Reviews for Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction

The average rating for Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-01-16 00:00:00 JOHN DANIELSON D. Stephen Long is a professor of Systematic Theology at Marquette University. I was a fan of Systematic Theology growing up and I still think that it's among the few branches of Christian thought that make sense. I am open to refutations of a literal interpretation of the Bible, however. Most reformed theologians are not, to my understanding. That aside, I was not expecting this book to be the way it is. Long addresses Virtue Ethics and how it differs with Christian Ethics. He then says that a crucial element to the Christian idea of morality are a) the Trinity, and b) the Resurrection. This is where the book starts to get somewhat tediously theological rather than descriptive about the true nature of Christian Ethics. To be honest, I expected a brief synopsis of the major Christian figures' understanding of ethics, such as that of Augustine, Aquinas, Calvin, then Luther, then perhaps Wesley & Spurgeon, to modern-day Evangelicalism. But Long's approach was much more ambiguous. . . He claims that the crusades, the Witch Hunt, & the Inquisition are not correlated with Christian claims (or lack thereof) about rights. He writes: "No official Church body still sanctions crusades, slavery, or the use of torture to investigate heretics, witches, or sinners (a practice that is, however, still justified by some 'civilized' secular nations against their enemies). Most of these corrections were internal to Christianity itself" (92). This is just misleading. Witches were killed because the Bible ordained it. Slavery may have originated before Judaism & Christianity, but slavery was encouraged in the Bible. In the 17th century, for example, we have no record of an anti-slavery sermon or text from Christian leaders condemning it. That is not an accident. He, then, also dismisses Utilitarianism because it is not based on Divine revelation (pp. 96) and then claims that ethicists replace God with ethics, Long argues. He also says that the 20th century can exemplify that "secularism failed" (99). Overall, not a great synopsis of Christian Ethics, in my humble view.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-09-08 00:00:00 Kristy Fry This book is what the title promises: a very short introduction into the topic of Christian ethics. I do not feel like I have a decent grasp on the subject yet, though. Instead, I feel like I swam in a small, cordoned-off pond that is part of a vast ocean. I feel no closer to understanding that ocean than if I had remained on the shore and looked out. My best guess about what that means is that it indicates that this book is best read in partnership with other books. While this may be a good primer or introduction, it certainly leaves a lot unsaid and untaught (which I know was its goal), so I don't think I would recommend this book as a solo read, but I do think it was a good way for me to be introduced to the topic at large before moving on to much larger, much more boring volumes.