Summer 2019/Seattle

ET501

Keuss

ET501: CHRISTIAN ETHICS (4 Units: 160 hours). Jeffrey F. Keuss.

DESCRIPTION: A foundational course in Christian ethics that studies core Christian ethical vision, values, and convictions (telos, norms, and virtues) shaping and guiding Christian moral agency, decisions, and ecclesial practices. The course discusses the methods of ethical decisions, authority of Scripture, formation of moral agency, norms of love and justice, together with the issues of economic, racial, and ecological justice, the sanctity of life, sexual faithfulness, and violence and peacemaking with special attention to global, pluralistic contexts of Christian ministry today.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will demonstrate that they (1) understand core Christian moral convictions, vision, values, and virtues of Christian faith (the kingdom of God, covenant, law, cruciformity/cross, love and justice, human dignity, nonviolence, community, 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 class meets from 6:00-9:30pm on June 24-28 (M-F) and July 1-3 (M-W) for a total of 28 instructional hours, plus 12 hours of directed learning activities. These 28 hours of instructional time will include lectures, small group discussions and case studies on Christian theological and ethical responses to public issues.

REQUIRED READING: Approx. 1,200pp. of required reading.

Douglas, Kelly Brown. Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Orbis, 2015. ISBN: 978-1626981096, Pub. Price $26.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [160 pp.].

Gill, Robin (ed.) A Textbook of Christian Ethics. 4th ed. T&T Clark, 2014. ISBN: 978-0567595928, Pub. Price $44.95. [140 pp. assigned].

Gutierrez, Gustavo. On Job: God-Talk and the Suffering of the Innocent. Orbis, 1991. ISBN: 978-0883445525, Pub. Price $24.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [136 pp.].

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 $29.99. [170 pp. assigned].

Stassen, Glen Harold, and David P. Gushee. Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. 2nd ed. Eerdmans, 2016. ISBN: 978-0802874214, Pub. Price $40.00. Available as an e-book from the Fuller Library [160 pp. assigned].

Smedes, Lewis. Mere Morality: What God Expects from Ordinary People. Eerdmans, 1989. ISBN: 978-0802802576, Pub. Price $23.00. [294 pp.].

A pre-approved ethics monograph of the student’s choice [140 pp].

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

  1. Class time [28 hours].
  2. Approximately 1,200 pages of required reading. [This assignment is related to learning outcome #1] [80 hours].
  3. Two book reviews, approximately 750 words each, one of which must be a book from the student’s assigned reading set books. The other review is a pre-approved ethics monograph of the student’s choice (with reading held to chapters designated by professor and student that hold to maximal page limits read for course). (20% total). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #1, 2, and 3]. [12 hours of DLA].
  4. Two 500-word take-home Case Studies based upon assigned texts and lectures. Special emphasis will be placed upon the Douglas, Gutierrez and Smedes texts – whichever the student chooses. (40% total). [This assignment is related to learning outcomes #2 and 3] [10 hours].
  5. A 3000-word term paper. The final term paper is the signature assignment for ET501.This is a scholarly paper that has to engage at least two different Christian ethical perspectives covered in class on the same ethical issue or variable, e.g. human dignity, justice, power, in light of a student’s own particular cultural context. Term paper will be graded in relation to the “Essay Criteria Rubric” provided in class (40%). [This assignment is related to learning outcome #3] [30 hours].

PREREQUISITES: None.

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). Meets ETH in the 144 MDiv Program. Meets MAT program requirement (Winter 2010) and Seminary Core Requirement (SCR) for other MA degrees (Winter 2010). Requirement in Christian Ethics emphasis and Just Peacemaking emphasis.

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

NOTE: This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. Textbook prices are set by publishers and are subject to change. Copyright 2019 Fuller Theological Seminary.