Reformed Dogmatics and Reformed Ethics (Bavinck)

So good! "...The difference [between dogmatics and ethics] does not lie in the fact that the former deals with the understanding and knowledge, while the latter is concerned with the will and conduct. This would boil down to a division of human beings into two parts, of which one half is purely intellectual and the …

The Early Church on Homosexuality

In the days of the early church – I’m thinking specifically of the 2nd century – Christian apologists had to defend the faith against false charges, accusations, and misrepresentations.  One such apologist, Athenagoras (d. 200 AD?), wrote a booklet to Roman rulers called A Plea for the Christians.   This apology by Athenagoras is still quite relevant …

Modesty

In the first century, Paul said that Christian women “are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense” (1 Tim. 2:9 HCSB).  Speaking more broadly of sexual purity, all Christians should dress decently and not in a sexually immoral or suggestive way.  Kent Hughes talks about modesty in chapter seven of Set …

Christian Ethics and Digital Media

Around eight years ago, very few people spent time on Facebook or Twitter, nobody had any apps or smartphones, text messages were still a novelty, and the average person spent far less time online that the current average of 6+ hours per day.  How should we view digital media today?  Is there a Christian “ethic” …

Keeping Theological Ethics Theological

If you do any intermediate reading in Christian ethics, Stanley Hauerwas should be on your reading list.  Though I don't always agree with everything Hauerwas says, I've appreciated The Hauerwas Reader edited by John Berkman and Michael Cartwright (Durham: Duke University Press, 2001).  This book contains 600+ pages of Hauerwas' essays on everything from discipleship …