Western Seminary
Portland Oregon
SFS 504- Growing Into
Ethical Maturity
Two Credit-Hours
R.A. Krupp, Instructor
rkrupp@westernseminary.edu
1.
Read the syllabus
2.
Read Sire. The Universe Next Door
3.
Read Clark and Rakestraw. Readings in Christian Ethics, Volume 1, Theology
and Method
4.
Read Milco. Ethical Dilemmas in Church Leadership
5.
Watch the movie Chariots of Fire
The ability to discern right from wrong and to act
appropriately in light of that discernment is essential for maintaining and
modeling moral integrity as church leaders.
This course will enhance your moral sensitivity by acquainting you with
some of the fundamental issues involved in developing a biblically-shaped
personal ethic. This course will also acquaint the student with basic issues in
a ministerial professional ethic. 2
hour.
1. You will become familiar
with various ethical approaches, including teleological ethical system (ethical
egoism, utilitarianism), deontological systems (Kant, Ross), natural law ethics,
and divine command theory. From this critical study, you will be enabled to
formulate your own personal ethical system.
2. You will consider the
various options to resolving situations in which moral norms (appear to)
conflict (non-conflicting absolutism, ideal absolutism, and
hiearchicalism/graded absolutism), and from this you will establish how you
view and confront moral dilemmas.
3. You will investigate various
ways that Scripture is used in ethical decision-making, From this you will
determine your own use of the Bible in formulating ethical judgments.
4. You will write your own
ministerial code of ethics appropriate for your future ministry, whether that
be pastoral, para-church, chaplaincy counseling or other type of ministry.
Clark and Rakestraw Readings
in Christian Ethics, Volume 1, Theology and Method (RCE)
Milco Ethical Dilemmas in
Church Leadership (Milco)
Sire The Universe Next Door (Sire)
Trull and Carter Ministerial Ethics (Trull and Carter)
1. Attend and participate in
all of the class session. Because of the concentrated nature of the course,
students must inform the instructor in advance of absences so that make-up
assignments can be completed before the following session.
2. Complete the Course
Assignments before coming to class.
3. Write a ministerial code of
ethics
4. Pass the Oral Exam
1. Attendance and participation
in class sessions 25%
2. Completion of the assigned
reading and film viewing on time 25%
3. Ministerial code of ethics 25%
4. Oral Exam 25%
Discussion of Worldview and Ethics
Read Sire. Skim the entire
book and read carefully pages 9-38, 47-49, 61-64, 75-93, 102-106, 128-130,
172-190, and 192-200.
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. Why
are worldviews important?
2. How are theism, deism,
naturalism and nihilism related?
3. Why is nihilism a dead end?
4. Does existentialism solve
the problems of nihilism?
5. What is the New Age
movement? Is it truly a worldview?
6. Summarize, as best you can from this
book, the ethical principles of each worldview.
7. How does worldview determine ethics? What factors in a worldview influence the ethical values it supports?
8. What are the critical beliefs of Postmodernism that
influence the ethical climate in America today? How
can Christians reach out to people with postmodern
worldviews?
Unit 1
Read RCE p. 9-66
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 62-63
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 63-64
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. In your own words, what is
moral relativism? Should a Christian believe in moral relativism? Do Christians
act as if they believe in moral relativism? When? How?
2. Should Christians expect
unbelievers to live like Christians should live?
3. Should the concept of divine
commands be a part of our theology of ethics? What are the strengths and
weaknesses of this view?
Unit 2
Read RCE p. 67-110
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 107-108
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 108-109
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. Are kingdom and creation
ethics compatible? How? Why? How would you balance the core beliefs of each
view in your own system of ethics?
2. Can a person make ethical
decisions without a theological foundation? How does ones theological beliefs
affect their ethical decisions? Give specific examples.
3. What is authoritative in
ethical decisions? Why?
4. Why is the Bible a guide to
ethical living? How is it a guide to ethical living?
June 11
Unit 3
Read RCE p. 113-141
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 138-139
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 139-140
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. Why do ethical norms
conflict or appear to conflict in some situations?
2. Compare and contrast the
approaches to solving these conflicts discussed in this section.
3. How can an absolute be an
absolute but be in conflict with another absolute?
4. What does Geisler mean by
higher and lower moral laws? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his
position?
Unit 4
Read RCE p. 143-176
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 174-175
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 175
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. What are the strengths and
weaknesses of situationalism?
2. Is principled situationalism
viable? What are its strengths and weaknesses?
3. How must ethical discussions
be culturally contextualized?
4. How do we know when a
culture should change an accepted norm?
5. Can Christians of one
culture impose ethical standards on those of different cultures?
Unit 5
Read RCE p. 179-210
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 207-208
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 208
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. What are cautions Christians
should use when seeking to apply biblical revelation to making ethical
decisions?
2. How do we distinguish
normative and descriptive passages of Scripture?
3. What are the strengths and
weaknesses of theonomy?
4. List the key principles from
your perspective in applying the Bible to ethical decisions.
Ministerial Code of Ethics
Read Trull and Carter. Ministerial
Ethics p. 182-219 and scan p. 220-256. Scan as much of p. 9-181 as you can.
Write your own personal
code of ethics. It should be two to three pages type written and reflect your
current ministry goals. It should include sections detailing your
responsibilities to yourself, your family, your church or other ministry
setting, your colleagues and your community.
Make four copies of your
statement so that other members of your small group can discuss your statement
with you.
In your small groups give a
summary of your statement and your reasons for the included responsibilities.
Also, please ask each other to clarify any unclear points in the statements.
After this session please
revise your statement and turn it in to the instructor at the beginning of the
next session.
Unit 6
Read RCE p. 211-244
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 241-242
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 242
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. What is social and economic
justice? Can there be complete justice in a fallen world? Why? Why not? Should
we work for justice in a fallen world? Why? Why not?
2. Should some Christians be
active in politics? Why? Why not? Should all Christians be active in politics?
Why? Why not? What principles should guide Christian politicians? How would
they be different than those who did not seek to follow Christian principles?
Unit 7
Read RCE p. 247-278
Prepare to discuss the case
studies on p. 275-276
Be sure you understand the
terms in the glossary on p. 276
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. How is being a virtuous
person more than making ethically correct decisions?
2. Is a focus on virtue ethics
valid? How would it change a person=s life?
3. In your opinion, as a
general observation, do most Christians today in your culture concentrate more
on what they do or on who they are? Is this situation good?
4. How would our lives be
different if we practiced virtue ethics?
Discussion of the Film Chariots of Fire.
Watch the film
Be prepared to discuss the
following questions:
1. What
motivated Harold Abrahams to run? What motivated him in life generally?
2.
What motivated
Eric Liddell to run? What motivated him in life generally?
3.
What ethical
principles are seen in the decisions made in the film? How does the film
illustrate virtue ethics?
Unit 8
Read RCE p. 279-309
Prepare to discuss the case studies on p. 307-308
Be sure you understand the terms in the glossary on p.
308
Be prepared to discuss the following questions:
1. Refine
all that we have said in the course to this point into a concise statement
answering the question: How does a person make ethically correct decisions?
2. If you
were to give four one-half hour talks on ethics to a lay audience, how would
you structure your four sessions? If you had only one one-half hour session
with this audience, what would say? If you had more time, what would you
include?
3. List
topics, principles, and biblical passages that address ethical issues that
should be preached from every evangelical pulpit? Why should these be preached?
June 18
Oral Exam- Be prepared to answer the following
questions:
1. List
topics, principles, and biblical passages that address ethical issues that
should be preached from every evangelical pulpit? Why should these be preached?
2. Summarize
the ethical principles of each worldview mentioned in Sire=s book.
What factors in these worldviews influence the ethical values it supports?
3. What
are the worldviews expressed by the characters in Chariots of Fire and
do these worldviews influence their ethical decisions?
4. Compare
and contrast the approaches to solving conflicts between absolutes discussed in
this course.
5. What
lessons can be learned from a study of virtue ethics?
6. What are
key principles of Post-modern ethics and what is your critique of these
principles?
Read Milco pages 9-28; skim pages 29-36
Read Milco chapters 2-4 and prepare the case studies
and discussion questions in the text.
Read Milco chapters 5-7 and prepare the case studies
and discussion questions in the text.
Read Milco chapters 8-10 and prepare the case studies
and discussion questions in the text.
July 2
Read Milco chapters 11 and the appendices and prepare
the case studies and discussion questions in the text.