CHET
60013 Introduction to Contemporary Theological Ethics
3 semester hours, Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, Fall 2018
Tuesday, 6:15-8:45, Moore 313
Instructor: Charles Bellinger c.bellinger@tcu.edu 817-257-7668
Prerequisites: none.
Description of Content: This course will survey the major methodological questions of theological ethics since the early 20th century, its thematic subdivisions, and the schools of thought and individual authors who have shaped the discussion of ethical questions within the theological world. Topics addressed will include: the Bible and ethics, moral discernment, violence and war, gender and sexuality, natural law, virtue, social justice, ecology, and liberation.
Course Objectives:
1. Students will be introduced to key vocabulary terms in theological ethics.
2. Students will read and respond in writing to some of the key authors,
topics, and schools of thought in contemporary theological ethics.
3. Students will develop critical thinking skills at the intersection of
theological anthropology and ethics.
Course procedures:
1. Lectures.
2. In-class discussions.
Requirements and grading:
1. Class participation and comments* on reading assignments (15%).
*By 4pm on the day of a class meeting, each student needs to email me three
(one sentence) statements and/or questions related to the reading assignments
for that week. If the student is turning in a paper on a particular day, they
do not need to submit the statements.
2. Vocabulary quiz (10%).
3. Five take-home exams, 4-5 pages [double-spaced, include page numbers, no
separate title page needed] (75%). [Note: there are six exams on the schedule;
students may choose, if they wish, to skip one of those exams, or to do all six
and have the one with the lowest grade removed from the final grading
calculation.]
Texts:
Alison, James. Faith Beyond Resentment: Fragments Catholic and Gay. New
York: Crossroad, 2001. ISBN: 9780824519223, $30
Bellinger, Charles. The Trinitarian Self: The Key to the Puzzle of Violence. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick, 2008. ISBN: 9781556352324, $19
Cone, James. The Cross and the Lynching Tree. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-1626980051, $20
Gill, Robin, ed. Cambridge Companion to Christian Ethics, 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. ISBN: 9780521164832, $25
Parsons, Susan. Feminism and Christian Ethics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. ISBN: 9780521468206, $29
There will be additional readings assigned by the instructor during the semester. Students must have the ability to check their TCU email account and do so regularly, because I will communicate with you in that way regarding reading assignments and other course matters. See:
http://lib.tcu.edu/staff/bellinger/60013/60013_2018_links.htm
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Schedule |
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lecture/discussion topics |
reading assignments |
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Week 1 |
Aug. 21 |
Introduction to course |
Girard, “The First Stone” |
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Week 2 |
Aug. 28 |
vocabulary quiz |
Gill: ch. 4-5 (NT) |
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Week 3 |
Sept. 4 |
Gill: ch. 2 (traditions) |
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Week 4 |
Sept. 11 |
paper on SK / Barth / Bonhoeffer |
excerpts from Bonhoeffer, Reinhold Niebuhr, and H. Richard Niebuhr |
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Week 5 |
Sept. 18 |
ch. 6 (natural law) |
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Week 6 |
Sept. 25 |
paper on pacifism and just war |
Gill: ch. 13 (war) |
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Week 7 |
Oct. 2 |
James Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, xiii-92 |
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Week 8 |
Oct. 9 |
Reading Week, no class |
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Week 9 |
Oct. 16 |
paper on Cone |
James Cone, The Cross and the Lynching Tree, 93-166 |
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Week 10 |
Oct. 23 |
Bellinger: ix-13, 27-82 |
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Week 11 |
Oct. 30 |
paper on Bellinger |
Gill: ch. 7 (virtue) |
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Week 12 |
Nov. 6 |
Gill: ch. 19 (sexuality) |
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Week 13 |
Nov. 13 |
paper on Alison |
Gill: ch. 9 (liberation) |
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Week 14 |
Nov. 20 |
Gill: ch. 8 (gender) |
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Week 15 |
Nov. 27 |
paper on Parsons |
Gill: ch. 16 (ecology) |
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Week 16 |
Dec. 3 |
no class |
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Week 17 |
Dec. 10 |
[Finals Week, no class, no final] |
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Email Notification:
Only the official Brite student email address will be used for all course notification. It is your responsibility to check your email on a regular basis.
Late Work Policy:
Work turned in up to 24 hours after the deadline will receive a one grade notch reduction (from A- to B+, for example); work turned in 24-48 hours late will receive a two notch reduction; work turned in 48 hours to one week late will receive a three notch reduction. After that, no credit will be given. If a student has special extenuating circumstances, he or she can request an extension of the deadline by contacting the instructor.
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