Christian Ethics and Virtue: An Introduction

This entry is part 1 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

Most Christians tend to think of Christian ethics in terms of following a list of rules.  God has given us His laws, and we have to obey them.  If we do, then God will be happy with us.  If we don’t, then we have sinned and God will be angry with us.   Now, it is … Read more

The World’s Justice and Christian Justice

This entry is part 2 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

What is Justice? Human beings are by nature social animals.  Every individual human being is only alive because of a relationship between their parents, and because other human beings (usually their parents) took the time and energy to provide for and nurture them through their infancy and childhood years.  Human beings have a natural instinct … Read more

The World’s Wisdom and Christian Wisdom

This entry is part 3 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

What is Wisdom? We live in a complex world.  At any given moment, there are an incredible number of possible courses of action we could take.  We all have goals in life, and those who seek moral goodness do their best to have morally worthy goals.  But how do we determine how we should go … Read more

Christian Ethics and Courage

This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

What is Courage? The two most powerful motivators of human action are love and fear.  Love motivates us to pursue things that we find desirable, while fear motivates us to withdraw from things we consider to be dangerous in some way.  There is nothing wrong with fear per se.  Without the powerful emotion of fear … Read more

Christian Ethics and Self-Control

This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

What is Self-Control? The two most powerful motivators of human action are fear and love.  Fear motivates us to withdraw from things we consider to be dangerous in some way, while love motivates us to pursue things that we find desirable.  There are many different kinds of love, and many different things that human beings … Read more

Love is Not Love: The Uniqueness of the Christian Virtue of Love

This entry is part 6 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

Christian Love Love is a theological virtue.  This means that only Christians are capable of love.  To some, this may seem like a bizarre statement.  Our culture is filled with affirmations of the value and importance of “love.”  In fact, appeals to “love” often have a prominent place in anti-Christian discourse in our culture.   It … Read more

The Virtues of Faith and Hope

This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series The Seven Virtues

Alongside love, faith and hope form the three Christian theological virtues.  In multiple epistles, the apostle Paul groups these three qualities together as the three virtues that, granted to us by God, enable us to live as Christians (I Cor 13:13; Col 1:5; I Thess 1:3, 5:8).  While Paul does state that love is the … Read more