Cover Image

The principles of Christian ethics /

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Knudson, Albert C. (Albert Cornelius), 1873-1953
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: New York ; Nashville : Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, ©1943.
Subjects:
Christian ethics.
Table of Contents:
  • PART I. Introduction
  • CHAPTER 1. The province of Christian ethics
  • Distinction between Christian and philosophical ethics
  • Elimination Theories
  • Schopenhauer, Hartmann, Nietzsche
  • Barth
  • Brunner
  • Absorption Theories
  • W. Herrmann
  • E.W. Mayer
  • A. Runestam
  • Supplementary Theories
  • Augustine and Aquinas
  • Schleiermacher
  • B. Troeltsch
  • H.H. Wendt
  • A. Nygren
  • Fundamental problems
  • Relation of religion to morality
  • Distinctive nature of the Christian ethic
  • Adjustment of Christian ideal to necessities of civilization
  • Conclusion
  • Relation of Christian to philosophical ethics.
  • CHAPTER 2. The history of Christian Ethics
  • Definition of Christian ethics
  • Moral teaching of Christianity its permanent element
  • History as an interpreter of the Christian moral ideal
  • Ethical teaching of Jesus
  • Its relation to contemporary Judaism
  • Principle of love
  • Principle of inwardness
  • Religious basis of Jesus' ethic
  • Ethical emphases in early and medieval church
  • Charity
  • 'Interim ethic'
  • Legalism
  • Ethical dualism
  • Christian philanthropy
  • Chastity
  • New monastic ideal
  • Dualistic philosophy
  • Worldliness of church
  • Penance and military service
  • Meaning of penance
  • Protestant attitude toward penitential system
  • Early Christian attitude to war
  • Militarization of Christianity
  • Ethical emphases in protestantism
  • The sanctity of the common life
  • Social application of the Christian ethic
  • Theoretical ethics
  • Natural law
  • Augustine
  • Aquinas
  • Protestant reformers
  • Modern Protestantism
  • Universal and comprehensive character of the Christian ethic.
  • PART II. Presuppositions
  • CHAPTER 3. The moral nature
  • Three presuppositions of Christian ethic
  • Meaning of the moral nature
  • Hedonism
  • Natural law
  • Stoic law of nature
  • Natural law in early and medieval church
  • Natural law in protestant ethics
  • Ethical value of idea of natural law
  • Fundamental elements
  • Distinction between right and wrong
  • Idea of 'ought'
  • Principle of good will
  • Ideal of humanity
  • Sacredness of personality
  • Freedom
  • Naturalistic determinism
  • Theological determinism
  • Metaphysical freedom and its vital Importance.
  • CHAPTER 4. Structure of the moral nature
  • Psychological origin of predisposition to evil
  • Moral nature as capacity for moral experience
  • Acquired moral nature
  • Inherent sinfulness of man
  • Universality of sin and its explanation
  • Distinction between standpoint of merit and that of ideal
  • Dualism of nature and grace
  • Psychological factors conditioning moral life
  • Ecclesiastical doctrine of sin
  • Jewish theories of origin of sin
  • Paul's contributions to doctrine of sin
  • Pelagian, semi-Pelagian, and Arminian theories of sin
  • Augustinian and Calvinistic theory of sin
  • Barthian theory
  • Ethical significance of Christian doctrine of sin
  • Sin and moral evil
  • Concupiscence
  • Sensuality and pride
  • Idea of the "demonic"
  • Objections to doctrine of original sin
  • Moral values in traditional doctrine of sin
  • Religious solution of moral problem.
  • CHAPTER 5. Conversion
  • The Christian cure for pride
  • The Christian cure for pessimism and despair
  • Meaning of conversion
  • Psychological study of conversion and its significance
  • Plasticity of human nature
  • Ethical conversion
  • Conversion and prophetic religions
  • W. James's definition of conversion
  • Conversion in New Testament
  • Ethical significance
  • Conversion as liberating experience
  • Conversion as new dynamic
  • conversion as source of new moral insight
  • Individualism and sectarianism of conversion
  • Conversion and evangelical revival
  • Decline of interest in conversion
  • Universal need of conversion.
  • PART III. The moral ideal
  • CHAPTER 6. The principle of love
  • Love a universal principle in personal and social world
  • New Testament basis of duty of love
  • Fundamental nature of love
  • Different meanings of love
  • Nygren's theory of love as purely giving love
  • Augustine's caritas theory
  • Luther's theory
  • Self-Love and duties to self
  • Love to others "unmotivated"
  • Rejection of self-love by some Christian moralists
  • Altruism and egoism
  • Love to God and God's own love
  • New Testament view of love to God
  • Augustine's theory of relation of our love of God to self-love and love of neighbor
  • Augustine's conception of God's own love
  • Moral worth in objects of Christian love
  • Such worth essential to moral love
  • "Court duties"
  • Relation of eros and agape to each other
  • Brotherly love and its conditioning factors
  • Presuppositions of brotherly love
  • The moral ideal
  • Orders of creation.
  • CHAPTER 7. The principle of perfection
  • Two historic attempts to reduce Christian ethic to unitary principle
  • Objection to Nygren's agape theory
  • Relation of love and perfection to each other
  • Principle of perfection in New Testament
  • Self-renunciation
  • Perfection and self-denial in Jesus' teaching
  • Christian renunciation in relation to Buddhism and hedonism
  • Basis and value of Christian self-denial
  • Asceticism
  • Distinction between asceticism and general principle of renunciation
  • Jesus and asceticism
  • Monasticism
  • Karl Adam's interpretation of monastic asceticism
  • Sinlessness
  • Different degrees of sinless perfection
  • Relative sinlessness and its possibility in this life
  • Mistaken views of sin
  • William Law and perfectionism
  • Self-realization
  • Meaning and value of self-realization from religious standpoint
  • Perils in perfectionism.
  • CHAPTER 8. Christian character
  • Distinction between moral character and moral principles
  • Example of Jesus
  • Relativity of Jesus' teaching and conduct
  • Uniqueness of his mission and its bearing on his moral authority
  • The natural Life
  • Alleged antithesis between Christian and natural morality
  • Distinctive elements in Christian character
  • Relation of Christian ethic to moral ideals of Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans
  • The Christian virtues
  • Lists of virtues in New Testament and their relation to cardinal virtues of Greeks
  • Brotherly love
  • Purity
  • Humility
  • Patience
  • Fidelity
  • Hope
  • Distinctive elements in cardinal Christian virtues
  • Early Christianity and world.
  • PART IV. Practical application
  • CHAPTER 9. The individual
  • Duties included under ethics of individual
  • Duties to self
  • Theological objection to duties to self
  • Duties and rights
  • Denial of natural rights by philosophical and theological moralists
  • Self -preservation and self-realization
  • Naturalistic and theistic basis of duty to preserve self
  • Duty of self-realization
  • The Christian's "calling" in its historical development
  • Criticism of protestant conception of vocation
  • Conflict of duties
  • Works of supererogation
  • Morally indifferent spheres of conduct
  • Right to life and self-defense
  • Right to eternal life
  • Suicide
  • Self-defense a Christian right
  • Right to freedom
  • Limitation of freedom
  • Right to truth
  • Right to property.
  • CHAPTER 10. The family
  • The orders of creation and social gospel
  • Divisions of social ethics
  • Ethical significance of family
  • Distinctiveness of human family
  • Origin of family
  • Criticisms of Christian influence on family and replies to them
  • Family as training school of moral life
  • The moral validity of marriage
  • Free choice of couple concerned
  • Necessity of marriage ceremony
  • Monogamy
  • Influence of Christianity on development of monogamy
  • Arguments in favor of monogamy
  • Divorce
  • The Christian ideal
  • History of Christian attitude toward divorce
  • Moral justification of divorce
  • Birth Control
  • Objections to it
  • Considerations in support of it.
  • CHAPTER 11. The state and war
  • The state as an order of creation
  • Origin of the state
  • The state both natural and artificial
  • Psychological roots of the state
  • Essential nature of the state
  • The state as power
  • The state as instrument of justice
  • Sovereignty of state
  • Penal law
  • Two moral grounds of the penal law
  • Conception of wrongdoing as a disease
  • Punishment and guilt
  • Punishment as function of state
  • Purpose of punishment
  • Capital punishment
  • War and the Christian ideal
  • Treitschke's view
  • Is war inevitable?
  • Naturalistic and theological grounds for affirmative answer
  • Possibility of a warless world
  • Can there be a just war?
  • Meaning of just war
  • Christian aversion to shedding of blood
  • Futility of war
  • Principle of non-resistance
  • Distinction between army and police force
  • Resistance to evil or anarchy
  • Methods of promoting peace
  • Growth of peace sentiment
  • Absolute pacifism
  • Removal of economic and nationalistic causes of war
  • League of nations.
  • CHAPTER 12. The church and culture
  • Church and culture here treated as independent phases of community life
  • Nature of church
  • Church as order of creation
  • Ethical function of church
  • Unity of church
  • Catholic and protestant conceptions of church unity
  • Schisms
  • Theocratic imperialism
  • Persecution
  • Objections to it
  • Ecclesiastical discipline
  • Its relation to persecution
  • Other evil results
  • Sacrament of penance
  • Value of church discipline
  • Church and state
  • Causes of conflicts between them
  • Rights of the church
  • Separation of church and state
  • State absolutism
  • Distinction between church and other subordinate social unions
  • The church and tyranny
  • Culture
  • Meaning of culture
  • Civilization
  • Culture as order of creation
  • Its relation to religion
  • Science and religion
  • Art and religion
  • Education.
  • CHAPTER 13. The economic order
  • Nature and purpose of economic order
  • An order of creation
  • Pessimistic view
  • Optimistic view
  • Philosophical basis of two different views of economic order
  • Consumption and distribution
  • Christian teaching concerning consumption
  • Economic equality
  • Charity as a cure for poverty and reasons for its failure
  • Transition from moral and voluntary to legislative and compulsory methods of reform
  • Justice as moral basis of social change
  • Labor
  • Work a duty
  • Dignity of labor
  • Three functions of labor emphasized by reformation
  • Unsolved labor problems
  • Capital and capitalism
  • Meaning of capital
  • Attitude toward wealth in New Testament
  • Opposition to interest or usury
  • Capitalism, its merits and defects
  • Christian attitude toward economic system and its reform.
  • PART V. Conclusion
  • CHAPTER 14. The validity of Christian ethics
  • Philosophical justification of moral life
  • Divine will as Ground of Christian ethics
  • Assumed antithesis between theocentric and autonomous morality
  • Divine will not an independent source of moral insight
  • Schopenhauer and Hartmann
  • Prophetic moralization of religion and its hearing on principle of moral autonomy
  • General moral skepticism
  • Different methods of discrediting idea of duty
  • Similar arguments would lead to intellectual skepticism
  • Self-verification the ultimate basis of all spiritual ideals
  • Ethic of power
  • Nietzsche's rejection of the Christian ethic
  • His immoralism
  • The pragmatic test
  • Criticisms of Christian ethic: lack of virility, antimoralism, sacrifice of intellectual and moral integrity, false spirituality, irrelevance
  • Replies to these criticisms
  • Distinction between Christian ideal and practice
  • Humanitarian influence of Christianity and its apologetic significance
  • Religious basis of Christian ethic
  • Charge of otherworldliness
  • Christian faith and Christian ethic support each other.