DESCRIPTION: This is a 6-unit seminar for doctoral students, also offered at the 500-level as a 4-unit course open to a limited number of master's level students by permission of the professor. The thesis of the seminar is that Christian ethics would be much stronger if it paid attention to the way of Jesus Christ. Increasingly interesting resources are at hand. Our objectives are (1) to detect methodological assumptions in the frameworks that Christian ethicists use which block, divert, or else enhance their ability to write ethics that learns constructively from Jesus; (2) to increase knowledge of resources in a sample of canonical exegetical approaches, historical Jesus approaches, and Christian ethicists whose writing is strengthened by their methodologically interesting attention to Jesus; (3) to develop the skill to write a constructive essay in Christian ethics that combines accurate interpretation of the way of Jesus with a critical ethical method or framework.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: Many churches teach, preach, and practice without much concrete attention to the way of Jesus, instead emphasizing general inspiration, or doctrine, or exegesis of other aspects of biblical literature. The result often is a church ripe for co-optation by secular ideologies and accommodation to secular culture rather than being authentically transformative. The same is true of much Christian ethics. Our objective is to recover a transformative vision that is faithful to Jesus Christ, fully Lord and fully Savior.

COURSE FORMAT: Seminar discussions, weekly for three-hours, analyzing, comparing, and assessing different understandings of Jesus in Christian ethics.

REQUIRED READING:

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Discipleship. Fortress, 2001.

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Sex, Gender, & Christian Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Gustafson, James. Christ and the Moral Life. Westminster John Knox, 2008.

Marshall, Christopher D. Beyond Retribution: A New Testament Vision for Justice, Crime, and Punishment. Eerdmans, 2001.

Myers, Ched. Binding the Strong Man. Orbis, 1997.

Powell, Mark. Jesus as a Figure in History. Westminster John Knox, 1998.

Spohn, William. Go and Do Likewise. Continuum, 1999.

Verhey, Allen. Remembering Jesus. Eerdmans, 2002.

Yoder, John Howard. The Original Revolution. Herald, 2003.

On reserve in the Library:

Troeltsch, Ernst. The Social Teaching of the Christian Churches, vol. 1, pp. 39-58.

Hays, Richard. "Victory over Violence," in Jesus and the Restoration of Israel, ed. Newman. IVP.

Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics. InterVarsity Press, chapters 1, 6, 16, 17.

Yoder, John H. "Jesus and Power," in On Earth Peace, ed. Durnbaugh, 365-72.

Boff, Leonardo. Jesus Christ, Liberator. Orbis, 1978.

Borg, Marcus. Conflict, Holiness & Politics in the Teachings of Jesus. Trinity International, 1998.

Cone, James. God of the Oppressed. Orbis, 1997.

Friesen, Duane. Artists, Citizens, Philosophers: Seeking the Peace of the City. Herald, 2000.

Hendricks, Obery. The Politics of Jesus. Doubleday, 2006.

Herzog, William R., II. Jesus, Justice, and the Reign of God. Westminster John Knox, 2000.

Moe-Lobeda, Cynthia. Healing a Broken World. Augsburg Fortress, 2002.

Moltmann, Jürgen. The Way of Jesus Christ. Fortress,1993.

Stassen, Glen, D. M. Yeager, and John Yoder. Authentic Transformation: A New Vision of Christ and Culture. Abingdon, 1996.

Watts, Rikki. Isaiah's New Exodus in Mark. Baker Academic, 2000.

Wink, Walter. Engaging the Fortress, 1992.

Wright, N. T. Jesus and the Victory of God. Fortress, 1996.

Yoder, John H. Politics of Jesus. Eerdmans, 1994.