Summer 2015/Fuller Online
ET501
White
ET501: CHRISTIAN ETHICS (4 Units: 160 hours). Brian White.
DESCRIPTION: A foundational course in Christian ethics that studies Christian vision, values, and convictions shaping moral agency, decisions, and practices. Seeking a holistic Christian ethics that aids personal spiritual-moral growth, ecclesial practices, and the enhancement of social justice to serve the triune God who revealed in Jesus Christ as Lord in all of life and ministry, the course studies different methods of ethical reasoning, authority of Scripture, formation of moral agency, norms of love and justice, together with the issues of economic, racial, and ecological justice, sanctity of life, sexual faithfulness, violence and peacemaking with a special attention to global and pluralistic contexts of Christian ministry today.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will demonstrate that they (1) understand core Christian moral convictions, vision, values, virtues of Christian faith (e.g., the kingdom of God, the Ten Commandments, covenant, the Sermon on the Mount, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, love and justice, human dignity, nonviolence, etc.); (2) have learned the basic skills of critical moral description, analysis, and ethical reasoning; (3) understand and can assess different ethical views and assumptions besides their own; (4) have gained competence in teaching Christian ethics in their own particular social contexts and in articulating their moral convictions in the public realm in conversations with others; (5) have learned how to identify and apply core Christian vision, values, and virtues to major contemporary ethical issues.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar for a total of 40 instructional hours, which is outlined below in the assignment and assessment section. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning.
REQUIRED READING: Approx. 1,200 pp. of required reading.
De La Torre, Miguel A. DoingChristian Ethics from the Margins, 2nd Ed. Orbis, 2014. ISBN: 978-1626980754, Pub. Price $35.00 [147 pp. assigned].
Hays, Richard. The Moral Vision of the New Testament: Community, Cross, New Creation, A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics. Harper Collins, 1997. ISBN: 978-0060637965, Pub. Price $26.99 [129 pp. assigned].
Smedes, Lewis. Mere Morality:What God Expects from Ordinary People. Eerdmans, 1989. ISBN: 978-0802802576, Pub. Price $20.00 [294 pp.].
Stassen, Glen, and David Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. InterVarsity Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0830826681, Pub. Price $35.00 [400 pp. assigned].
West, Traci. Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter. Westminster John Knox Press, 2006. ISBN: 978-0664229597, Pub. Price $30.00 [220 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.
Cahill, Lisa Sowle. Sex, Gender, and Christian Ethics. Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN: 978-0521578486, Pub. Price: $44.99.
Farley, Margaret. Just Love: A Framework for Christian Sexual Ethics. Bloomsbury Academic, 2008. ISBN: 978-0826429247, Pub. Price: $34.95.
Lee, Hak Joon. The Great World House: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Global Ethics. Pilgrim Press, 2011. ISBN: 978-0829818215, Pub. Price: $25.00.
Lee, Sang H. From A Liminal Place: An Asian American Theology. Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0800696689, Pub. Price: $29.00.
Niebuhr, H. R. The Responsible Self. Westminster/John Knox, 1963. ISBN: 978-0664221522, Pub. Price $30.00.
Rasmussen, Larry. Earth Community, Earth Ethics. Orbis Books, 1997. ISBN: 978-1570751868, Pub. Price: $30.00.
Sider, Ronald. Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America. Baker, 1999. ISBN: 978-0801066139, Pub. Price: $25.00.
Verhey, Allen. Remembering Jesus: Christian Community, Scripture, and the Moral Life. Wm. B.
Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005. ISBN: 978-0802831316, Pub. Price: $30.00.
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:
Weekly lessons including instructor’s posts, audio files, videos, and presentations [20 hours].
Ten, 250-word weekly posts, reflecting on and relating the week’s lessons and readings to one’s own personal context (25%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-5]. [15 hours].
Ten weekly replies to students’ posts (around 150 words) (15%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-3, 5]. [10 hours].
1,200 pages of required reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1-5] [65 hours].
One group project centered around an assigned case study on a contemporary ethical issue. The project will result in a 1,000-1,500 word group report on the issue (to be posted to the whole class for the Q&A forum) (10%) and a unique sermon, Bible study, adult seminar, or video presentation from each group member (10%). The assignment will conclude with a Q&A forum in which each group is required to submit one question in response to each other group’s report (5%, 25% total) [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-5 (esp. #4-5)] [30 hours total: 15 hours group interactions; 15 hours writing].
2,000-2,500 word term paper comparing two different ethical perspectives on the same ethical issue, with special attention given to the critical analysis of at least one variable (e.g. justice, power, human nature) that plays a significant role in the outcome of one’s ethical reasoning (35%). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1-5]. [20 hours].
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Option to meet the C4 or TH5 requirement in the 120 MDiv Program. Meets ETH in the 144 MDiv Program. Meets MAT program requirement and Seminary Core Requirement (SCR) for other MA degrees (Winter 2010). Requirement in Christian Ethics emphasis and Just Peacemaking emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION: None.