Lecturers:
Unit Coordinator: Rev Dr Andrew Bain – abain@qtc.edu.au
Asssitant Lecturer: Dr Robyn Bain
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Time: Thursday, 2.00 am – 5.00 pm
3 unit
July 16 – Oct 8
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This unit will begin by considering biblical and theological ethics, including various hermeneutical issues which commonly arise as Christians and churches seek to frame their approaches to ethical matters. The major non-Christian approaches to ethics will then be briefly surveyed, in the form of philosophical ethics, to increase critical understanding of how the non-Christian world we live in and interact with thinks about ethics. The final six weeks of the Semester will be devoted to the consideration of a number of important ethical issues. Regrettably, in one Semester we cannot even cover all of the really critical issues, let alone others that are relatively common in some contexts, however the issues we will study can be taken as examples of how to handle other ethical questions that may arise in your life and ministry.
Please contact the MBS Registrar if you have any questions about enrolment in this unit, extensions for the assessment due dates, or withdrawal from the unit.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Learning Outcomes: Undergraduate Students
On completion of this unit, the student should have achieved the following learning outcomes:
Know and understand
- Demonstrate developing knowledge and understanding of the interaction of theological and philosophical ethics
Be able to:
- Analyse the dimensions of theological and philosophical ethics
- Demostrate skills in applying theological and philosophical ethics in a selection of contemporary ethical questions
- Present analytical evidence-based perspectives on theological ethics
Be in a position to:
- Apply perspectives from ‘Theological Ethics’ to contemporary Christian living and ministry contexts
Learning Outcomes: Graduate / Postgraduate Students
On completion of this unit, the student should have achieved the following learning outcomes:
Know and understand
- Demonstrate Advanced knowledge and understanding of the interaction of theological and philosophical ethics
Be able to:
- Examine the dimensions of theological and philosophical ethics
- Demonstrate skills in applying theological and philosophical ethics in a selection of contemporary ethical questions
- Present research-aware evidence-based perspectives on theological ethics
Be in a position to:
- Apply advanced perspectives from ‘Theological Ethics’ to contemporary Christian living and ministry practice as a reflective practitioner
How this Unit contributes to the course
Theological Ethics concerns how you apply what has been learnt in the biblical and doctrinal units of your course to the questions of living and functioning as Christians in the real (God-created and now fallen) world.
How this Unit is organized & what we expect of you
The unit is taught over several months in the second half of 2026. Most of the content will be delivered online, through students regularly watching videos from the Unit Coordinator and the Assistant Lecturer at the times set by MBS, alongside reading materials provided to you by the Unit Coordinator. There will also be three live Zoom 90-minute sessions at different times during the course, where the Unit Coordinator will meet and speak with the class.
Students are expected to attend all lectures, complete any set pre-reading and complete any assessment tasks by the relevant due date. Please do be in touch as soon as you can if you anticipate having any difficulties with your assessments or with meeting the due date, and if you require an extension for one of your assessments please contact the MBS Registrar as early as possible.
SCHEDULE
| Week | Date | Topic |
| 1 | July 16 | Introduction to the Unit; Theories of Ethics |
| 2 | July 23 | Introduction to Philosophical Ethics: How the world does ethics |
| 3 | July 30 | Key Biblical Themes & Christian Ethics |
| 4 | Aug 6 | Key Doctrines & Christian Ethics |
| 5 | Aug 13 | The Old Testament & Christian Ethics |
| 6 | Aug 20 | Divine Sovereignty & Moral Responsibility; Theological Ethics: Putting it All Together |
| 7 | Aug 27 | Mid-Semester Break |
| 8 | Sept 3 | Families, Marriage, Children |
| 9 | Sept 10 | Singleness, Divorce & Remarriage |
| 10 | Sept 17 | Work & Leisure |
| 11 | Sept 24 | Wealth & Money |
| 12 | Oct 1 | End of Life Issues |
| 13 | Oct 8 | Beginning of Life issues |
| FINAL ASSESSMENT DUE |
Undergraduate Student Assessments
In order to pass the unit, you must submit all assessment pieces and attain a mark of at least 50% for the unit as a whole.
Unless an extension has been applied for through the MBS Registrar and granted in accordance the policy of MBS, where a student submits an assessment past its due date, they will be given a late penalty as determined by MBS.
Please make sure that your submitted assessment items is within 10% of the required word limit, and failure to meet this requirement shall result in a penalty as determined by MBS. MBS seeks to prepare you for ministry, and in ministry delivering presentations on time and within an acceptable length are essential skills.
| ASSESSMENT TASK | DESCRIPTION |
| Take-Home Exam 2000 words 40% of final grade | Students will answer two set questions in total, one relating to each Section of the unit: Section A – Theological Ethics, and Section B – Philosophical Ethics. Both set questions will be required, i.e. there will be only two questions on the examination paper. Students are to write approximately 1000 words for each answer, with a total of 2000 words. The questions will be of equal value. The exam paper will be made available one week (7 days) before the due date. |
| Public Talk or Sermon, plus Explanation of Approach 3500 words total (Talk: 2000 words; Explanation: 1500 words) 60% of final grade | Students are to prepare the text of a public talk or sermon which would be suitable for delivery to a general Christian audience, on ONE of the following Ethical Issues (you may choose your own title): * How Christians might approach the question of voluntary assisted dying; OR * Christian understanding of singleness; OR * A Christian understanding of childlessness. The talk should be approximately 2000 words in length. In addition to your talk script, you should also include a 1500 word explanation / justification of the approach you have taken. This document should explain how you have applied sound principles of theological ethics in developing your talk, and how you have sought to situate it with respect to relevant approaches within philosophical ethics. It will also, where necessary, supply background to the talk in terms of discussing relevant academic issues which you have identified in your preparation but which cannot easily be directly included in a talk for a general Christian audience. |
Graduate / Postgraduate Student Assessments
In order to pass the unit, you must submit all assessment pieces and attain a mark of at least 50% for the unit as a whole.
Unless an extension has been applied for through the MBS Registrar and granted in accordance the policy of MBS, where a student submits an assessment past its due date, they will be given a late penalty as determined by MBS.
Please make sure that your submitted assessment items is within 10% of the required word limit, and failure to meet this requirement shall result in a penalty as determined by MBS. MBS seeks to prepare you for ministry, and in ministry
| ASSESSMENT TASK | DESCRIPTION |
| Take-Home Exam 2500 words 40% of final grade | Students will answer three set questions in total, relating to each Section of the unit: Section A – Theological Ethics, and Section B – Philosophical Ethics. All three questions will be required, i.e. there will be only three questions on the examination paper. Students are to write approximately 800-850 words for each answer, with a total of 2500 words. The questions will be of equal value. There will be at least one question relating to each of Sections A and B. The examination paper will be made available one week (7 days) before the due date. |
| Public Talk or Sermon, plus Explanation of Approach 4500 words total (Talk: 2500 words; Explanation: 2000 words) 60% of final grade | Students will prepare the text of a public talk or sermon which would be suitable for delivery to a general Christian audience, on ONE of the following ethical Issues (you may choose your own talk title): * How Christians in either Malaysia or in your home country should approach the issue of possession and use of personal wealth, money and material possessions; OR * How Christians in either Malaysia or your home country should approach their paid employment (or the operation of their business). The talk should be approximately 2500 words in length. In addition to your talk script, you should also include a 2000 word explanation/justification of the approach you have taken. This document should explain how you have applied sound principles of theological ethics in developing your talk, alternative assumptions and approaches which might be taken, and how you have sought to situate it with respect to relevant approaches within philosophical ethics. It will also, where necessary, supply background to the talk in terms of discussing relevant academic issues which you have identified in your preparation but which cannot easily be directly included in a talk for a general Christian audience. |
LEARNING RESOURCES
. Essential References – Textbook/s
None required, but please see the comments and advice above.
2. General Resources on Biblical & Theological Ethics
Atkinson, David J., David H. Field, Arthur F. Holmes and Oliver O’Donovan, eds. New Dictionary of Christian Ethics & Pastoral Theology. Nottingham: IVP, 1995.
Banner, Michael. Christian Ethics & Contemporary Problems. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Banner, Michael. Christian Ethics: A Brief History. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
I.15-18; II.1-9; III.1-20; IV, 1, 12-13, 20 in: Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Edited by John T. McNeill. Translated by Ford Lewis Battles. 2 vols. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 1960.
Cameron, Andrew. Joined Up Life. Nottingham: IVP, 2011.
Crisp, Oliver and Fred Sanders. Divine Action and Providence: Explorations in Constructive Dogmatics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.
Fedler, Kyle D. Exploring Christian Ethics. Louisville, KY: WJK, 2006.
Hays, R. The Moral Vision of The New Testament. New York: Harper Collins, 1996.
Hovey, C. Exploring Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Key Methods and Debates. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018.
Jones, David C. Biblical Christian Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1994.
Hill, Michael. The How and Why of Love: An Introduction to Evangelical Ethics. Sydney, NSW: Matthias, 2002.
Meilaender, Gilbert and William Werpehowski eds. The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
Moore, Russell. The Kingdom of Christ: The New Evangelical Perspective. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004.
O’Donovan, O. Finding and Seeking: Ethics as Theology Volume 2. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2014.
O’Donovan, O. Entering into Rest: Ethics as Theology Volume 3. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2017.
O’Donovan, O. Self, World and Time: Ethics as Theology Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2013.
O’Donovan, O. Resurrection and Moral Order: An Outline for Evangelical Ethics, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994.
Rosner, B., ed. Understanding Paul’s Ethics. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995.
Wenham, Gordon. Story as Torah: Reading Old Testament Narrative Ethically. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004.
Wogaman, J. P. Christian Ethics: A Historical Introduction. Louisville, KY: WJK, 2011.
Wright, Christopher. Old Testament Ethics for the People of God. Nottingham: IVP, 2004.
3. Introductions to Philosophical Ethics and Non-Christian Approaches & Influences
Berkman, John & Michael G. Cartwright, eds., The Stanley Hauerwas Reader. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001.
Brown, Callum G. & Michael Snape, eds. Secularisation in the Christian World. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2010.
Deigh, John. An Introduction to Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Furlong, Peter. The Challenges of Divine Determinism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Graham, Gordon. Eight Theories of Ethics. London: Routledge, 2004.
Smith, James K. A. Desiring the Kingdom. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009.
Walker, M. Moral Repair: Reconstructing Moral Relations After Wrongdoing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Selected articles in: Martin, Michael, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. (may be of interest in relating parts of the unit content to non-Christian perspectives).
See also: Williams, Bernard. “Ethics.” Pages 545-582 in Philosophy 1: A Guide Through the Subject. Edited by A.C. Grayling. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
4. Books Addressing Particular Areas & Issues in Ethics
Ash, Christopher. Marriage: Sex in the Service of God. Vancouver, BC: Regent, 2003.
Baron, M. W., Pettit, P. and M. A. Slote. Three Methods of Ethics: A Debate. Oxford:
Blackwell, 1997.
Best, Megan. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. Sydney, NSW: Matthias Media, 2012.
Carvalho, Jean-Paul, Sriya Iyer, and Jared Rubin, eds. Advances in the Economics of Religion, Basingstoke: McMillan, 2019.
Claar, V. V., and R. J. Klay. Economics in Christian Perspective: Theory, Policy and Life Choices. Downers Grove, IL: IVP; 2007.
Cox, Harvey. The Market as God. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.
Frame, John. Medical Ethics. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1989.
Gill, Robin. Health Care & Christian Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
Hargaden, K. Theological Ethics in a Neoliberal Age: Confronting the Christian Problem with Wealth. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2018.
Hay, D. A. Economics Today: A Christian Critique. Vancouver, BC: Regent College, 2004.
Hays, J. D. From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race. Leicester: Apollos; Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2003.
Kostenberger, Andreas. God, Marriage & Family. 2nd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010.
Long, D. S., N. R. Fox and T. York. Calculated Futures: Theology, Ethics, and Economics. Waco, TX: Baylor, 2007.
Lysaught, M. Therese and Joseph J. Kotva, Stephen E. Lammers and Allen Verhey. eds. On Moral Medicine: Theological Perspectives on Medical Ethics. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012.
Meilaender, Gilbert. Bioethics: A Primer for Christians. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 2013.
Moore, R. Onward: Engaging the Culture Without Losing the Gospel. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2015.
Moore, R. The Christ-Shaped Marriage: Love, Fidelity, and the Gospel. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2016.
Parrish, J. and A. Tuckness. The Decline of Mercy in Public Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
O’Donovan, Oliver. Begotten or Made? Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
O’Donovan, Oliver. Common Objects of Love: Moral Reflection and the Shaping of Community. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002.
O’Donovan, Oliver. The Ways of Judgement. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003. See also his earlier and more advanced work on the same theme, The Desire of the Nations. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Oslington, Paul, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Christianity and Economics. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Porter, J. Nature as Reason. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.
Ray, D. K., ed. Theology that Matters: Ecology, Economy, and God. Minneapolis, MN:
Fortress, 2006.
Rosner, B. Beyond Greed. Sydney, NSW: Matthias Media, 2004.
Schweiker, W., and C. T. Mathewes, eds. Having: Property and Possession in Religious and Social Life. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2004.
Singer, Peter & A. M. Viens, eds. The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Stott, John. New Issues Facing Christians Today. 4th ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2006.
Thatcher, A., ed. The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality, and Gender. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015.
Tripp, T. Shepherding a Child’s Heart. Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd, 1995.
Van Til, K. A. Less Than Two Dollars a Day: A Christian View of World Poverty and the Free Market. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans; 2007.
Verhey, Allen. Reading the Bible in the Strange World of Medicine. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003.
Wilson, Douglas. Ploductivity: A Practical Theology of Work and Wealth. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2020.
Witte & Hauk. Christianity and Family Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
Woodbridge, R. & D. W. Jones. Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ? Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2011.
Wyatt, John. Matters of Life and Death: Human dilemmas in the light of the Christian faith. Nottingham: IVP, 2009.
In addition, it is important and worthwhile to relate our thinking in this unit to the major historical creeds and confessions., such as the Thirty-Nine Articles (Anglican), the Book of Concord (Lutheran), The Westminster Confession of Faith (Presbyterian), and the London Baptist Confession (Baptist). To give an example, in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapters IV, VI, XVI, XIX-XXV and XXX are of particular relevance to the study of Christian Ethics.