The Matrix of Christian Ethics Integrating Philosophy and Moral Theology in a Postmodern Context

includes index and biblioraphy

1. Introduction Ethics and Morals ...............5 Distinguishing between morality and ethics Today ..........9 Biblical Ethics ............10 Subvisions of Ethics ............12 Incentives for Studying Ethics ..............16 Christian Ethics Reflecting the Imago Dei ............20 Christian Ethics in Faith and Life ............20 The Instability of Ethics : Responsive and Contextual .......23 The Instability of Ethics : Responsive and Contextual ......23 Signals of a Moral Confusion .........31 Technology and Moral Confusion .............31 Tracing the moral Climate of Today ................32 2. Moral Argumentation ..............47 A Case study in Bribery ...............48 Four Approaches ..............48 Ethics and Worldview ............56 Moral Philosophy and moral Theology .........63 Philosophy and Theology in Relation to Ethics ..................64 Consequential Ethics ...............69 Popular Hedonism ............................69 Classical Hedonism : Epicurus..............71 Modern Hedonism : Thomas Hobbes ...........75 Utilitarianism : Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill .........81 Ethics of Responsibility ............86 4. Principle ethics ....................93 The Theonomous Principle ethics of Thomas Aquinas ................93 The Theonomous Principle Ethics of John Calvin ..............99 The Autonomous Principle Ethics of Immanuel Kant ...........103 Post-Kantian Theonomous Principle Ethics ...109 5. Character Ethics and the Virtues .................117 The Classical Virtues : Aristotle ...........117 The Christian Virtues : Thomas Aquinas ...........122 Character Ethics: Stanley Hauerwas-Community, Narrative, and Character .........126 6. Value Ethics and Personalism ...........131 Max Scheler`s Value Ethics ..............132 The Personalism of Emmanuel Livinas .............143 7. The Triune God and the Good .......149 Theocentrism and Ethics .........149 The Trinity and God`s Absolute Love .......154 The Trinity and Theological Balance ...............158 The Father : Creator and Lawgiver ...........160 Christ as Redeemer ............166 The holy Spirit ....171 8. The Ethical Human Being ..........173 Human Dignity and the imago dei .........173 Relational Anthropology and Ethics .......173 Relational Anthropology and Ethics .........178 The Moral Coscience .......184 9. The Use of the Bible in Christian Ethics .......189 The authority of the Bible and ethics .........189 Problems with the use of the Bible in Ethics ........192 The Diversity of the Bible ............195 The use of Scripture in a Theological Framework ..........198 10. A Variegated Biblical Ethics .............203 The Commandments and the Iceberg model ............203 The messiah and the Revolution of Values ..........211 Purpose ethics Happy in God`s Kingdom .............218 Character Ethics : A new Ceration .......218