Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
Plagues. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Volcanic Eruptions. These events can kill thousands, bring suffering to many times more, and seriously disrupt the normal course of life and society. They cause us to pause and to ask the question: why do these things happen? Natural Disasters and Evil For the atheist, the answer is obvious: these events … Read more
Most modern Christians read the New Testament with a filter that says, “New Testament ethics is only about personal morality, so of course the New Testament ethic of love says nothing against state-sponsored violence; of course the New Testament ethic of love does not forbid us to hate and kill the enemies of our nation.” … Read more
The Political Nature of the Christian Gospel According to the modern idea of the distinction between religion and politics, religion and politics are two separate realms or spheres of human life. Religion is personal, interior, and otherworldly, while politics is public, corporate, and this-worldly. These two realms may have some kind of mutual influence or … Read more
Old Testament and New Testament Ethics It is obvious to anyone who reads through the Bible that there are significant discontinuities between the ethics of the Old Testament and the ethics of the New Testament. For example, the Old Testament Law allowed for divorce (Deut 24:1); Jesus absolutely forbids it (Matt 5:32). The Old Testament … Read more
The Bible as Scripture What is the Bible? The Christian answer is that it is the word of God. Yet at the same time, the church has always recognized that the Bible is also a fully human book. In fact, it is not a single book, but a collection of dozens of books written by … Read more
The Necessity of Theological Ethics Theological ethics is the branch of Christian theology that engages in a reasoned analysis of ethical issues from the standpoint of Christian theology. Many Christians might question whether it is necessary to engage in such a task. Some would argue that our conscience and our intuitions are sufficient to tell … Read more
The Fall “To us things are normal when they are going well. Health, affluence, peace—these are normal, so convinced we are of our own righteousness, of what is our due. But Scripture teaches the very opposite. Unfortunately, what is normal now that man is separated from God is war and murder, famine and pollution, accident … Read more