PE002-712 - Theological Ethics

  • 2,784 Standard Tuition Fee
  • 12
    Credit Points
  • 0.125 EFT 
  • 7
    AQF level
  • Category developing unit
    B
  • philosophy ethicsUnit Discipline

Corequisites

96cps of study, including 36 cps at AQF level 6

Exclusions

Prior to 2020, this unit content was delivered under the unit code PE402. Unit exclusions: PE001-512, PE001-712, PE004-506, PE004-706, PC055

At the time of publication of this statement, ACT permits students to include up to 24cps from the following PE units as contributing towards the Ministry & Practice requirement of ACT awards, provided any unit(s) in question are not also counted towards Christian Thought requirements: PE001-512/712/812 Christian Ethics, PE002-612/712/812 Theological Ethics, PE003-612/712/812 Christian Social Ethics, PE007-612/712/812 Christian Apologetics.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will

A. Know and understand

Demonstrate Functional knowledge and understanding of the interaction of theological and philosophical ethics.

B. Be able to

1. Critically Analyse the dimensions of theological and philosophical ethics

2. Demonstrate skills in applying theological and philosophical ethics in a selection of contemporary ethical questions

3. Present Critical evidence-based perspectives on theological ethics

C. Be in a position to

1. Applying perspectives from ‘Theological Ethics’ to contemporary Christian living and ministry practice as a reflective practitioner

Content

Section A: Theological Ethics

1. The nature and purpose of theological ethics.

2. The relationship between theological ethics and the other major areas of theological study;

3. Theological foundations for ethics: key biblical themes and principles, and relationship between key doctrines and ethics

4. Developing a theological ethic incorporating the following elements: Christian character, theological principles, and contextual significance.

 

Section B: Philosophical Ethics

5. Major approaches to philosophical ethics: virtue ethics, deontological ethics, consequentialist ethics and teleological ethics. 

6. Major themes in philosophical ethics relevant to Christian thought and practice; 

7. The relationship between theological and philosophical ethics.

 

Section C: Ethical Issues

8. Study of two or more topics of study, which may include but which are not limited to the following, with reference to insights gained in relation to Sections A and B above:

• Beginning and end of life issues (assisted reproduction technologies, voluntary assisted dying)

• Work and leisure

• Gender, sexuality, and marriage (including divorce & remarriage)

• Privilege and power (e.g. selected topics from race, culture, wealth and poverty)

• Ecological sustainability 

• Technology

Set Readings

Bachelard, Sarah, Resurrection and Moral Imagination (Farnham: Ashgate, 2014).

Banner M. C. and A. J. Torrance, The Doctrine of God and Theological Ethics (London and New York: T&T Clark, 2006).

Banner, Michael. The Ethics of Everyday Life: Moral Theology, Social Anthropology, and the Imagination of the Human (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014).

Cameron, A., Joined Up Life (IVP: Nottingham, 2011). 

Carroll R., M. Daniel and J. E. Lapsley (eds), Character Ethics and the Old Testament: Moral Dimensions of Scripture (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007).

Furlong, P. The Challenges of Divine Determinism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Hovey, C. Exploring Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Key Methods and Debates (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018).

Gill, R., The Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics, 2nd ed (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012).

Graham, G., Theories of Ethics (New York & London: Routledge, 2011).

Hauerwas S. and S. Wells (eds) The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics (Oxford: Blackwell, 2004).

Hauerwas, S., Christians Among the Virtues: Theological Conversations with Ancient and Modern Ethics (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 1997).

Hogan, L. (ed), Applied Ethics in a World Church (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2008).

Kenny, A., A New History of Western Philosophy 4 vols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

MacIntyre, Alasdair, After Virtue (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981).

Meilaender, G. C., Faith and Faithfulness: Basic Themes in Christian Ethics. (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991).

Meilaender, G. and W. Werpehowski (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).

Moore, Russell. The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004).

Murphy, N. et al, Virtues & Practices in the Christian Tradition (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame, 2003).

O’Donovan, O., Resurrection and Moral Order. 2nd ed. (Leicester/Grand Rapids: Apollos/Eerdmans, 1994).

O’Donovan, O., Ethics as Theology, vols 1-3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013-2017).

Porter, J., Natural and Divine Law (Ottawa: Novalis, 1999).

Rachels J. and S. Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy, (Columbus: McGraw-Hill Companies, 6th ed. 2009).

Reuschling, W. C., Reviving Evangelical Ethics: The Promises and Pitfalls of Classic Models of Morality (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2008).

Wogaman, P., Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993).

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