Study Programme - Christian Ethics

It is our behaviour and choices that reveal what we really believe. Christian ethics should be distinctive in the way it grapples with the many moral issues challenging our pluralist and permissive society. But it must also be sensitive to the variety of different approaches Christians may take. This unit explores areas of debate and controversy concerning Christian behaviour in contemporary society.

This unit is split into two modules.

ETHICS 1

  1. Introduction
    Setting the agenda for thinking Christianly about ethics
  2. Helmut Thielicke
    An introduction to Thielicke's Theological Ethics
  3. Alasdair Macintyre
    An introduction to MacIntyre's moral philosophy
  4. Anabaptist Ethics
    An introduction to the ethical approaches of the Anabaptist tradition
  5. Stanley Hauerwas
    An introduction to the community ethics of Stanley Hauerwas
  6. Social Exclusion
    An examination of the ways in which society is structured so that some people are excluded from the benefits that most people take for granted
  7. Concepts of Personhood
    Practices surrounding conception and death
  8. Gender
    An exploration of the social construction of gender
  9. Sexuality
    An in-depth examination of sexuality and, in particular, Christian approaches to homosexuality
  10. Family
    Developing Christian thinking about marriage, divorce, the modern family, child-raising and community

ETHICS 2

  1. Church & State 1
    An examination of the New Testament views on the relationship between church and state
  2. Church & State 2
    Contemporary Christian views on the nature of the state and Christian responsibility within it
  3. Peace & War 1
    Just War Theory and Pacifism
  4. Peace & War 2
    Shalom activism and non-violence
  5. Crime & Justice 1
    An analysis of the British Criminal Justice System and its failings
  6. Crime & Justice 2
    Creative alternatives to incarceration in the light of the biblical vision of shalom
  7. Economics 1
    An examination of five aspects of globalisation: financial, commercial, political, cultural and environmental
  8. Economics 2
    Examining contemporary Christian approaches to development and globalisation
  9. Ecology & Environment
    Developing Christian ecological sensitivity in the light of biblical eschatology
  10. Medicine & Society
    Bioethics and genetics