1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not what the title suggests, November 20, 2010
This review is from: Charts of Christian Ethics (ZondervanCharts) (Paperback)
The title of this book is "Charts of Christian Ethics". However, that is not really what this book is about. It is about the foundations of Ethics, philosophical, biblical, and theological. In addition, it is about Ethics proper & its History. To give you a feel of what you may find in the book, I will list out some items that you may find in its 5 different parts.
In the Philosophical Foundations part, you will find in charts with items such as Modal Logic, A & B theories of time, causation, Linguistic Essentialism, Heidegger's Phenomenology, Realism, Antirealism and so on.
In the Approaches to Ethics part, you will see items such as Graded Absolutism, Marxism, Internalist Moral Development, Deontology and so on.
In the Biblical Foundations part, you will see such items as the Hermeneutic of Doubt, Structuralism, Creation Ethics and Cosmic Order, The Sermon on the Mount and so on.
In the section on Theological Foundations, you will find such items as Creation, Augustine's Hierarchy of Thought, Marriage and Family and the Doctrine of Man.
In the History of Ethics section you will find overviews of Philosophical Worldviews, Philosophers (Plato, W. Ockham, Rawls), Ethicists (e.g. Oliver O'Donovan, S. Hauerwas), and so on. In addition, you will find tables providing their basic though.
My problems with the book:
1. Not enough coverage of the ethical issues themselves: You may get the book thinking that you will find charts on say Abortion, Euthanasia, Divorce & Remarriage, Polygamy, Same-Sex marriage, etc., but you will find very very little on these. For example, in Chart 85, you will find two table items, one for Divorce and one for Remarriage and... and.. thats it. What about a chart on the Hillel and Shammai groups and their views? How about a chart covering the various passages related to this issue? Chart 78 contains a table for Abortion, a smaller one for Euthanasia, and 4 sentences under the section Life and Death Issues. ??? I guess that is it.
2. Not enough coverage of Natural Law. (I think there should be at least 3 pages for this.)
3. Not enough discussion of Bioethics and Sexual Ethics.
4. Some mention of Business Ethics and what within the Bible shapes our understanding of it.
4. It would also have been nice to see theological systems such as Arminianism, Moderate Calvinism, and Hypercalvinism discussed and how they result in different ethical views and practices. For example, did you know that, that Fred Phelps(godhatesfags) and his ilk are 5 point Calvinists? Why? How do they account for (IMO seriously erroneous) their ethical views? Likewise how do systems such as Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism, and New Covenant Theology affect ones understanding of certain ethical views? Does one system condone incest and the others not? How do continuity and discontinuity issues between the OT and NT affect Ethics?
5. Other things that would have been good would have been the justice of Hell or perhaps Ex Opere Operati(/antis) - How does this issue affect ordination practices? Is it wrong for me to sit under a woman pastor? a heretic? Why? Why not? And what of issues that seem moral (and righteous) to some, amoral to others and immoral to yet others - perhaps say alcohol consumption or say exclusive psalmody?
The book does not discuss such items. This book offers much more foundational material and much more philosophy than theology.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Philosophical Genius, February 16, 2006
This review is from: Charts of Christian Ethics (ZondervanCharts) (Paperback)
When W. V. O. Quine (or van Quine as Hilary Putnam calls him) wrote a letter recommending Saul Kripke for an academic position, Quine referred to Kripke as a 'philosophical genius'. Well, Craig V. is a philosophical genius also.
I highly recommend this book for Bible College students and seminary students. This book will help those who are illiterate with respect to Christian ethics understand the context in which Christian ethics function. All too often in Christian works a philosophical background is assumed by the authors and the reader is often befuddled. However, if one has Craig V's book by one's side, one can combat the befuddlement and hopefully understand what one reads.
I'm sure if van Quine were alive he would enjoy this book as much as he enjoyed Hilary Putnam's martinis.
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