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Biblically Inspired Ethics
God in the Dock (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1970)
Christianity claims to give an account of facts — to
tell you what the real universe is like. Its account of the universe
may be true, or it may not, and once the question is really before you,
then your natural inquisitivenes must make you want to answer. If
Christianity is untrue, then no honest man will want to believe it,
however helpful it might be: if it is true, every honest man will want
to believe it, even if it gives him no help at all. As soon as we have
realized this, we realise something else. If Christianity should happen
to be true, then it is quite impossible that those who know this truth
and those who don't should be equally well-equipped for leading a good
life. Knowledge of the facts must make a difference to one's actions.
John Hare, presented at Baylor University (April 2002).
Hare summarizes his talk as follows: "I have been defending a divine command theory of the right. The
version I have been defending is that of Duns Scotus. In this
version we distinguish between the two tables of the law, or the two
great commandments Jesus gives us. The first, we say, is necessary. God
has to order us towards loving God. The second is contingent, and is
the route God has chosen for us to reach our final destination, which
is union with God. I have then replied to two objections to this view.
First, there is the objection that divine command theory makes morality
arbitrary. The reply is that the route is not arbitrary because it does
lead to our destination. The second objection is that divine command
theory makes morality infantile. The reply is that if there is a God
who knows what is good for all of creation, then it is not infantile to
follow the commands of such a being, but excellent good sense." Also see, "Can We Be Good Without God?".
Kathryn Tanner (Cambridge University Press: December 2009), 322 pages.
Through the intensely intimate relationship that arises between God and humans in the incarnation of the Word in Christ, God gives us the gift of God's own life. This simple claim provides the basis for Kathryn Tanner's powerful study of the centrality of Jesus Christ for all Christian thought and life: if the divine and the human are united in Christ, then Jesus can be seen as key to the pattern that organizes the whole, even while God's ways remain beyond our grasp. Drawing on the history of Christian thought to develop an innovative Christ-centered theology, this book sheds fresh light on major theological issues such as the imago dei, the relationship between nature and grace, the Trinity's implications for human community, and the Spirit's manner of working in human lives. Originally delivered as Warfield Lectures at Princeton Theological Seminary, it offers a creative and compelling contribution to contemporary theology. ~ Product Description
Norman L. Geisler (Baker Academic: Sep 1, 1989), 336 pages.
An introductory presentation of Christian ethics, where the Bible is taken as the authoritative text for discussing issues such as homosexuality, abortion, war/civil disobedience, and other similar ethical issues. "This book is the most current of Geisler's books on ethics and
incorporates many of the points of previous works such as Ethics:
Alternatives & Issues, Options in Contemporary Christian Ethics,
and The Christian Ethic of Love. The book is, as the title suggests, a
presentation of Christian ethics, so the Bible is taken as the standard
text for discussing certain issues such as homosexuality, abortion,
war/civil disobedience, and other similar ethical issues. But
scientific and rational arguments are also used in addition to Biblical
exposition to reach conclusions." ~ Cameron B. Clark @ Amazon.com
F. LeRon Shults and Brent Waters, eds. (Eerdmans Publishing Company: June 2010), 236 pages.
This book brings together leading theologians and ethicists to explore the neglected relationship between Christology and ethics. The contributors to this volume work to overcome the tendency toward disciplinary xenophobia, considering such questions as What is the relation between faithful teaching about the reality of Christ and teaching faithfulness to the way of Christ? and How is christological doctrine related to theological judgments about normative human agency? With renewed attention and creative reformulation, they argue, we can discover fresh ways of tending to these perennial questions. ~ Product Description