Thoughts on ethics, society, politics, religion, philosophy, theology, and everything in between
In addition to the seven main classical virtues of the Christian tradition, there is at least one other Christian virtue that is vitally important for Christians to develop: integrity. Integrity means being honest, being consistent, being true to one’s convictions, and being true to who you are. For Christians, of course, “being true to who … Read more
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:8-9). Confession of sin is a vitally important part of being a Christian. There … Read more
One of the most significant political and social developments of the last century in America has been the enormous expansion of government aid provided to the poor and needy. Early on in American history, the federal government for the most part restricted its role to what the Constitution explicitly said it could do. However, beginning … Read more
Many modern Western Christians are highly resistant to the idea that there could be such a thing as collective or communal moral responsibility or guilt. How can I, many ask, be morally responsible for something that someone else has done? Such an attitude stems from the individualism of modern Western culture, which deeply affects us … Read more
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
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
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
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
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
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