Reading Summaries/Report First Half:
Module 1: Introduction and Moral Reasoning
Mitchell Chapter 1, 4-5
Mitchell. Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s Guide. Crossway, 2013. (Can provide a kindle copy)
Magnuson- Intro Chapter
Magnuson- “What is Christian Ethics ?”
Bilynskyj, “Ethics of Virtue”
Module 2- Moral Absolutes, the Bible and Christian Ethcs
Mitchell, Chapter 2
Rakestraw “Ethical Choices”
Magnuson “Aspects of Biblical Ethics: Old Testament”
Magnuson “The Bible and Christian Ethics”
Module 3- NT Ethics and Sexual Morality
Mitchell, Chapter 3
Magnusson, “Aspects of Biblical Ethics: New Testament”
Directions:
Turabian Author date Parenthetical citations.
* Summarize: Summarize each article or each book chapter by writing the following:
* 2–3 Key Points: For each chapter/article, note thoughtful key points, drawing from the author’s arguments and your critique of the reading. There is a 20-word minimum per point.
* 2–3 Responses: For each chapter/article, compose articulate responses related to the reading. These may critique the argument or engage with its implications for culture or ministry. There is a 20-word minimum per point.
* Format: Compile all summaries into a single document (.doc, .docx., .pdf) with the formatting displayed in the example below.*
Examples:
Examples not taken from course assignments.
G. E. M. Anscombe, “Modern Moral Philosophy” [Example Article]
Key Points:
1. Anscombe observes that the language of “moral law” presupposes a divine lawgiver and thus proposes that the field of ethics change their language surrounding morality.
2. She proposes instead a moral psychology based on the concept of virtue. This would provide a new moral common ground without presupposing religion.
Responses:
1. Anscombe is right that “moral law” presupposes a divine lawgiver and right that general moral discourse needs common ground with atheists, but she not consider natural law as a viable common ground that still affirms the existence of God.
2. “Moral psychology” sounds bad, but since it is just this philosopher’s way of saying “theological anthropology,” Anscombe, a self-proclaimed Christian, fails to ask what the Bible has to say about the “moral psychology” of virtue.
Alasdair MacIntyre, After Virtue [Example Book]
Chapter 1, “A Disquieting Suggestion”
Key Points:
1. MacIntyre contends philosophical ethics has become a pseudo-science replete with fragmentary left-over language and ideas.
2. He states that both analytic and phenomenological philosophy will be powerless to detect and cure this problem.
Responses:
1. If the modern language of morality is fragmentary, where did it come from, why did it fragment, and what non-fragmentary point of reference do we have that allows us to see that it is fragmentary? MacIntyre’s critique of the system implies a system he denies.
2. Certainly modern moral language is fragmented, but how can MacIntyre perceive this if not through analytic philosophy and why cannot analytic philosophy as method and language be used by Christian theologians to reestablish standard definitions for moral language? After all, MacIntyre (and Anscombe) claims to be a Christian.