Ethics
*** Eerdmans | 2021 | 368 pages (hardcover) | $45.00 As the title indicates, this book examines Roman Catholic moral theology in the twentieth century and beyond, with a special focus on conscience. (“Moral theology” is roughly equivalent to “ethics,” although the former sometimes indicates a broader range of subjects.) Readers of Modern Reformation, surely […]
Diagnosis Modern ethics—in the broad sense of “ethics since Kant,” in the narrow sense of “the notion of ethics that people now living have absorbed,” and in whatever other meaning of the term you might care to adopt—is not doing so well. A diverse chorus of witnesses (including G. K. Chesterton, Franz Kafka, Dorothy Sayers, […]
It’s not exactly a revelation to say that racial tension is part of American existence. The fact that the recent deaths of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, Charleena Lyles, and others have elicited such polarizing responses and reactions is evidence of this. The tension isn’t new—the social and legal boundaries separating black and white […]
New York Times columnist David Brooks is one of the most read, listened to, and discussed social commentators of our time. While often representing the ‘Right’ in such venues, Brooks is more commonly known for his moderate political views and personal temperament. Through his newspaper column, his weekly appearances on NPR and PBS, or in […]
"Sure, God condemns homosexuality in the Old Testament, but he also condemns hot dogs and orders the stoning of disobedient children." We hear this on pop "news" programs a lot. At the outset of Is God a Moral Monster? you write that you were motivated to address this issue because of misrepresentations of violence and […]
To modern readers, there is an ethical problem with the biblical commands found at various points in the Old Testament to wipe out the Canaanites. Why would Israel's God, the God of Jesus Christ, order his own people to kill another people group’even a sinful people’in order to take their land? Several factors can help […]
Addressing over a thousand Israeli school children, University of Tel Aviv professor George Tamarin told a story of "General Lin." Using religion as a pretext for "ethnic cleansing," the general, who presided over the Chinese kingdom three millennia ago, ordered a massacre of men, women, and children throughout China. When asked for their response, only […]
The Bible is a mysterious book to many people, not least because of the peculiar (and harsh) laws and punishments one finds in the Old Testament. I can recall a discussion of religion and ethics on Larry King Live a number of years ago, when the evangelical guest was asked why he could be so […]
3. Ethics and Interpretation of the Moral Law: The Decalogue Calvin's interpretation of the Ten Commandments as ethical pillars was widely influential for generations of character development. In his discussion, he argued that this moral law was necessary; for even though man was created in God's image, natural law alone could only assist in pointing […]
