So forgiveness pre-requires understanding the mistakes of the past? here hear re this opposing this me-first, America-first, white-first, male-first approach>…
Weekly lessons in theology and public life • Since 2011
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Lesson 11: Aristotle’s Justice (Sandel, Chapter 8)
Read MORE: Lesson 11: Aristotle’s Justice (Sandel, Chapter 8)Aristotle believed humans are political creatures by nature. He thinks this is apparent when we see how our speech enables us to relate to one another quite differently than beasts or gods. Politics not only gathers us into communities for…
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Lesson 12: Community Loyalty (Sandel, Chapter 9)
Read MORE: Lesson 12: Community Loyalty (Sandel, Chapter 9)If I asked you who you are, chances are you would describe yourself with a list of the groups to which you belong: your family, neighborhood, ethnic group, town, and nation, as well other social affiliations. Sandel claims these communities…
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Lesson 13: A Politics of the Common Good
(Sandel, Chapter 10)Read MORE: Lesson 13: A Politics of the Common GoodSandel ends his book championing a new politics of the common good, and suggests four possible themes that would support it. Citizenship, sacrifice, and service. He writes “If a just society requires a strong sense of community, it must find…
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Lesson 14: Jim Wallis’ Ten Personal Decisions
Read MORE: Lesson 14: Jim Wallis’ Ten Personal DecisionsThe rest of the course will focus on Christian ethics. In a sense, it will try to answer the question Derek advanced last week, “How do Christians participate in a society that not only does not accept its values, but…
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Lesson 15: The Simplest Christian Ethic
Read MORE: Lesson 15: The Simplest Christian EthicThe simplest Christian ethic is based on what Jesus said and did. It begins by believing Jesus said exactly what he meant. It discerns that he lived by what he said. And it assumes if we are to follow him,…
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Lesson 16: Paul’s Christian Ethics
Read MORE: Lesson 16: Paul’s Christian EthicsBob, Rita, and Derek all observed we do not base our lives entirely on what Jesus said in the Gospels, because we are sinners and live in a sinful world. From the very beginning, Christians understood this. They struggled with…
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Lesson 17: John’s Christian Ethics
Read MORE: Lesson 17: John’s Christian EthicsYou could make a case that humanity’s greatest problem is fear. We do not follow Jesus, because we are afraid to let go of what we mistakenly think gives us security. Our authorities, even the best, work to keep us…
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Lesson 18: How Do You Stop a Bad Guy With A Gun?
Read MORE: Lesson 18: How Do You Stop a Bad Guy With A Gun?Let’s use Christian ethics to examine Wayne LaPierre’s claim, “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I think the first observation would be this goes far beyond gun control,…
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Lesson 19: The Right Questions
Read MORE: Lesson 19: The Right QuestionsIn last week’s comments, Don pushed us in the right direction when he observed that we ask the wrong question by responding to Jesus’ “return good for evil” with inquiries about self-defense. Anne, Bob, and Derek already started us in…
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Lesson 20: The Greatest Challenge to Christian Ethics
Read MORE: Lesson 20: The Greatest Challenge to Christian EthicsA couple weeks ago Derek asserted that the problem in Christian ethics is not so much Christians arguing with the world as Christians arguing with each other. He suggested the Bible does not help much, because all groups cite scripture…
Recent Comments
An extremely timely topic. Thanks, Fritz!
yes we need to forgive our leaders yet make sure they do the right thing – which they aren’t.