Moore College Evening Lectures 2014 - Christian Ethics

Moore College Evening Lectures 2014 - Christian Ethics

Bruce Pass

Christian Ethics

COURSE OUTLINE

1.What is Ethics?1/5/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-Up Life: A Christian Account Of How Ethics Works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 17-23.

M. Hill, The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics (Kingsford: Matthias Media, 2002), 13-22.

2.Actions8/5/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 26-31, 41-48.

M. Hill, The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics (Kingsford: Matthias Media, 2002), 23-35.

3.Agents15/5/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 36-41, 49-55.

M. Hill, The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics (Kingsford: Matthias Media, 2002), 36-40.

4.Using the Bible i)22/5/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 83-88, 128-134.

M. Hill, The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics (Kingsford: Matthias Media, 2002), 43-54.

5.Using the Bible ii)29/5/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 135-142, 156-161.

M. Hill, The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics (Kingsford: Matthias Media, 2002), 55-63.

6.Decision making5/6/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 168-172, 224-232.

B. R. Pass, Same-Sex Marriage

B. R. Pass, Asylum-seekers

7.Social ethics 12/6/14

Reading:

A. J. Cameron, Joined-up Life: a Christian account of how ethics works (Nottingham: Intervarsity Press, 2011), 240-245, 260-269.

B. R. Pass, Is God green?

B. R. Pass, Euthanasia: a good death?

ASSIGNMENT

Choose one of the following and in 1000 wordsoutline what you believe to be a Christian view of the issue in question. Your paper must include reference to key biblical data that informs your stance, although simply citing bible verses will not suffice. You need to show why these passages are relevant and how they inform your conclusions.Due 22/5/14.

i) Abortion

ii) Consumption of Alcohol

iii) Stem-cell Research

iv) Divorce & Remarriage

v) Work

Further Resources

In addition to the books by Andrew Cameron and Michael Hill, you might like to consult the following:

B. Dupré, 50 Ethics Ideas You Really Need To Know, (London: Quercus, 2013)

J. Stott, Issues Facing Christians Today, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Website of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney Social Issues Executive,

EXAM

The exam is on June 19th at the same time as the lectures. It is worth 80% of the mark for the subject. You will be asked to answer 3 questions. You will be able to use your own bible as long as it is unmarked and not a study-bible.There will be a choice of questions within each section.

Section (A) will ask you to reflect on a passage of Scripture and what it tells us about Christian ethics.

Section (B) will ask you to reflect methodological issues (i.e. how you 'do' ethics).

Section (C) will require you to write a brief response to one of the issues you did not choose for your assignment. (If you write about the same issue that you submitted for your assignment, it will result in an automatic fail.)

3 hints:

1. Don't get bogged down in any one question. Allot equal time for each question (35 min).

2. Make sure you argue a position - ask yourself, 'what is the simple answer to this question?' and make sure your answer conveys why you think this.

3. Think of the structure of your answer before you start writing. i) introduce the problem, ii) address 2 or 3 key issues relevant to the problem, iii) summarize your answer in a conclusion.