Winter 2017/Pasadena

ET559

Lee

ET859/559: METHODS IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS (6 Units: 383 hours/4 Units: 160 hours). Hak Joon Lee.

DESCRIPTION: This seminar studies representative methods in Christian ethics in a systematic and comparative way. This employs an analysis of their underlying theological and philosophical assumptions and the essential ingredients that shape each method in a particular way in grappling with specific social issues or concerns. The goal is to help students to sharpen their analytical and synthesizing skills in Christian ethical reasoning through a comparative study of key variables, and to explore their own method in Christian ethics in critical conversations with other methods.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:  Students who pass this seminar will be able (1) to detect and analyze the key theological and philosophical assumptions behind each method; (2) to develop skill in analyzing and synthesizing the key ethical variables that shape leading methods in Christian ethics; (3) to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of each method in comparison with other methods; and (4) to articulate their own ethical method in comparison to these methods, developing the skill to write a critical essay that addresses various methodological concerns in conversations with other scholars.

COURSE FORMAT: This class meets once per week for three-hour sessions for a total of 30 hours of classroom instruction for lecture and discussion plus 10 hours of directed learning activities for a total of 40 instructional hours.

REQUIRED READING: 3,000 pp. / 1,730 pp. of required reading.

Barth, Karl. Church Dogmatics: The Doctrine of God. T&T Clark, 2004. ISBN: 978-0567050595, Pub. Price $75.00 [200 pp. assigned].

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Ethics. Fortress Press, 2008. ISBN: 978-0800683269, Pub. Price $39.99 [200 pp. assigned].

Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Sex, Gender, and Christian Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0521578486, Pub. Price $49.99 [150 pp. assigned].

Hauerwas, Stanley. The Peaceable Kingdom: A Primer in Christian Ethics. University of Notre Dame Press, 1991. ISBN: 978-0268015541, Pub. Price $23.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Hays, Richard. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. HarperOne, 1996. ISBN: 978-0060637965, Pub. Price $26.99 [150 pp. assigned].

Hollenbach, David. Global Face of Public Faith: Politics, Human Rights, and Christian Ethics. Georgetown University Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0878401390, Pub. Price $31.95 [150 pp. assigned].

Lee, Hak Joon Lee. “Trinity, Covenant, and Ethics: A Constructive Christian Ethics in a Pluralistic Society” [draft; class handout] [approx. 150 pp.].

Stackhouse, Max. Shaping Public Theology: Selections from the Writings of Max L. Stackhouse. Edited byScott R. Paeth, E. Harold Breitenberg Jr. and Hak Joon Lee. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014. ISBN: 978-0802868817, Pub. Price $40.00 [approx. 150 pp.].

West, Traci. Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter. Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0664229597, Pub. Price $30.00 [100 pp. assigned].

For the 500 level students only

Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. 2nd Edition, Eerdmans, 2016. ISBN: 978-0802874214. Price: $40.00 [Approx. 350 pages]

For the 800 level students only

Yoder, John Howard. The Politics of Jesus. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994. ISBN: 978-0802807342, Pub. Price $24.00. [approx. 230 pp.].

 Course Packet (accessible electronically) [80 pp. assigned].

RECOMMENDED READING:

Allen, Joseph L. Love and Conflict: A Covenantal Model of Christian Ethics. University Press of America, 1995. ISBN: 978-0687228065, Pub. Price $54.00.

Bolt, John. Bavinck on the Christian Life: Following Jesus in Faithful Service. Crossway, 2015. ISBN: 978-1433540745, Pub. Price $19.99.

Clark, David K., and Robert V. Rakestraw. Readings in Christian Ethics. Vols. 1-2. Baker Academic, 1996. ISBN: 978-0801020568, Pub. Price $38.00. 

Cone, James. God of the Oppressed. Orbis Books, 1997. ISBN: 978-1570751585, Pub. Price $20.00.

De La Torre, Miguel A. Christian Ethics from the Margins. Orbis, 2004. ISBN: 978-1570755514, Pub. Price $24.00.

Herdt, Jennifer. Putting on Virtue: The Legacy of the Splendid Vices. University Of Chicago Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0226327198, Pub. Price $41.00.

Jennings, Willie. Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race. Yale University Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0300171365, Pub. Price $27.50.

Lee, Hak Joon. The Great World House: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Global Ethics. Pilgrim Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0829818215, Pub. Price $25.00.

Moltmann, Jürgen. Ethics of Hope. Fortress Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0800698584, Pub. Price $29.00.

Niebuhr, Reinhold. An Interpretation of Christian Ethics. Westminster John Knox Press, 2013.
ISBN: 978-0664236939, Pub. Price $35.00.

________. The Nature and Destiny of Man, vol. 1 & 2. Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0664257095, Pub. Price $60.00.

Niebuhr, H. R. The Responsible Self. Westminster/John Knox, 1963. ISBN: 978-0664221522. Pub. Price $30.00.

Smedes, Lewis. Mere Morality: What God Expects from Ordinary People. Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1989. ISBN: 978-0802802576, Pub. Price $23.00.

Stassen, Glen H. A Thicker Jesus: Incarnational Discipleship in a Secular Age. Westminster John Knox Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0664238179, Pub. Price $25.00 [150 pp. assigned].

Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0830826681, Pub. Price $35.00.

Verhey, Allen. Remembering Jesus: Christian Community, Scripture, and the Moral Life. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005. ISBN: 978-0802831316, Pub. Price $27.00.

Yoder, John Howard. The Politics of Jesus. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994. ISBN: 978-0802807342, Pub. Price $24.00.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

At the 800 level

1. Attend all seminar sessions, prepared to analyze the readings of the day. 3,000 pages of assigned reading (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-3]. [194 hours of SLT].

2. Four short papers (4 pages, double spaced), and prepare to present and engage with the readings and discussions of the day (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-4]. [24 hours + 86 hours of other DLAs].

3. A term paper (around 7,500 words) on a selected topic on the method, by each student, related to the course and which critically analyzes, compares, and assesses the methods of two prominent Christian ethicists in light of his/her own constructive proposal on the method of Christian ethics (50%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-4] [70 hours of SLT].

At the 500 level

1. 1,730 pages of reading required (10%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-3]. [86 hours + 4 hours of DLAs = 90 hours].

2. 3 brief reflection papers (4 pages, double spaced) (30%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-4]. [16 hours, including 10 hours of DLAs].

3. Final Paper (3,000 words) that critically compares different methods of Christian ethics (60%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes # 1-4] [24 hours]. The scholarly paper has to engage at least two different Christian ethical perspectives on the same ethical issue or variable, e.g. human dignity, justice, power, in light of a student’s own particular cultural context

PREREQUISITES: Master’s level students: permission of the instructor.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Fulfills the TH5 or TH6 requirements in the 120 MDiv Program (Fall 2016). Fulfills the TH6 requirement in the 80 MAT and 80 MATM Programs (Fall 2016). Option to meet the C4 or TH5 requirements in the 120 MDiv Program (Fall 2014). Option to meet the C4 requirement in the 80 MATM and 80 MAICS Programs (Fall 2015). Option to count in the Christian Ethics emphasis.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.