abstract
|
|
|
"Creational Ethics is Public Ethics"
Guenther ("Gene") Haas, Th.D.
Religion and Theology Dept.
This paper argues that there is a distinctive Christian ethic, which is not opposed to a public ethic. The basic reason is that Christian morality is not an ethical approach to life that imposes a religious perspective onto secular human life. Rather, Christian morality is simply creational morality; it is the morality characteristic of the very nature of the world as God made it.
Drawing upon the Kuyperian Reformed framework, and the work of Oliver O'Donovan, I argue for this understanding of Christian ethics as creational ethics. While similar to natural law, there are some important distinctions between natural law and creational ethics. This paper notes some important distinctions and similarities between the two.
The major portion of the paper explains how Christian creational ethics can and should have something to say to society today concerning serious moral issues. At some level of understanding, all humans recognize this creational morality, although sin and idolatry lead humans to reject this morality and its implications. But even so, men and women cannot deny the force of creational ethics. Intuitively and empirically God's creational moral order bears upon them. I will suggest some creative ways in which
Christians can use this implicit knowledge to engage the broader society.
Another major approach to public morality today -- communitarian/virtue ethics espoused by Hauerwas, MacIntyre, etc -- rejects the approach of creational ethics, and emphasizes an alternative Christian community as the means of impacting society. A portion of this paper explains why this approach is deficient. But the major thrust of this paper is positive -- presenting Christian ethics as creational ethics, and demonstrating how this approach allows the Church to have an impact on the broader society.