When thinking about euthanasia recently, I found myself also thinking about the samurai of ancient Japan. In particular, my thoughts turned to a book titled Hagakure (‘hidden leaves’) written in 1716 by a samurai called Yamamoto Tsunetomo.1 (more…)
Category Archives: Ethics
You don’t know my pain (a particularly lousy argument)
Life
I’ve been on the rampage about lousy arguments—arguments that get used and abused without any reflection on the validity of the argument. A friend at church on Sunday reminded me about another particularly heinous example that is employed all too regularly: the ‘you don’t know my pain’ defence. (more…)
What to do with morality?
Up front
I was listening to a sermon the other day, in which the preacher said, “Christianity is not about morality. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about a relationship.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. In fact, I’m sure that I’ve used it myself in the past. I know what it’s trying to say. I just can’t help feeling that we’ve got the right argument for the wrong moment in history.
The power and inadequacy of biological determinism
Thought
Yes, it’s been a while since I last posted. And so you may be forgiven for forgetting where we’re up to. I’m talking about my preparation for an evangelistic talk on sex (see the start of the posts). And last time, I tried to show that biological determinism lies at the heart of the modern story of sex. To put it simply, we’ve evolved in such a way that we’re made to have sex—lots of sex, with multiple partners. And because it’s biologically determined, we have no choice. Today, I want to reflect on the power and inadequacy of this position.
The gospel is all about morality
Life
I was listening to a sermon the other day, in which the preacher said, “Christianity is not about morality. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about a relationship.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I know what it’s trying to say. I just can’t help feeling that we’ve got the right argument for the wrong moment in history.
Lies, damned lies, and … (#3)
Life
After posting twice recently about the nature of ‘facts’ and ethical argument (see #1 and #2) and in particular about the difficulty in moving from ‘is’ to ‘ought’, I noticed an article in Friday’s paper that underlines the importance of these issues again. ‘Straight and narrow’ by Katrina Fox is about an openly and proudly gay woman attending a Christian conference on dealing with sexual sin. In particular, she talks about a workshop she attended on dealing with homosexuality. (more…)
Truth in labelling
Thought, Sola Panel
The movement for truth in labelling reached another milestone in my state recently. Supermarkets are now required to itemize the unit cost of goods rather than just the total—so that, when faced with a 437g pack of Weaties for $4.23 and the super-bonus-jumbo-econo-family 714g pack for $6.41, consumers don’t have to do the maths for themselves. Each price label will tell you how much it is per 100g. (more…)
The ethics of a balanced life
Sola Panel, Up front
Should we be extreme or should we be balanced? You know what I mean by ‘balanced’: be generous, but not too generous; take Christ seriously, but don’t be a religious fanatic; tell the truth, but not to a fault, and so on. This approach is as old, at least, as the ancient Greeks. Lots of voices in our lives call out for this balance: parents, colleagues, work, talkback radio, novels and academia. But are these the voices of wisdom? (more…)
Lies, damned lies, and … (#2)
Thought
At the end of my previous piece about empiricism and ethics, I suggested that there were a number of implications that needed to be drawn out—the most important of which, for my money, involving the way we present the truth of the gospel (both inside and outside of Christian circles). (more…)
Lies, damned lies, and … (#1)
Thought
Okay, so I wanted to write about statistics, and I’m hopelessly unoriginal (I’m sure some people will be able to suggest a better title). This is one of those posts that started out as a rant inspired by one of my pet peeves, but hopefully it ends with some helpful reflections. We shall see!
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Doing good: The shape of the Christian life (Part 1): Why we don’t
Life
Stuart Heath argues that the Christian life is more than just having faith, it’s about doing good.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Read Part 2 and Part 3.
“Being Christian is not about doing good things”, quoth the preacher. “It’s about trusting in Jesus.” Here is the uniqueness of the Christian story: God in Christ has acted on our behalf. We could never be good enough to satisfy God’s requirements—we deserve to be condemned. But Jesus took our punishment for us, rescuing us from God’s right anger. God calls us not to earn our salvation, but to trust that he can save us. This is a beautiful, soul-satisfying truth. But when we talk about being Christian, if we only ever speak about ‘believing in Jesus’, we are dangerously out of step with the New Testament. (more…)
Can Western Christians even think ethically any more?
Up front
To escape from drowning, you have to swim in what you are swallowing. Churches in the West are drowning in western values, drinking deeply without being able to swim in the muck they are drinking, let alone being able to escape. (more…)
Is it possible for western liberal journalists even to think ethically any more?
Up front
As the new Australian Federal Government, freshly painted in Labor colours, busily abolished a whole range of laws and practices deemed discriminatory to homosexuals, the issue of gay marriage was never on the table. High quality ethical argument may be rare amongst western journalists, but two of the worst responses I heard made me shake my head. (more…)