Response to Linda Woodhead's Paper: ‘Truth and Deceit in Institutions’

At the 2021 conference of the Society for the Study of Christian Ethics, Linda Woodhead presented a paper entitled ‘Truth and Deceit in Institutions’. Amra Bone was then invited to deliver a response to this paper drawing on her knowledge of Islamic traditions and culture. This article is her response. The article highlights the importance the Qur’anic scripture gives to justice and neither distorting nor refusing to give testimony. It then briefly explores the Arabic term Kufr found in the Qur’an. Whilst more commonly interpreted to mean disbelief, this term literally means hiding or covering up truth. Dishonesty can therefore be equated to disbelief which makes it a very serious matter for Muslims. Therefore ethics determine that the road to greater institutional honesty must be adopted. In Islamic Law the end does not justify the means; rather the outcome rests with God alone and the responsibility given to men and women is to act honestly and ethically. For any institution or society to develop positively, every individual must play their part and take this responsibility seriously and not to rely on a few courageous individuals.

What Is 'Victory' in the Orthodox Christian Ethics of War?

The text reconstructs the protocol of 'victory' as part of the interruption of enmity and establishment of temporary peace. Different understandings of the enemy and enmity imply that victory in war and cessation of conflict can essentially determine the way war is conducted, and that they follow rules of war. Victory is supposed to be a crucial moment that characterizes the ethics of war. Particular testimonies and thematizations of victory in the Orthodox Christian tradition can provide an intro-duction into a potential ethics of war that could ensure a new relationship towards the enemy and killing the enemy.

SUMBANGAN ETIS MODEL BISNIS EKONOMI SIRKULAR TERHADAP PEMBANGUNAN YANG BERKELANJUTAN: EKSPLORASI KUALITATIF SISTEMATIK

<p><em>This study investigated the relationship between the circular economy amid the Covid-19 pandemic and Christian ethics using the latest literature in management, business ethics, and Christian ethics. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the circular economy, which is seen to be an alternate form of economic activity that benefits the underprivileged and the natural environment. However, it appears that the ethical implications of this circular economy have gotten limited attention. Christian ethics, especially the Catholic Social Teachings, provides a source of inspiration for the sustainable development of economic thought. The data analysis method used in this study was bibliometric analytical procedures, which involved collecting articles from Scopus, Google Scholar, and CrossRef databases. VOSviewer software was used to map keywords from these papers in order to identify research gaps in the region to be investigated. In addition, a qualitative analysis of the selected papers using the Atlas.ti program version 9 highlights the quantitative findings and delves deeper into the research themes. This research indicated that discussions about the circular economy are still mostly unrelated to aspects of ethics, morality, and religiosity, implying that more research is needed to go deeper into those areas.</em></p><p><strong>Key words:</strong> Catholic Social Teaching, bibliometric, circular economy, Christian ethics, Covid-19.</p>

Homo digitalis – Homo medialis. Digitális média és keresztyén antropológia

Homo Digitalis – Homo Medialis. Digital Media and Christian Anthropology. Digital media and virtual community existence define our present and our everyday life to such an extent and poses such new challenges that Christian ethics cannot escape the responsibility of guidance. However, it is not just a question of what ethical norms apply to the online space and appearance therein but also of how online identity redraws a person’s image of him-/herself and of the other. Can Christian ethics speak of homo digitalis and homo medialis without confronting Christian teaching about humans? The present study seeks to critically illuminate new phenomena in the digital world along the topoi of classical Christian anthropology (creation, divinity, alienation, shame, sin, fellow human beings). Keywords: media, digital lifestyle, virtuality, online identity, Christian anthropology

Luther and Calvin, and The Christian Work Ethics

The aim of this research is to explain and describe the relationship between reformed theology and the reform of European Christians' views on the nature of the church in life as followers of Jesus. The aim of this research is to explain and describe the relationship between reformed theology and the reform of European Christians' views on the nature of the church in life as followers of Jesus. The research method used is qualitative with data collection techniques, literature studies and data analysis is descriptive qualitative. The results showed that Luther's theology of vocations in all areas of life and Calvin's theology of predestination, sanctification, and justification became the basis for changes in the work ethic of European society at that time. They see work and the results of work are part of faith, therefore they work hard, value time, and appreciate the results of work or material. Therefore, work and work are part of the life of faith. In later developments, there was an excessive appreciation of material or capitalism because of the secularization of work culture, which was originally part of faith. In fact, this Capitalism is not in accordance with Christian ethics. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan dan mendeskripsikan hubungan antara teologi reformator dengan pandangan orang Kristen Eropa reformasi tentang hakikat gereja dalam kehidupan sebagai pengikut Yesus. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menjelaskan dan mendeskripsikan hubungan antara teologi reformator dengan pandangan orang Eropa Kristen tentang hakikat gereja dalam kehidupan sebagai pengikut Yesus. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data, studi kepustakaan dan analisis data adalah deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa teologi panggilan Luther di segala bidang kehidupan dan teologi predestinasi, pengudusan dan pembenaran Calvin menjadi dasar perubahan etos kerja masyarakat Eropa saat itu. Mereka melihat kerja dan hasil kerja adalah bagian dari iman, oleh karena itu mereka bekerja keras, menghargai waktu dan menghargai hasil kerja atau materi. Jadi bekerja adalah bagian dari kehidupan iman. Dalam perkembangan selanjutnya, terjadi apresiasi yang berlebihan terhadap material atau kapitalisme karena sekularisasi budaya kerja yang semula merupakan bagian dari keimanan. Padahal, Kapitalisme ini tidak sesuai dengan etika Kristen.

Tinjauan Etika Kristen Terhadap Penggunaan Media Sosial

This study is about a review of Christian ethics on the use of social media. This is done because of the widespread use of negative social media, including among Christians. By using qualitative research methods, especially literature studies, the following conclusions are obtained: Christians must use social media wisely, to witness, for the glory of God, and based on the guidance of the Holy Spirit or not to follow the flesh and satisfy its lusts. Abstrak: Penelitian ini tentang tinjauan etika Kristen terhadap penggunaan media sosial. Hal ini dilakukan karena begitu maraknya penggunaan media sosial secara negatif, termasuk di kalangan orang Kristen. Dengan menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif, khususnya kajian pustaka, maka diperoleh beberapa kesimpulan sebagai berikut: orang Kristen wajib menggunakan media sosial dengan bijaksana, untuk bersaksi, untuk kemuliaan Allah, dan berdasarkan pimpinan Roh Kudus atau bukan untuk mengikuti kedagingan serta memuaskan nafsunya semata.

Towards an Ethical Aestheticism: Christianity, Christhood and Martyrdom in the Fiction of Oscar Wilde

<p>Oscar Wilde is part of our world. With his dandyish witticisms and decadent demeanour, he continues to serve as a model of subversive grace, an aesthetic beacon drawing his readers towards a lighthouse of beauty, even more than a century after his death. Few would suspect that Wilde’s work should offer any ethical guidance, given the tendency of fin-de-siècle aestheticism to place artistic beauty above ethical concerns. It is the purpose of this thesis to argue otherwise. The aim of this thesis is twofold. First, it intends to show that Wilde’s fiction, from his early fairy stories to his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is connected by a common interest in Christian ethics. Second, and more ambitiously, it intends to disprove the notion that aestheticism and ethics are irreconcilable. Throughout his work, Wilde develops an image of an aesthetic Jesus Christ, a martyr of beauty. Wilde dedicates much of his fictional oeuvre to illustrating this vision of Christ, usually through martyrdom and the relinquishment of selfhood. In doing so, this thesis argues that he connects artistic beauty with Christian ethics, synthesising an ethical aestheticism, only achievable through self-sacrifice in service of love – the aesthetic ideal. This kind of aesthetic martyrdom is present throughout Wilde’s fiction, the most commonly cited examples coming from two of his early fairy stories, “The Happy Prince” and “The Nightingale and the Rose” respectively. In these stories, the titular characters work to realise the vision of the aesthetic Christ – what this thesis calls his ‘aesthetic ideal’ – and achieve a higher appreciation of beauty, both bodily and immaterial. Christianity, this thesis finally argues, is the basis for Wilde’s ethical aestheticism and it is Christian ethics that Wilde uses to orientate his readers towards aesthetic Christhood, not with the cold, judging hand of a Victorian preacher but the warm, caring shoulder-pat of an aesthetic father-figure.</p>

Towards an Ethical Aestheticism: Christianity, Christhood and Martyrdom in the Fiction of Oscar Wilde

<p>Oscar Wilde is part of our world. With his dandyish witticisms and decadent demeanour, he continues to serve as a model of subversive grace, an aesthetic beacon drawing his readers towards a lighthouse of beauty, even more than a century after his death. Few would suspect that Wilde’s work should offer any ethical guidance, given the tendency of fin-de-siècle aestheticism to place artistic beauty above ethical concerns. It is the purpose of this thesis to argue otherwise. The aim of this thesis is twofold. First, it intends to show that Wilde’s fiction, from his early fairy stories to his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, is connected by a common interest in Christian ethics. Second, and more ambitiously, it intends to disprove the notion that aestheticism and ethics are irreconcilable. Throughout his work, Wilde develops an image of an aesthetic Jesus Christ, a martyr of beauty. Wilde dedicates much of his fictional oeuvre to illustrating this vision of Christ, usually through martyrdom and the relinquishment of selfhood. In doing so, this thesis argues that he connects artistic beauty with Christian ethics, synthesising an ethical aestheticism, only achievable through self-sacrifice in service of love – the aesthetic ideal. This kind of aesthetic martyrdom is present throughout Wilde’s fiction, the most commonly cited examples coming from two of his early fairy stories, “The Happy Prince” and “The Nightingale and the Rose” respectively. In these stories, the titular characters work to realise the vision of the aesthetic Christ – what this thesis calls his ‘aesthetic ideal’ – and achieve a higher appreciation of beauty, both bodily and immaterial. Christianity, this thesis finally argues, is the basis for Wilde’s ethical aestheticism and it is Christian ethics that Wilde uses to orientate his readers towards aesthetic Christhood, not with the cold, judging hand of a Victorian preacher but the warm, caring shoulder-pat of an aesthetic father-figure.</p>

Understanding the Voices of Disability Advocates in Physician-Assisted Suicide Debates

Christians have an obligation to attend to the voices of persons who are crying out that their dignity and very lives are in jeopardy when physician-assisted suicide (PAS) becomes legalized. The following essay begins with an account of the concept of “disability moral psychology,” which elucidates the unique ways persons with disabilities perceive the world, based on their phenomenological experience. The author then explores the disability critique of PAS and the shared social conditions of persons who are chronically disabled and terminally ill. Finally, the author positions the disability critique within Christian moral deliberations on PAS to unearth its significance for Christian ethics. To bear witness to a compassionate God, theological and ethical judgments concerning PAS must seek perspectives from persons who claim that their dignity and even their lives are in jeopardy by the practice.