Ethics Beyond Rules: How Christ’s Call to Love Informs Our Moral Choices

by Keith D. Stanglin

In Ethics Beyond Rules Keith Stanglin offers a clear and accessible guide for thoughtful Christians who want to lead ethical lives. Stanglin's easy-to-understand Christian ethical system doesn't have a long list of rules to follow but instead bases moral decision-making on Christian love.

Stanglin is concerned less with a comprehensive ethics and scholarly discourse than with introducing everyone to important moral principles and modeling a way to reason through concrete issues. This resource does not answer every ethical question Christians face today, though it does provide examples such as abortion, sexual ethics, consumerism, technology, and politics. Instead, Stanglin provides a love-based framework for moral decisions that stands with the historic Christian faith, giving Christians the tools to consider the moral problems of today and the foundation to confront new issues in the years to come.

Genres: Theology

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[Brandon Joseph · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I am sure to be hypercritical of this book, it is not all entirely wrong. However, the Author presents these dissertations in lousy form. The author's arguments are based on an erroneous premise. A lot of these have been observed in part 1 of the book. In part 2, a few of the arguments made weren't all terrible, but the delivery was unclear, and lots of straw man arguments were created. These analogies are often used as tactics among politically based materials. Usually, this tactic is used on readers whose education about a subject is surface level, which makes this book "ideal for beginners." This book doesn't seem to cover ethics but helps pinpoint a more conservative viewpoint for readers. Fundamental philosophy and ethics have much more dialogue from other perspectives, which is one-sided.

First, id like to address the logical fallacies presented in this book, particularly in chapter 1. In the beginning, the author paints a picture of right and wrong. He compares the Aztec's view of sacrificial murder to be just as wrong as the Nazis. Which sounds great if you agree murder is wrong, which I do. However, as a student of history, one would know that in Aztec culture/ethics,
the view of sacrificial murder was a great honor. It was a voluntary position to give back to the "gods" just as the "gods" had given unto them. This comparison cannot be the same as a mass genocide. Yes, murder is always wrong, but in defense of the Aztecs, they were not introduced to such an idea; they were unaware it was a sin. That is not to dismiss their intellect; they were very skilled in academia. This is to include the Maya as well. The Nazis, on the other hand, knew it was wrong. Mostly all Germans during WWII were Christian. This means the ethics and virtues of Christianity were taught to these members of the Nazi regime. Yet still knowing the ethics committed the atrocities of the holocaust. This comparison is illogical and does not benefit the reader in understanding Christian ethics, especially if the Nazi regime was 90% Christian.

Secondly, the author uses a lot of fear wondering concerning ethics. It is not God's will, so we must follow the will of God. How do we know the will of God? It is through the church's interpretation of scripture. The scripture is too complex to understand; thus, it needs a scholarly review. The author fails to mention the linguistic error and human error that goes into interpreting scripture, the writing styles, and fundamentally understanding sin. Sin means missing the mark, whose mark, God's expectations or rules. The analogy used here to determine rules is silly. He once was a teacher and gave only simple rules, and the students weren't given basic instructions. More instructions on the rules were added. Yet, in a chapter later on, the author claims novices do not need to understand why a rule is the way it is. That would mean that a new believer is to blindly follow a rule without knowing why. This could cause sin, which could mean you sinned against your neighbor by setting them up to sin.

These are just a few examples of these illogical arguments found within this book. Again it is not entirely wrong, but it doesn't allow for dialogue between the opposition and a common ground to be made. It is simply about the conservative laws a church interprets and how to apply those views. This leaves the reader not leaving wiser but rather a better obeyer. Again God did not give us these laws as a binding chain but as a means of serving others. The author leaves this out as well. We should objectively look at everything in life, use better judgment, and serve our fellow man. The ethics of society can be good or bad. The question to beg is how can I share Christ's love, not rules, and how can a middle ground be made? And to regard the political nature of this book, we do not live for the world, and We live in it. To base an entire book on following a specific political view is asinine.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the 65 pages that make up part 1 Stanglin accessibly presents a Christian ethics 101 course that skillfully covers classic ethical questions. Some of the ethical case studies he tackles in part 2 were more helpful than others. Despite being very well researched, the short chapters did not give Stanglin enough space to corroborate his –at times- strongly worded opinions. He also takes a pretty conservative, defensive, "us-vs-them" approach to the non-Christian world which I don't think was always helpful. Despite these quibbles Stanglin's book remains a fine candidate for individuals, church small groups and book clubs wishing to think about Christian ethics.

[Scott McClure · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate the straightforward nature and aim of this book. “What does love require of you?” This is the question that provides the bedrock of our Christian ethic. Using the framework of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, the author works through various social topics to stir a moment of self examination and social discussion. There were strong moments, and still there were weak ones. For those seeking to understand why the Church has historically held to a certain ethic, this would be a good starting point. If one is an outsider looking in, and skeptical of the church, this may fall short in some categories of thought.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the book begins on a little bit of a sanctimonious bent, it is well argued and is not afraid to confront the prominent social issues today and the Church’s principled stance on them. There is much to be gleaned from the organization of the arguments as well as the question it asks with each issue: “what does love demand?” or in other words, what is the proper pastoral response to best reconcile this?

[A Dilettante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. It is a great text for current church members or for small group studies.

[Justin Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well and clearly written and relevant for the modern church. I would highly recommend.