Course Catalog

PHI372E Christian Ethics (3 credits) 9346

COURSE DESCRIPTION
A survey of the main theoretical approaches to Christian ethics with an emphasis on issues of personal moral responsibility, such as human sexuality, social responsibility, and Christian liberty, as well as major social issues such as war, abortion, euthanasia, and genetic engineering.

LEARNING RESULTS
The learner will be able to:
• Grasp and critique the rationale that underlies the moral relativism that is the basis for the ethical outlook of our contemporary culture.
• Define what is meant by "postmodernism," and recognize the relativistic presuppositions that permeate this worldview.
• Understand and apply historically orthodox Christian alternatives for handling perceived moral dilemmas.
• Comprehend the principles of Christian liberty and how these principles fit into the subject of ethics.
• Be able to articulate biblically defensible opinions on several crucial ethical issues of our day.

REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS
Scott Rae, Moral Choices: An Introduction to Ethics (Zondervan)
D. Groothuis, Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism (IVP)
F. Beckwith and G. Koukl, Relativism: Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air (Baker)
Judith K. Balswick, Jack O. Balswick, Authentic Human Sexuality: An Integrated Christian Approach (IVP)
T. Schmidt, Straight & Narrow? : Compassion & Clarity in the Homosexuality Debate (IVP)

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INTEGRATION OF FAITH AND LEARNING
The integration of faith and learning is evidenced in this course through the required readings and the interaction of the student with those readings. The readings cover both ethical theory and specific issues. The theoretical content confronts the student with the importance of understanding and living out the biblical approach to truth in his or her relativistic postmodern culture. The readings on specific issues provide examples of application of biblical truth to controversial ethical issues currently under debate in our culture, as well as instances where Christian liberty principles may be applied to ethics.

LEARNING DOCUMENTATION
To determine if the course learning results have been attained, students document their learning by submitting the following items:
• Assignment 1 paper
• Assignment 2 paper
• Assignment 3 paper
• Assignment 4 paper
• Assignment 5 paper
• Assignment 6 paper
• Assignment 7 paper
• Assignment 8 paper
• Assignment 9 paper
• Assignment 10 paper
• Assignment 11 paper

There are 11 lessons and 0 examinations for this course.

LEARNING EVALUATION
Evaluation is on a point system:
Assignment #1 100 points
Assignment #2 100 points
Assignment #3 100 points
Assignment #4 100 points
Assignment #5 100 points
Assignment #6 100 points
Assignment #7 100 points
Assignment #8 100 points
Assignment #9 100 points
Assignment #10 100 points
Assignment #11 100 points
Total points 1100