theological discernment is, above all, a concrete undertaking. Yet this insight is accompanied by a persistent conundrum that arises from the way in which naming God’s activity in history is perceived as collapsing God’s objective distance into contingent affairs. This paper contends that this conundrum results from a constricting account of theological objectivity which is problematically conceived in opposition to concretization and so obstructs an account of liberating discernment. Locating this concern within the (de)colonial history of competing theological readings of the weather, and, in addition, prompted by Alice Crary’s expansion of objectivity in ethical theory, I argue that theological objectivity must not only include but begin with theological languages of the oppressed as its essential point of departure. Recovering the insight of early liberation theologians, this paper contends that theology may speak of God objectively only as it concretely shares in the liberating life and words of the crucified peoples of history. The purpose of this argument is then to envision Christian ethics as language accountable to the apocalyptic activity of the God of the oppressed.

MANUSCRIPT EVIDENCE FOR ALPHABET-SWITCHING IN THE WORKS OF CICERO: COMMON NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 498-516
Author(s):  
Neil O'Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Current Interest ◽  
Reliable Transmission ◽  
Accurate Record ◽  
The Way

Of the hundreds of Greek common nouns and adjectives preserved in our MSS of Cicero, about three dozen are found written in the Latin alphabet as well as in the Greek. So we find, alongside συμπάθεια, also sympathia, and ἱστορικός as well as historicus. This sort of variation has been termed alphabet-switching; it has received little attention in connection with Cicero, even though it is relevant to subjects of current interest such as his bilingualism and the role of code-switching and loanwords in his works. Rather than addressing these issues directly, this discussion sets out information about the way in which the words are written in our surviving MSS of Cicero and takes further some recent work on the presentation of Greek words in Latin texts. It argues that, for the most part, coherent patterns and explanations can be found in the alphabetic choices exhibited by them, or at least by the earliest of them when there is conflict in the paradosis, and that this coherence is evidence for a generally reliable transmission of Cicero's original choices. While a lack of coherence might indicate unreliable transmission, or even an indifference on Cicero's part, a consistent pattern can only really be explained as an accurate record of coherent alphabet choice made by Cicero when writing Greek words.

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