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    Talking about Ethics: Negotiating the Maze
    Talking about Ethics: Negotiating the Maze
    Talking about Ethics: Negotiating the Maze
    Ebook116 pages1 hour

    Talking about Ethics: Negotiating the Maze

    By Justin Denholm

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    About this ebook

    Talking about Ethics is a fantastic resource for Christians keen to engage with the world around them on ethical issues. From understanding the impact of differing worldview and framework on ethical reasoning through to helpful pastoral insights into discussing ethics in an everyday or church context, the author demonstrates the value of ethics for every Christian.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAcorn Press
    Release dateNov 10, 2011
    ISBN9781617506086
    Talking about Ethics: Negotiating the Maze
    Author

    Justin Denholm

    Dr Justin Denholm has directed the Centre for Applied Christian Ethics at Ridley Melbourne, Australia, since 2008. He is also an infectious diseases physician and researcher. Justin has a wide range of ethical interests, including biomedical technology, the ethics of evangelism and bringing a Christian worldview into political, environmental and economic conversations. He is especially passionate about encouraging Christians in integrating their faith into their workplaces and daily lives and explaining their beliefs clearly to others. Justin and his family live in Brunswick, Victoria, Australia, where they have many challenging ethical conversations within their communities.

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      Book preview

      Talking about Ethics - Justin Denholm

      Commission

      Prologue

      As I sip my coffee, the stranger sitting next to me snorts at the daily headline. ‘Another boatload of asylum seekers!’ he exclaims. ‘Ridiculous! Why don’t we just send them back to where they came from?’ There’s a short pause, while I desperately cast my mind about for an answer. What to say? Something clever? Something challenging? Something spiritual? Just … something? I mumble something inaudible and he nods, taking his paper as he gets up to leave. My coffee tastes bitter as I walk into work, still searching for the perfect answer.

      Later that morning, one of the other doctors stops me in the hallway to ask for some advice. An angry patient has been threatening staff, and some think he should be made to leave the hospital. We talk for a few minutes about how to balance caring for sick people and responsibilities to look after the people who work for us, and I wish her luck as she heads off for more difficult conversations.

      Over dinner that night, my wife and I continue a conversation that started when we found out we were having a second child. Would we have the tests for Down syndrome? What if they were positive – would it change anything? Knowing that we wouldn’t consider abortion, how could we have a conversation with our obstetrician with which we would be comfortable?

      Finally, a phone call before bed. A friend is keen to leave his job, and his work colleagues are urging him to secure a new position before he quits. He feels uncomfortable about doing this, and isn’t sure what Christian integrity looks like in this situation. How should he live out his faith at work? He wants to know how others would handle this, and decides that he will also bring it up for discussion with the small group Bible study he attends.

      As I hang up the phone and go off to sleep, I think about the ethical conversations of the day. Some have come my way as an ethicist and as a doctor, but we all have opportunities to talk about ethical issues, whether or not we recognise them. These opportunities are not just about abstract ideas but real and important elements of life. These conversations matter. Have I handled today’s conversations as well as I could? How will I make sure that next time is better? I fall asleep still thinking …

      Part One

      1. Who Cares about Ethics?

      Questions about how we should live are deeply important for Christians. Rather than simply being a philosophy or state of mind, the Christian faith brings with it a collection of ideas and directions about how we ought to live. Thinking about this collection, bundled together, is what we call Christian ethics. It touches every part of life, from work to home, from the supermarket to the hospital, from the school to the nursing home. While it can be challenging in many circumstances for us to know exactly what we should do, most Christians understand that their faith may have something to say about these aspects of how we live our lives.

      Although how we think about our actions is important, one part of ethics that sometimes falls through the cracks is how we explain our perspectives and engage with those around us, particularly those with whom we disagree. Too often, ‘ethical discussion’ is simply two people stating their opinions with no real understanding or interaction. For many of us, the fear of confrontation or awkwardness can lead to avoiding difficult topics altogether.

      This book is divided into two parts. The first part provides a general overview of approaches to ethics. In order to be able to have good discussions about ethics, we need to start by understanding our own and other people’s ethical ideas. You don’t need to be an ethicist to talk about important ethical questions but it is often useful to have some broad concepts and outlines in mind to help shape discussions and decide where to go. The second part turns to ways of using ethics as a tool in Christian life. This includes some very practical ideas about using these ethical skills in ways that enrich and challenge in a variety of settings, from church on Sunday to coffee with friends or chats around the tearoom at work.

      It can be tough to know how to think and talk about ethical questions well. I am convinced, though, that these conversations are important; too important to avoid. We need to learn not just what to do but how to talk and faithfully explore ethical questions with the people around us. Talking about Ethics springs from a passion to see Christians engaging in ethical conversations in a thoughtful and winsome way. Ethical conversations are more than simply interesting diversions or a way to arrive at the right answer. Instead, they should be understood also as effective tools for Christians to use in various ways. They are tools for discipleship, training and evangelism, and can add extra dimensions to how we study the Bible and meet together. My own aim is to continually try to do better in the conversations that I have, and I hope that this book will provide some tools that help you do the same.

      This book is intended to be used in any of a number of ways. You might want to read it on your own and think about how these ideas and approaches could be used in your own life. If you are reading in this way, a number of boxed questions have been scattered through the text. These are there as good opportunities to stop reading and reflect about how this all matters to you. Some might also be triggers to talk with others; to put down the book and start a conversation with your work or classmate, friends or family. After all, Talking about Ethics is hopefully an encouragement to do just that and I hope that it will stimulate many good discussions.

      Perhaps the best way to study Christian ethics, though, is in conversation with other Christians. Frequently other people will bring up ideas or objections that you have not thought about before, and intentional discussions around ethical issues are of great value. At the end of this book, therefore, there are some suggestions intended to help guide groups in reading the book together. Reading through it with a small group will provide regular opportunities to encourage and challenge each other, and is a great way to think about these issues. My own experience is that small groups and Bible studies who take the time to think about ethical questions in this way find that it continues to enrich their regular Bible studies long after the ‘ethical’ sessions are finished.

      Why Christians should care about ethics

      I’d like to suggest that there are two particularly important reasons that Christians should be interested in ethics. There are many others, of course, but these two may be helpful to keep in mind as we think about ethics together in this

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