"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the
Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is
the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like
it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and
the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt 22:37-40 NIV
That's as simple as it
gets. The difficulty with Christian ethics is not
what to do, but how and when to do it. We
are always called upon to choose our course of action. Beyond the
choices we make for ourselves, we find the issue of community
standards. How we are to exercise discipline in the church? Where is
the dividing line between ethics and the law? At which point
does the state overstep its authority? Should the church be pushing
the state to enforce Christian moral standards? Should the
state impose its secular standards on the church?
Below are two very good
overviews concerning ethics. One is Christian (Xenos) and
the other is secular (Atheism). It would benefit you to
read both, especially for purposes of Apologetics. There are also a
number of articles on Just War. The Ethics Handbook is
early 20th c. but clear and comprehensive.
When the church seeks to impose its
ethics on others by force instead of by example and persuasion, it
is called "theonomy." There are four articles below on theonomy.
I am opposed to the very idea of theonomy, even the middle
road taken by Williamson. Nonetheless, familiarize yourself
with it, because this is the "Christian Right" that you hear
about in the news. You'll find more about church and state on the
Politics Page.
If you're looking for a good ethics
textbook with loads of examples and guidance, the most comprehensive
book available is Kingdom Ethics by Stassen and
Gushee. It's a unique and extraordinary work. You
don't have to accept all their conclusions. I think their treatment
of the death penalty, for example, is questionable.
However, I appreciate their separation of Old and New Testament
teachings on the topic. Then again, their use of B.C.E. and
C.E. for dating suggests a liberal mindset. I still
recommend it. I favor and highly recommend Ethics for a
Brave New World by John Feinberg and Paul Feinberg
(Crossway, 1993). Though not as comprehensive as Kingdom
Ethics, the analyses of the issues are far superior.
Fath
and Economic Justice - Mennonite 60K (warning: Liberation
Theology)
Charity
in Church History - Methodist 40K
Other Articles:
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