Christian ethics

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Depicted is the famous Sermon on the Mount ofJesus in which he commented on the Old Covenant. Christians
believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant.
[1]
Painting by Carl Heinrich Bloch, Danish painter, d. 1890.
Christian ethics is a branch of Christian theology that defines concepts of right (virtuous) and wrong
(sinful) behavior from a Christian perspective. Various sources inform Christian ethics,
including Judaism and pagan ethics (as well as identifying the limits of the latter), and the life
of Jesus.
[2]
"Comprehensive Christian ethical writings use four distinguishable sources: (1) the Bible and
the Christian tradition, (2) philosophical principles and methods, (3) science and other sources of
knowledge about the world, and (4) human experience broadly conceived."
[3]
Although Christian ethics is
informed by numerous sources, the Christian Bible, both Old and New Testaments, figures prominently.
According to Long, "Christian ethics finds its source in diverse means, but it primarily emerges from the
biblical narrative" which includes various accounts in the Old Testament,
[4]
of which Christians hold
different views. According to The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Ethics, "The Bible is the universal
and fundamental source of specifically Christian ethics."
[5]

Christian ethics developed in the first centuries of the Christian Era in the Holy Landand other early
centers of Christianity as Christianity emerged from Second Temple Judaism. Persecution of Christians
in the Roman Empire erupted periodically, beginning with the Crucifixion of Jesus in Roman
Judaea (c.30-33 AD) to the time Nero blamed Christians for setting Rome ablaze (64 AD)
until Galerius (311 AD) and the Peace of the Church (313 AD). Consequently, early Christian ethics
included discussions of how believers should relate to Roman authority and to the empire. In the 13th
centuryThomas Aquinas and others derived the Four Cardinal Virtues from Plato (justice, courage,
temperance, prudence) and added to them the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity (cf. 1
Corinthians 13), together known as the Seven Virtues. Other schema include the Seven Deadly Sins.
Christian ethics have been criticized for a variety of reasons, including Jesus' teachings, even during his
earthly ministry, and in theanalysis and interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount.
Contents
[hide]
1 Definitions
2 Early Church
3 The Bible and Christian ethics
4 Scholasticism
5 Protestant ethics
6 The ethics of Christian Anarchism
7 What would Jesus do?
8 Judeo-Christian ethics
9 Criticism
o 9.1 The Old Testament
o 9.2 The New Testament
10 See also
11 References
12 Further reading
13 External links
[edit]Definitions
D. Stephen Long defines Christian ethics as
the pursuit of God's goodness by people 'on the way' to a city not built by human hands. It is not a
precise science but the cultivation of practical wisdom that comes from diverse sources. It draws on all
that is good in God's creation and among the nations. But it also acknowledges that creatures cannot
attain their true end without the gift of God's own goodness.
[6]

[edit]Early Church

This section needs
additionalcitations for verification.(December
2011)
See also: Expounding of the Law, Law of Christ, and Jesus#Teachings and preachings
The New Testament generally asserts that all morality flows from the Great Commandment, to love God
with all one's heart, mind, strength, and soul, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. In this, Jesus was
reaffirming a teaching of the Torah (Deut 6:4-9 and Lev 19:18), commonly referred to as Judeo-
Christian ethics. Christ united these commands together and proposed himself as a model of the love
required in John 13:12, known also as The New Commandment.
The Catholic Encyclopedia article on Ethics
[7]
makes the following observation:

A new epoch in ethics begins with the dawn of Christianity. Ancient paganism never had a clear
and definite concept of the relation between God and the world, of the unity of the human race,
of the destiny of man, of the nature and meaning of the moral law. Christianity first shed full
light on these and similar questions. As St. Paul teaches (Romans 2:24 sq.), God has written his
moral law in the hearts of all men, even of those outside the influence ofChristian Revelation;
this law manifests itself in the conscience of every man and is the norm according to which the
whole human race will be judged on the day of reckoning. In consequence of their perverse
inclinations, this law had to a great extent become obscured and distorted among the pagans;
Christianity, however, restored it to its prestine integrity. Thus, too, ethics received its richest
and most fruitful stimulus. Proper ethical methods were now unfolded, and philosophy was in a
position to follow up and develop these methods by means supplied from its own store-house.

Paul is also the source of the phrase "Law of Christ", though its meaning and the relationship of Paul of
Tarsus and Judaism are still disputed.
Under the Emperor Constantine I (312337), Christianity became a legal religion. The Edict of
Milan made the empire safe for Christian practice and belief. Consequently, issues of Christian doctrine,
ethics and church practice were debated openly at the First seven Ecumenical Councils. By the time
of Theodosius I (379395), Christianity had become the State church of the Roman Empire.
WithChristianity now in power, ethical concerns broadened and included discussions of the proper role of
the state.
The Church Fathers had little occasion to treat moral questions from a purely philosophical standpoint
and independently of divine revelation, but in the explanation of Christian doctrine their discussions
naturally led to philosophical investigations. Ecclesiastical writers, such as Justin
Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine of
Hippo all wrote on ethics from a distinctly Christian point of view. They made use of philosophical and
ethical principles laid down by their Greek philosopher forbears and the intersection of Greek and Jewish
thought known as Hellenistic Judaism.
This is particularly true of Augustine, who proceeded to develop thoroughly along philosophical lines and
to establish firmly most of the truths of Christian morality. The eternal law (lex aeterna), the
original type and source of all temporal laws, the natural law, conscience, the ultimate end of man,
the cardinal virtues, sin, marriage, etc. were treated by him in the clearest and most penetrating manner.
Broadly speaking, Augustine adapted the philosophy of Plato to Christian principles. His synthesis is
called Augustinianism (alternatively, Augustinism). He presents hardly a single portion of ethics to us but
what he does present is enriched with his keen philosophical commentaries. Late ecclesiastical writers
followed in his footsteps.
[edit]The Bible and Christian ethics
Much of Christian ethics derives from Biblical scripture. According to the Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics, "There is no 'Christian ethics' that would deny the authority of the Bible, for apart from
scripture the Christian church has no enduring identity".
[8]
It further states that
Christian churches have always considered it a part of their calling to teach, reprove, correct, and train in
righteousness, and they have always considered the Bible 'profitable' for that task. With virtually one
voice the churches have declared that the Bible is an authority for moral discernment and judgment. And
Christian ethicistsat least those who consider their work part of the common life of the Christian
communityhave shared this affirmation.
[9]

There are various views on how to interpret Christian ethics in relation to Biblical scripture. For example,
"Many Christian ethicists have claimed that Jesus Christ is the center of the biblical message in its
entirety and the key to scripture".
[10]
Other Christian ethicists "prefer a more Trinitarian rendering of the
message of scripture".
[11]
Some modern Christian ethicists "understand 'liberation' or deliverance from
oppression to be the message of scripture".
[12]

The link between scripture and Christian ethics is further highlighted as follows: "Fundamentalism's
identification of the human words of scripture with the word of God has justified an identification of
biblical ethics with Christian ethics."
[13]
"The Prophets ground their appeals for right conduct in God's
demand for righteousness."
[14]
On the other hand, "It is not ... true to say that for the OT writers
righteousness is defined by what God does; i.e., an act is not made righteous by the fact that God does
it.
[15]
Also noted as ethical guidelines adhered to by Old Testament figures is "maintenance of the family",
"safeguarding of the family property", and "maintenance of the community".
[16]

Many biblical accounts inform Christian ethics. This includes the Noahic Covenant: the commandments
which "were often reduced to three by Christians: avoid fornication, bloodshed,
and blasphemy or idolatry"
[17]
. Augustine identified a movement in Scripture "toward the 'City of God',
from which Christian ethics emerges", as illustrated in chapters 11 and 12 of the book of
Genesis.
[18]
Although Christians today "do not feel compelled to observe all 613" of the commandments
described in Exodus, the Ten Commandments figure prominently in Christian ethics.
[19]

Various issues today are informed by biblical passages in the Old and New Testaments. For example,
although scripture is mostly silent on abortion, various elements of scripture inform Christian ethical
views on this topic, including Genesis 4:1; Job 31:15; Isaiah 44:24, 49:1, 5; and Jeremiah 1:5, among
others.
[20]
The Old Testament provides advice on adultery in Exodus's seventh commandment, as well as
the New Testament Gospel of Matthew.
[21]
Christian views on divorce are informed by verses in
Deuteronomy, Matthew, Mark, and others.
[22]
Homosexuality is discussed in the Old and New Testament
as well; for example, male homosexual acts merit thedeath penalty in Leviticus 18.
[23]
Constraints on
sexual conduct are heavily discussed in the Bible's Old and New Testaments.
[24]
For example, The Old
Testament "presents procreative marriage as the norm".
[25]

[edit]Scholasticism

This section needs
additionalcitations for verification.(December
2011)
See also: Thomism and Scholasticism
A sharper line of separation between philosophy and theology, and in particular between ethics
and moral theology, is first met with in the works of the great Schoolmen of the Middle Ages, especially
of Albertus Magnus (11931280), Thomas Aquinas (12251274),Bonaventure (12211274), and Duns
Scotus (12741308). Philosophy and, by means of it, theology reaped abundant fruit from the works of
Aristotle, which had until then been a sealed treasure to Western civilization, and had first been
elucidated by the detailed and profound commentaries of Albert the Great and Thomas Aquinas and
pressed into the service of Christian philosophy.
The same is particularly true as regards ethics. Thomas, in his commentaries on the political and ethical
writings of Aristotle, in hisSumma contra Gentiles and his Quaestiones disputatae, treated with his
wonted clearness and penetration nearly the whole range of ethics in a purely philosophical manner, so
that even to the present day his words are an inexhaustible source from which ethics draws its supply.
On the foundations laid by him the Catholic philosophers and theologians of succeeding ages have
continued to build. In hisSumma Theologiae, Thomas locates ethics within the context of theology. For
example, he discusses the ethics of buying and selling and concludes that although it may be legal
(according to human law) to sell an object for more that it is worth, Divine law "leaves nothing
unpunished that is contrary to virtue."
[26]
The question of beatiudo, perfect happiness in the possession of
God, is posited as the goal of human life. Thomas also argues that the human being by reflection on
human nature's inclinations discovers a law, that is the natural law, which is "man's participation in the
divine law."[2]
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, thanks especially to the influence of the so-called Nominalists, a
period of stagnation and decline set in, but the sixteenth century is marked by a revival. Ethical
questions, also, though largely treated in connection with theology, are again made the subject of careful
investigation. Examples include the theologians Francisco de Vitoria, Dominicus Soto,Luis de
Molina, Francisco Suarez, Leonardus Lessius, Juan de Lugo, Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz,
and Alphonsus Liguori. Among topics they discussed was the ethics of action in case of doubt, leading to
the doctrine of probabilism. Since the sixteenth century, special chairs of ethics (moral philosophy) have
been erected in many Catholic universities. The larger, purely philosophical works on ethics, however, do
not appear until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, as an example of which we may instance the
production of Ign. Schwarz, "Instituitiones juris universalis naturae et gentium" (1743).
[edit]Protestant ethics

This section needs
additionalcitations for verification.(January
2012)
See also: Abrogation of Old Covenant laws
With the rejection of the doctrine of papal infallibility and the Roman Magisterium as the absolute
religious authority, each individual, at least in principle, became the arbiter in matters pertaining to faith
and morals. The Reformers held fast to Sola Scriptura and many endeavored to construct an ethical
system directly from the scriptures.
Lutheran Philipp Melanchthon, in his "Elementa philosophiae moralis", still clung to the Aristotelian
philosophy strongly rejected byMartin Luther, as did Hugo Grotius in De jure belli et pacis. But Richard
Cumberland and his follower Samuel Pufendorf assumed, withDescartes, that the ultimate ground for
every distinction between good and evil lay in the free determination of God's will, an antinomianview
which renders the philosophical treatment of ethics fundamentally impossible.
In the 20th century some Christian philosophers, notably Dietrich Bonhoeffer, questioned the value of
ethical reasoning in moral philosophy. In this school of thought, ethics, with its focus on distinguishing
right from wrong, tends to produce behavior that is simply not wrong, whereas the Christian life should
instead be marked by the highest form of right. Rather than ethical reasoning, they stress the importance
of meditation on, and relationship with, God.
[edit]The ethics of Christian Anarchism
Christian Anarchism is the name of a Christian movement that rejects all laws but nonetheless has a high
degree of ethics. More than any other Bible source, the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus' call to not resist
evil but turn the other cheek, are used as the basis for Christian Anarchism.
[27]
Christian Anarchists
are pacifists and oppose the use of violence, such as war.
[28]
The foundation of Christian Anarchism is a
rejection of violence, with Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You regarded as a key
text.
[28][29]
Christian Anarchists denounce the state as they claim it is violent, deceitful and, when glorified,
a form of idolatry.
[28][30]

[edit]What would Jesus do?
The phrase "What would Jesus do?" (often abbreviated to WWJD) became popular in the United
States in the 1990s and as a personalmotto for adherents of Evangelical Christianity who used the
phrase as a reminder of their belief in a moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate
the Love of Jesus through the actions of the adherents. A follow-up motto answered the question "Fully
Rely On God" (often abbreviated to "FROG").
[edit]Judeo-Christian ethics
The present meaning of "Judeo-Christian" regarding ethics first appeared in print on July 27, 1939, with
the phrase "the Judaeo-Christian scheme of morals" in the New English Weekly.
[31]
The term gained
much currency in the 1940s, promoted by groups which evolved into the National Conference of
Christians and Jews, to fight antisemitism by expressing a more inclusive idea of American values rather
than just Christian or Protestant.
[32][33]
By 1952 Dwight Eisenhower looked to the Founding Fathers of
1776 to say:
"all men are endowed by their Creator." In other words, our form of government has no sense
unless it is founded in a deeply felt religious faith, and I don't care what it is. With us of course it
is the Judeo-Christian concept, but it must be a religion with all men are created equal.
[34]

[edit]Criticism
See also: Ethics in the Bible
Christian ethics have been criticized for various reasons. Simon Blackburn states that the "Bible can
be read as giving us a carte blanche for harsh attitudes to children, the mentally handicapped,
animals, the environment, the divorced, unbelievers, people with various sexual habits, and elderly
women".
[35]
Elizabeth Anderson, a Professor of Philosophy and Women's Studies at the University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, states that "the Bible contains both good and evil teachings", and it is "morally
inconsistent".
[36]

[edit]The Old Testament
Blackburn provides examples of Old Testament moral criticisms such as the phrase in Exodus 22:18
that has "helped to burn alive tens or hundreds of thousands of women in Europe and America":
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," and notes that the Old TestamentGod apparently has "no
problems with a slave-owning society", considers birth control a crime punishable by death, and "is
keen on child abuse".
[37]
Additional examples that are questioned today are: the prohibition on
touching women during their "period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:1924)", the apparent
approval of selling daughters into slavery (Exodus 21:7), and the obligation to put to death someone
working on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2).
[38]
Elizabeth Anderson says that those who accept "biblical
inerrancy ... must conclude that much of what we take to be morally evil is in fact morally permissible
and even morally required".
[39]
She provides a number of examples to illustrate "God's moral
character" such as: "Routinely punishes people for the sins of others ... punishes all mothers by
condemning them to painful childbirth", punishes four generations of descendants of those who
worship other Gods, kills 24,000 Israelites because some of them sinned (Numbers 25:19), kills
70,000 Israelites for the sin of David in 2 Samuel 24:1015, and "sends two bears out of the woods
to tear forty-two children to pieces" because they called someone names in 2 Kings 2:2324.
[40]
She
goes on to note commands God gave to men in the Bible such as: kill adulterers, homosexuals, and
"people who work on the Sabbath" (Leviticus 20:10; Leviticus 20:13; Exodus 35:2, respectively); to
commit ethnic cleansing (Exodus 34:11-14, Leviticus 26:7-9); commit genocide (Numbers 21: 2-3,
Numbers 21:3335, Deuteronomy 2:2635, and Joshua 112); and other mass killings.
[41]
Finally,
the bible permits slavery, the beating of slaves, the rape of female captives in
wartime, polygamy (for men), the killing of prisoners, and child sacrifice.
[42]

[edit]The New Testament
Blackburn notes morally suspect themes in the Bible's New Testament as well.
[43]
He notes some
"moral quirks" of Jesus: that he could be "sectarian" (Matt 10:56), racist (Matt 15:26 and Mark
7:27), placed no value on animal life (Luke 8: 2733), and believed that "mental illness is caused by
possession by devils". He also did not repudiate any of the more brutal portions of the Old
Testament.
[44]
Anderson notes the Christian apologist argument that the Jesus of the New Testament
is "all loving".
[45]
She states, however, that the New Testament has some morally repugnant lessons
as well: "Jesus tells us his mission is to make family members hate one another, so that they shall
love him more than their kin (Matt 10:35-37)", "Disciples must hate their parents, siblings, wives, and
children (Luke 14:26)", children who "curse their parents ... must be killed", and Peter and Paul
elevate men over their wives "who must obey their husbands as gods" (1 Corinthians 11:3, 14:34-5,
Eph. 5:22-24, Col. 3:18, 1 Tim. 2: 11-2, 1 Pet. 3:1).
[46]
Anderson states that the Gospel of John
implies that "infants and anyone who never had the opportunity to hear about Christ are damned [to
hell], through no fault of their own".
[47]
She concludes that,
Here are religious doctrines that on their face claim that it is all right to mercilessly punish
people for the wrongs of others and for blameless error, that license or even command
murder, rape, torture, slavery, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. We know such actions are
wrong.
[48]

[edit]See also
Aristotelian ethics
Brotherly love (philosophy)
Buddhist ethics
Christian philosophy
Christian values
Christian views on the old covenant
Council of Jerusalem
Ethics in religion
Ethics in the Bible
Good works
Jewish ethics
Theonomy
[edit]References
1. ^ Such as Hebrews 8:6 etc. See also "Epistle to the Hebrews". Catholic Encyclopedia. New
York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913.: "The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine
of the Person of Christ and His Divine mediatorial office.... There He now exercises forever His
priestly office of mediator as our Advocate with the Father (vii, 24 sq.)."
2. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
3. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
4. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. pp. 2324. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
5. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 88. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
6. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
7. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Ethics
8. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 60. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
9. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 57. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
10. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
11. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
12. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
13. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 58. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
14. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 434. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
15. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. pp. 437. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
16. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. pp. 435436. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
17. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. pp. 2527. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
18. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. pp. 2728. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
19. ^ Long, D. Stephen (2010). Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-0-19-956886-4.
20. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 2. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
21. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 10. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
22. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 161. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
23. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 272. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
24. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 580. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
25. ^ Childress, (ed) James F.; Macquarrie, (ed) John (1986). The Westminster Dictionary of
Christian Ethics. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press. p. 580. ISBN 0-664-20940-8.
26. ^ Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, Of Cheating, Which Is Committed in Buying and
Selling. Translated by The Fathers of the English Dominican Province. pp. 3[1] Retrieved June
19, 2012
27. ^ Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre (2010). Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the
Gospel. Exeter: Imprint Academic. pp. 4380. "The Sermon on the Mount: A manifesto for
Christian anarchism"
28. ^
a

b

c
Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre (March 2010). "A Christian Anarchist Critique of Violence:
From Turning the Other Cheek to a Rejection of the State". Political Studies Association.
29. ^ Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre (2010). Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the
Gospel. Exeter: Imprint Academic. pp. 19 and 208. "Leo Tolstoy"
30. ^ Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre (2010). Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the
Gospel. Exeter: Imprint Academic. p. 254. "The state as idolatry"
31. ^ See Peter Novick: Holocaust in American Life
32. ^ Mark Silk (1984), Notes on the Judeo-Christian Tradition in America, American
Quarterly 36(1), 65-85
33. ^ Sarna, 2004, p.266
34. ^ Patrick Henry, "'And I Don't Care What It Is': The Tradition-History of a Civil Religion Proof-
Text," Journal of the American Academy of Religion, March 1981, Vol. 49 Issue 1, pp 35-47 in
JSTOR
35. ^ Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
p. 12. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6.
36. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
37. ^ Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
pp. 10, 12. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6.
38. ^ Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
p. 11. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6.
39. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
40. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 336337. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
41. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
42. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
43. ^ Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
pp. 1112. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6.
44. ^ Blackburn, Simon (2001). Ethics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
pp. 1112. ISBN 978-0-19-280442-6.
45. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
46. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
47. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 339. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
48. ^ Elizabeth Anderson, "If God is Dead, Is Everything Permitted?" In Hitchens, Christopher
(2007). The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever. Philadelphia: Da Capo
Press. p. 337. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6.
[edit]Further reading
De La Torre, Miguel A., "Doing Christian Ethics from the Margins," Orbis Books, 2004.
J. Doomen, "Religion's Appeal", Quodlibet 8 (2009)
[edit]External links
Christian Ethics Reading Room, Online Literature, Tyndale Seminary
Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics - Institute based in Cambridge, England. KLICE
triannually publishes Ethics in Brief,issues of which can be read here.
Catholic Encyclopedia: Ethics
Catholic Encyclopedia: Moral Theology