DESCRIPTION: This course compares Christian and secular arguments on a variety of currently contested moral issues. The issues studied will include same-sex marriage, the use of religious reasoning in public, abortion, euthanasia, nationalism/patriotism, poverty/economics, and the relation of law to morality. We will carefully examine various secular perspectives (liberal, utilitarian, communitarian, etc). These will be compared to various Christian perspectives, such as evangelical, Anglican, Catholic, Emergent, etc., looking for points of agreement as well as tension. We will ask whether Christians ought to de-Christianize (secularize) their public speech, or whether they ought to offer distinctively Christian reasons for their political positions. We will seek to create room for fair-minded conversation between even the most contradictory positions (e.g. the current pope and Peter Singer; supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage). To accomplish this, we will learn the languages of each of these perspectives and their underlying worldview/philosophical commitments. We will observe the ways these views have changed over the course of church history, with special attention given to the perspective of the Emerging Church.
Learning the languages used by society to discuss moral issues is an exercise in cultural theology. It requires naming and understanding our cultures from a theologically and historically informed perspective. As such, our studies will engage both academic work and (occasionally) sources of popular culture, such as This American Life and U2.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: For the church to engage with wider society in more fruitful and less harmful ways, Christians need to better understand the political and ethical perspectives of non-Christians. Thus it is not enough for a pastor to know only how the Bible or her denomination approaches an issue: she also needs to know the views of those in her wider community. This requires practicing an overlooked spiritual discipline: getting inside the heads of our neighbors, learning to speak their language, and walking in their shoes to see what the world looks like from their perspective. This spiritual discipline makes it possible for us to listen to even our most hostile opponents with patience, showing that we consider their views worthy of attention and respect.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon successful completion, students will be better able to

1. engage others with generosity and respect on controversial moral issues;

2. articulate the relation between their Christian and political convictions in a way informed by major voices in church history;

3. understand from the inside the common political arguments offered on the issues studied;

4. explain such arguments in light of their underlying philosophical or worldview commitments;

5. understand how the church has understood the relation of church and state throughout history;

6. engage culture constructively by becoming familiar with the languages used throughout society to discuss controversial moral issues.

Wells, S., and Quash, B. Introducing Christian Ethics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. Chapters 1-6, 200 pp.

Sandel, M. Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do? New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. 200 pp.

Singer, Peter. The Life You Can Save: Acting Now the End World Poverty. New York: Random House, 2009. 198 pp.

Laytham, D. Brent, ed. God is Not . . . Religious, Nice, "One of Us," An American, A Capitalist. Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2004. 152 pp.

Selected chapters, articles, interviews, and sermons (to be available electronically) on each applied issue (abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, euthanasia, patriotism, etc.) by authors such as C. S. Lewis, Mark Driscoll, Richard B. Hays, Stephen L. Carter, Glen Stassen, Stanley Hauerwas, Pieter Admiraal. 900 pp.

1. Regular attendance and participation in class discussion (opportunity for participation in online class message board). [10%]

2. Two imagined presentations stating your theological perspective on an issue discussed in class. One of these asks you to imagine speaking as a pastor to a congregation (due August 9), while the other (due August 21) will be written as a Christian contributing to wider civic dialog in the community (e.g. a letter to the editor). [1500 to 2000 words each; 20% each = 40%]

3. An academic/research paper exploring an issue from the class in greater depth. In consultation with professor, students may be able to personalize this assignment to their own learning goals, such as by focusing on an issue of relevance to their denomination or interviewing members of their own congregation as primary research for the paper. Papers could also be broader than a single issue (for example, "Are Emergent Christian Ethics Compatible with Evangelical Ethics?" or "Can Good Christians Be Good Liberals?"). [2500 to 3000 words; due September 3; 30%]

4. Final exam, primarily to test completion of assigned readings. Most questions will be objective (multiple choice/fill-in-the-blank). [August 13; 20%]