# Books on Christian Ethics



## SRoper (Jan 12, 2006)

I have a friend who is looking for academic books on Christian ethics. He is looking for books that with ethical theory rather than applied ethics. Each book ought to be the best defense of a particular author or view. I thought some people here might have some good suggestions.


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## Saiph (Jan 12, 2006)

The Doctirne Of The Christian Life by John Frame is online, and covers various ethical systems. 
(ie. teleological, deontological, relativism, etc . ..)


http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/topic/ethics.html

[Edited on 1-12-2006 by Saiph]


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## Contra_Mundum (Jan 12, 2006)

I don't know if this book would qualify under academic, but as a representative book and at least somewhat theoretical, you might suggest R.L. Dabney, _The Practical Philosophy_


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## Arch2k (Jan 12, 2006)

Essays on Ethics and Politics by Gordon Clark.


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## crhoades (Jan 12, 2006)

Carl Henry has one of the best books covering various ethical theories and another good one on social ethics
Christian Personal Ethics
Aspects of Social Ethics
books at abebooks.com

Of course I would differ at a few points here and there but these are good overviews.

Ditto to the John Frame book as well as his syllabus online.


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## tcalbrecht (Jan 12, 2006)

_Theonomy in Christian Ethics_ by Greg Bahnsen


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## crhoades (Jan 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by tcalbrecht_
> _Theonomy in Christian Ethics_ by Greg Bahnsen



And for the record the book is titled Theonomy _in_ Christian Ethics, not Theonomy _is_ Christian Ethics. God's law deals with the normative aspect. There still needs to be wisdom as to applying God's law to the situation as well as with a pure heart in love for the glory of God(the situational and personal aspects of ethics).

Bahnsen addresses these other aspects briefly in his book and has taught courses on them as well.
(Tom, this was a general post and not directed at you...)

I would also check out Bahnsen's By This Standard as an easier intro to the above.

Also gotta recommend John Murray's Principles of Conduct as a standard Reformed treatment on ethics.


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## ChristopherPaul (Jan 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by tcalbrecht_
> _Theonomy in Christian Ethics_ by Greg Bahnsen



*scratches head*

I am shocked, Chris Rhoades did not recommend this.


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## ChristopherPaul (Jan 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by crhoades_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by tcalbrecht_
> ...





Never mind...


(I must have had the reply screen open for a long time before I actually submitted my reply and thus missed crhodes reply)


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## crhoades (Jan 12, 2006)

> _Originally posted by ChristopherPaul_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by crhoades_
> ...



Try and throw a curve ball once and a while and... 

Just trying to keep a balance and all. One of the cries of the reformation wasn't solus theonomus ya know? Bahnsen read and interacted widely with Murray and Henry as well as dozens of others. I'm afraid that too often theonomists don't read past Rushdoony, North, and Bahnsen and get rather ingrown and fiesty. The three names I just mentioned each had libraries that would make any of us drool.


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## crhoades (Jan 12, 2006)

Also,

John Jefferson Davis - Evangelical Ethics
J. Douma - Responsible Conduct: Principles of Christian Ethics
David Jones - Biblical Christian Ethics

If I had to pick in order it would be:
Henry
Murray
Bahnsen
Davis
Douma
Jones

and I would definitely pick up the top three.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jan 15, 2006)

I wouldn't look to Bahnsen's work for a good overall book on Christian ethics.


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## RamistThomist (Jan 15, 2006)

> _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> I wouldn't look to Bahnsen's work for a good overall book on Christian ethics.



Did you even read Chris's post? Bahnsen had no intention of "a good overall" approach. It is theonomy _in_ Christian ethics. It deals with the *normativity* of God's law (which everyone must deal with). You are critiquing it for not doing what it had no intention of doing.

I would recommend John Jefferson Davis's book. He uses much of Bahnsen's arguments against homosexuality, showing that in a Chrisitan society where real justice reigns, even though homosexuality would be a crime, homosexuals would have more judicial rights than Americans do today (due process of law, trial by jury, etc.).

Davis also masterfully defends the citizen's right to take up arms against a bloodthirsty, tyrannical magistrate. He defends, if you will, the Reformation teaching of imposition of lesser magistrates.


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## WrittenFromUtopia (Jan 15, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Draught Horse_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by WrittenFromUtopia_
> ...



There are too many gauntlets available to be thrown down on this message board. Firstly, yes, I read Chris's post. Secondly, I know Bahnsen had no intention of "a good overall" approach. Thirdly, I know the title of the book. Fourthly, I know what the book deals with, as I have read it. Fifthly, I am not critiquing the book for not being "a good overall" book on Christian ethics, I'm simply stating the fact (that I'm sure the late Greg Ph.D. would agree with) that the book is not helpful at all if the kind of book you are looking for (as the original poster of this thread asked) is "a good overall" book on Christian ethics. That isn't a critique, it is a fact. If you had asked me what I meant by my post, you could have found out my intentions without assuming them and criticizing what you thought I said.


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## RamistThomist (Jan 15, 2006)

Had you said all of the above beforehand I would not have jumped the gun. At best it seemed redundant to Chris's statement. At worse it seemed like "yet another reason why Bahnsen is wrong." My apologies for the misunderstanding.


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 15, 2006)

Dabney has a chapter on Refutation Of Sensualistic Ethics in his other philosophy book, in print from Naphtali Press, The Sensualistic Philosophy of the 19th century Considered. Other chapters are: Positivism, Evolution Theory, Physiological Materialism, Spirituality Of The Mind, Evolution Theory Materialistic, And Therefore False, Validity Of Ã€-Priori Notions, Origin Of Ã€-Priori Notions, Philosophy And The Supernatural, The Evolution Of Human Souls
Dabney considered this book and Practical Philosophy to be his best works.


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## RamistThomist (Jan 15, 2006)

> _Originally posted by NaphtaliPress_
> Dabney has a chapter on Refutation Of Sensualistic Ethics in his other philosophy book, in print from Naphtali Press, The Sensualistic Philosophy of the 19th century Considered. Other chapters are: Positivism, Evolution Theory, Physiological Materialism, Spirituality Of The Mind, Evolution Theory Materialistic, And Therefore False, Validity Of Ã€-Priori Notions, Origin Of Ã€-Priori Notions, Philosophy And The Supernatural, The Evolution Of Human Souls
> Dabney considered this book and Practical Philosophy to be his best works.



While I haven't finished Dabney's book, this line is my favorite (each sentence is jam-packed with meaning):



> The history of human rights, that their intelligent assertors usually learn the true grounds of them "œin the furnace of affliction"; that the posterity who inherit these rights hold them for a while, in pride and ignorant prescription; that after a while, when the true logic of the rights has been forgotten, and when some plausible temptation presses them to do so, the next generation discards the precious rights bodily, and goes back to the practice of old tyranny."


p.394, Sprinkle Publishers, [reprint] 1984.

The man was prophetic, wasn't he?


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 15, 2006)

Here's a Dabney snippet from Sensualistic Philosophy. Speaking of Evolution and Materialism, Dabney professes the following: _Centuries hence, if man shall continue in his present state so long, when these groveling theories of unbelief shall have been assigned to that limbus where polytheism, alchemy, and judicial astrology lie contemned, Christianity will be still subduing the nations and blessing the world with its beneficent sway._ *The Sensualistic Philosophy of the 19th century Considered* (NP, 2002) 143.


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## Contra_Mundum (Jan 15, 2006)

Rock on, Dabney!


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## NaphtaliPress (Jan 15, 2006)

Ok. Here's one more. Dabney was writing early still against evolution and may have been too optimistic in 1875 about the short life evolution might have had as serious science. But this quote is great (remember circa 1875):


> 5. Rational objections have been now presented, which entirely break the force of any plausible appearances, and place the evolution theory out of the pale of science. The most that can be claimed for it is, that it is an ingenious fancy. The mind properly imbued with the humble and cautious methods of inductive science would be led to this conclusion by the contents of these writings themselves. Suppositions have to be added to suppositions, in order to arrive at their conclusions. Asserted probabilities are quietly exchanged into assumed certainties. Propositions introduced as conditional, are, after a little, made absolute without right. Many a "œmay be" is transmuted into a "œmust be." But, were all these yawning chasms closed up, the utmost which could be made of the evolution hypothesis would be, that it contained a curious possibility. Ibid. 141


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## RamistThomist (Jan 15, 2006)

When I was digging up that quote I saw where Dabney talks about political ethics. Now I am really interested. Volume four of his Discussions is superb on this issue.


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## SRoper (Jan 16, 2006)

"the book is not helpful at all if the kind of book you are looking for (as the original poster of this thread asked) is 'a good overall' book on Christian ethics."

Actually I asked that "each book ought to be the best defense of a particular author or view." So if you think that theonomy is a major viewpoint in Christian ethics (even if you don't agree with theonomy), then what is the most important book by a proponent of that view?

My friend is putting together a syllabus for a class on Christian ethics. I believe it is 200 level. He is limiting the scope to 20th and 21st century writers. However, he is taking the term Christian to be broad, so the views need not be Reformed.


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## fredtgreco (Jan 16, 2006)

_Resurrection and Moral Order_ by Oliver O'Donovan


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## RamistThomist (Mar 21, 2006)

I was thinking, while not a book, this should whet your appetite. I am going through Course in Personal Holiness right now (it is an introduction to ethical reasoning). 

Personal Holiness: Importance of Personal Ethics -- 1 of 19 
Pitfalls in Moral Reasoning -- 2 of 19 
What is Ethics? -- 3 of 19 
Descriptive Ethics, Normative Ethics, Metaethics -- 4 of 19 
Criteria for Good Works -- 5 of 19 
Interdependence of Three Ethical Perspectives -- 6 of 19 
Dispositional Ethics--Existentialism -- 7 of 19 
Moral Responsibility -- 8 of 19 
Moral Values--Cardinal Values -- 9 of 19
What is Holiness? -- 10 of 19 
Definitive and Progressive Sanctification -- 11 of 19 
The Goal, Agency and Means of Sanctification -- 12 of 19 
God's and Man's Role in Sanctification -- 13 of 19
Aberrant Views: Rome, Plymouth Brethren, Perfectionism -- 14 of 1
Aberrant Views: Victorious Life and Keswick -- 15 of
Ethical Epistemology -- 16 of 19 
Ethical Decision-Making -- 17 of 19 
Conscience and Emotions in Sanctification -- 18 of 19
Motivations to Holiness -- 19 of 19


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## crhoades (Mar 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Draught Horse_
> I was thinking, while not a book, this should whet your appetite. I am going through Course in Personal Holiness right now (it is an introduction to ethical reasoning).
> 
> Personal Holiness: Importance of Personal Ethics -- 1 of 19
> ...



That is an excellent series. Now on to his one on situational and normative ethics! Are you following along with Frame's syllabus? He follows it very closely.


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## RamistThomist (Mar 21, 2006)

Chris, its hard for me to read in the car! But yes, I have Frame's syllabus on my desk.


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## crhoades (Mar 21, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Draught Horse_
> Chris, its hard for me to read in the car! But yes, I have Frame's syllabus on my desk.



Practice makes perfect.


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