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 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.

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.

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.

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