Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World [Paperback]

Dennis P. Hollinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

In Choosing the Good, Hollinger presents an intelligent discussion of the foundations and methods in ethics and ways to apply a Christian worldview to our secular culture. He surveys several different approaches to ethics, considers the most critical issues facing Christians today, and suggests that any viable perspective must be rooted in a Christian worldview. (55)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is an introduction to ethics written from a Christian perspective and directed to a Christian audience. While recognizing the importance of the Bible as a determinant of ethical principles, Hollinger (Messiah Coll.; Individualism and Ethics) also recognizes that we live in a human, fallen, complex world. Arguing that any ethics must be grounded in a particular community and develop out of that community's worldview, Hollinger ably describes the foundations of Christian ethics and the role of ethics in a postmodern world, which he sees as socially fragmented and thus unable to engage in significant moral discourse. In a volume based more on principles than particulars, he argues for a balance between love and justice. An excellent introduction to ethics, the book offers a good balance between explaining what ethics is and providing an approach to dealing with ethical issues in a pluralistic society. Intended as a textbook for Christian seminaries and colleges, it will nevertheless appeal to anyone interested in the role of ethics in contemporary society. Highly recommended, especially for church and seminary libraries.
Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Dennis P. Hollinger (Ph.D., Drew University) is president and professor of Christian ethics at the Evangelical School of Theology in Myerstown, Pennsylvania. He is the coeditor of the Critical Issues in Bioethics series.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080102563X
• ISBN-13: 978-0801025631
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Primer, July 22, 2007

By 

Gordon Hackman "absent minded prof" (Buffalo Grove, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World (Paperback)

The goal of this book is to introduce the Christian reader to the broad discipline of ethics and its many facets, and to provide a specifically Christian perspective on the discipline and practice of ethics. The book begins by discussing the importance of ethics and attempting to distinguish Christian ethics from both other approaches to doing ethics and from other areas of Christian concern, such as pastoral care. Hollinger understands Christian ethics to involve both theory and application, and to be rooted in a specifically Christian worldview "that gives account of who we are as human beings, what is fundamentally wrong with the human condition, and what remedy exists for that malady." (16)

The book is divided into four major sections that deal with various aspects of the theory and practice of ethics. The first section, "The Foundations of Christian Ethics," introduces the reader to some of the most prominent foundational theories of ethics. Hollinger looks at and critiques utilitarianism, principle based ethics, and character or virtue ethics, noting positive and negative aspects of each approach and concluding that none of them provides a sufficient foundation for the theory or practice of Christian ethics. He concludes this section of the book with a chapter on the importance of a Christian worldview foundation for doing Christian ethics.

The second section of the book, "The Context of Christian Ethics," deals with the contexts in which Christians must attempt to formulate and live out their various ethical commitments. Hollinger devotes a chapter to both modernity and postmodernity as the key contexts in which Christian ethics must now be done. He explains what he sees as the primary defining features of each context and the challenges they present for Christian ethics. I suspect the author's treatment of postmodernity may be controversial for some readers. Exactly what constitutes the defining characteristics of postmodernity is still a highly disputed question, and Christian thinkers favorably predisposed towards postmodern perspectives may disagree with Hollinger's summary of its defining traits or find it overly negative.

The third section of the book, "Making Ethical Decisions," deals with the various factors that go into making ethical decisions. Hollinger uses a threefold typology taken from Edward Long to explore the different ways ethical decisions can be made. This typology includes prescriptive, deliberative and relational motifs for ethical decision making. Hollinger analyses and critiques each motif before setting out his own conclusion that Christian ethical decisions must be made within a "priority of modified prescriptivism." (147) This conclusion is rooted in Hollinger's understanding of a Christian worldview and the theological perspective that arises from it. In further chapters Hollinger explores the use of the Bible and the place of empirical judgments in making ethical decisions.

The last section of the book, "Applying Christian Ethics in Culture and Society," deals with how our view of the relationship between Christ and culture will influence the way we attempt to live out Christian ethical commitments in the world. Hollinger uses Niebuhr's famous fivefold typology to present various views of the relationship between Christ and culture. Hollinger acknowledges the critiques leveled by some thinkers against Niebuhr's typology, but still finds it useful as a general guide. He examines and critiques each of the various types of the Christ/culture relationship from within a Christian worldview perspective "that seeks to be faithful to both the paradigm of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation and the model of Jesus himself." (214) Hollinger uses the phrase "Christ in but not of culture" to express this approach, reflecting Niebuhr's typology while adding his own approach. Other chapters in this section of the book investigate the question of justice in society, and the issue of applying Christian ethics in a pluralistic setting. The last chapter of the book looks at various models of Christian influence in society, offering nine possible models, critiquing each one, and concluding with advice on how to wisely go about choosing a model

Overall, I find this book to be an excellent introduction to the theory and practice of Christian ethics, covering a broad range of important topics clearly and succinctly, but also with some depth. W hat I especially appreciate is the author's insistence that Christian ethics must be done primarily from the foundation of a Christian worldview, rather than attempting to adopt and baptize secular approaches to ethics. As the book's subtitle suggests, the author understands well that making ethical decisions in a fallen and complex world is often difficult. Nevertheless, the author believes that "there are divine designs for human life and that God has spoken in his written and incarnate Word relative to those designs." (147) Therefore, rather than offering simplistic and easy answers to his readers, the author attempts to equip them with the tools and guidance necessary for beginning genuinely Christian ethical reflection and practice. I highly recommend this book for both personal or classroom use as an introduction to or refresher on the subject of Christian ethics.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book!, September 27, 2010

By 

TAYO (California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World (Paperback)

Ethics is one of those areas of study that some find subjective, and they truly can be when it comes to social ethics and other areas of ethics. However, when it comes to Christian ethics, it is an entirely different story. The difference between Christian ethics and all other areas of ethics is only one of the many things that Hollinger lays out in this book. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning more about ethics.

8 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Choosing the Good, August 2, 2006

By 

John P. Mason (Colonial Heights, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Choosing the Good: Christian Ethics in a Complex World (Paperback)

This introduction to Christian ethics is excellent with regard to the scope of the survey. Readers desiring to know the broad picture of the issues of Christians ethics will be well served by reading it. That said, Hollinger's own approach to doing Christian ethics is disappointing. He develops what he calls a "Christian worldview", using the term as it is often used in popular evangelical writings, where "Christian ideology" would be a more appropriate designation. Moreover, after surveying modernism and post-modernism, he applies his Christian worldview, but using models that he has drawn from the pre-modern or modern periods without giving adequate explanation of why he feels they might be pertinent in a post-modern world. Readers will, however, come away with a basic understanding of the major models of Christian ethics and many of the issues involved with modernism and post-modernism.