Most Christians would agree that something is wrong if following Christ becomes a matter of cold and onerous duty. Nevertheless, Christians who unwittingly accept Kantian conceptions of happiness and moral obligation as being inherently opposed can find the Christian life a heavy struggle rather than a delight. John Piper sought to counter such perspectives in … Read more
This paper draws from the ethical insights of Dietrich Bonhoeffer in order to present a restructured evangelical ethic of responsibility, especially but not exclusively for Filipino evangelical Christians Such restructuring is important in light of the ethic of responsibility promoted by the “War on Drugs” led by former Philippine President Rodrigo R. Duterte, which a … Read more
Does the New Testament prescribe a particular form of church government for all times and places? “No,” many Christian academics have long believed. The New Testament’s materials on church polity are characterized by “irreconcilable diversity,” says Ernst Käsemann. Millard Erickson agrees, and then remarks that, even if the New Testament offered a unitary pattern, “It … Read more
Simon Wiesenthal was a Jewish architect when World War 2 began. He was imprisoned for four years in various ghettoes and concentration camps, and ultimately 89 family members were murdered in the Holocaust. After the war, he became famous for his work identifying and locating Nazi war criminals all over the world. Eventually Wiesenthal heroically … Read more
Overwhelming silence in the wake of public black deaths (i.e., George Floyd, Ahmad Arberry, and Breonna Taylor), the ongoing justification and public support for Donald Trump, and the attempt to maintain power through theological gatekeeping and public policy have highlighted the social ethics of the contemporary American evangelical movement over the past decade. As a … Read more
The Divine Command theory deals with the moral question whether what is right and wrong depends on what moral principles we accept or on what God commands us to do. The Divine Command theory says that the moral standards are based on the commands of God. The argument against the Divine Command theory is formulated … Read more
Humans share much in common—the struggle with sexuality is no exception. Crucial questions beg for response: How should we understand sexuality? Do objective standards for sex exist? If so what or who determines those standards? Is biological sex and gender identity the same thing or different things? How do worldviews impact how sexuality is viewed? … Read more
Based in part on the correct presupposition that all humans are valuable, even intrinsically so, California recently passed a law allowing minors to come there from states that prohibit sex reassignment procedures. They can become wards of the state and receive gender-affirming health care, regardless of their parents’ wishes. The law’s rationale is grounded in … Read more
This paper explores ethical concerns and existential risks associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies through the lens of C. S. Lewis’s thought. Over the last decade, technological breakthroughs have significantly increased the impact of narrow AI technologies across nearly all domains of human life and accelerated the timeline for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Consequently, AI … Read more
This paper performs a theological-ethical analysis of the policies towards Artificial Intelligence of the European Union, the US Federal government, and China. This analysis is concretized by relating it to the replacement of humans with AI in healthcare and to the handling of lethal autonomous weapons. The accelerating development of AI is not only summoning … Read more