Faith Matters: Reflections On The Christian Life, Kerry S. Walters

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

In a day in which Christians too often reduce faith to mere sentimentality and atheists decry it as superstitious nonsense, Fr. Kerry Walters offers a series of reflections intended to show that, indeed, faith matters. Drawn from his popular weekly newspaper column “Faith Matters,” these short meditations explore Christian faith from the perspectives of doctrine, spirituality, ethics, politics, art and science, the saints, and the holy seasons that mark the Christian year and set the rhythm of Christian living.

Paper: Investigating The Work Of William Styron: The Perpetuation Of The Fantastic Hegemonic Imagination, William Sikich

Womanist Ethics

William Styron's Confessions of Nat Turner depicts a fictitious characterization of the historical Nat Turner. Styron, a white southerner, assumes Turner's perspective in order to tell a speculative story about his slave rebellion of 1831. Similarly, he tells the story of a fictional holocaust survivor in his novel, Sophie's Choice. The decision to take on these perspective evinces some arrogance on Styron's part, and the way in which he executes the narrative of each novel delivers their stories with varying levels of respect to their subjects: Styron's indirect telling of Sophie's story allows Styron some freedom to speculate, while …

The Moral Argument, Existential Problems Of Evil, And A Non-Existential Alternative, Jonathan Smith

Senior Honors Theses

Within this paper, it is shown that certain ethical assumptions are implicit within the claim that certain kinds of evil exist. When taken in tandem with the moral argument for the existence of God, these assumptions can be arranged in such a way as to provide a contradiction. To avoid this contradiction, I posit a non-existential alternative to direct inductive arguments from evil, but the non-existential alternative gives rise to novel objections. When considering their respective ethical implications, both the existential and non-existential variations of direct inductive arguments fail. Since any direct inductive problem of evil must be either existential …

The Law Of Moses: An Overview, Dan Belnap

Faculty Publications

During the last week of his life, Christ was confronted by a group of Jewish authorities who asked him, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matthew 22:36). Christ’s answer, that one should love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5), as well as one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18), was then followed by the assertion “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:40). Clearly, in Christ’s day the law of Moses was regarded as providing crucial instruction regarding one’s behavior both with one’s fellow man and with God, and …

Paper: An Ecowomanist View On The Dakota Access Pipeline, Ariana Raya

Womanist Ethics

This paper examines the Dakota Access Pipeline using ecofeminist and ecowomanist philosophies, provides a brief historical background of African American and Native American communities, explains the dangers of the pipeline to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and offers constructive alternatives.

Review Of: J. Denny Weaver, God Without Violence: Following A Nonviolent God In A Violent World, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

In God Without Violence, Mennonite theologian J. Denny Weaver ‘proposes new motifs for Christology and atonement’ and ‘highlights new versions of Christian practice’ based in ‘the nonviolence of God who is revealed in the life and work of Jesus’ (pp. 197–98). Weaver wrote this book to be a popular version of his previous books on atonement theology, accessible to church study groups and college classes.

Weaver, J.D. (2016). God without violence: Following a nonviolent God in a violent world. Eugene, OR: Cascade.

Married Love And Responsible Parenthood: Changing The Discussion On The Ethics Of Birth Control, Hannah Renner

Celebrating Scholarship and Creativity Day (2018-)

The current framework in which The Catholic Church discusses birth control originates within a sexual ethic based on rules Christians are obligated to follow. After a careful, internal critique of the encyclical, there needs to be a change in this framework so that Christian sexual ethics is less focused on the rules and more focused on the values which Humanae Vitae embodies. These values are presently described as the unitive and procreative ends of marriage. However, with a transition from a rule-based sex ethic to a value-based sex ethic, these ends of marriage can be redefined in terms of married …

Powerpoint: Critical Engagement: Colin Kaepernick, Mason Sargent, Tate Henrikson, Sean N. Bennington, Justin M. Porter, Nicolete D. Moyo

Womanist Ethics

Critical Engagement is the use of practical strategies and pedagogical methods [that] challenge dominant intellectual legacies, theological resources, and ideologies that undermine the goals of Womanist ethics, namely, the empowerment of black women. It is a concept created by Floyd Thomas, in whose writings, it is one of the five Womanist tenants. We decided to base Colin Kaepernick’s ‘take a knee’ movement as an example of Critical Engagement. Using this perspective, we examined the various aspects of the movement and analyzed the effects on American culture and society through a Womanist lens.

Magazine: Alice: A Womanist Ethics Magazine, Lucy Kebler, Grace Dematteis, Karli Stankus, Laurin Hopping

Womanist Ethics

Alice is an academic magazine that focuses on the topic of womanism and one of its primary tenets, radical subjectivity. Incorporating both historical womanist content, and modern womanist perspectives, Alice brings a modern twist to the idea of radical subjectivity. The magazine concentrates heavily on current womanist celebrities, who bring womanism to the public. Alice maps out both straightforward and ambiguous instances so that the reader can better understand them. The magazine also incorporates interactive material, such as a womanist quiz, and two womanist recipes.

"Traditioning" Blackness: A Theo-Ethical Analysis Of Black Identity In Black Theological Discourse, Ben Sanders Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of James Cone's black liberation theology in the late-1960s and early 1970s marked both a radical challenge to and a historical transformation of the fields of religious and theological studies. Building on Cone's work, black theological discourse has developed a rich tradition of religious and academic inquiry characterized by its commitment to interpreting Christianity in particular, and religious experience more broadly, from the vantage point of oppressed black people. This dissertation shows that James Cone developed a particular understanding of black identity in his early works and, furthermore, that various scholars have critically engaged this conception of black …

Theology, Phenomenology, And The Divine In King Lear, Kent R. Lehnhof

English Faculty Books and Book Chapters

"In what follows, then, I would like to think through Levinas's ideas on transcendence and ethics in such a way as to map out a new pathway for approaching Shakespeare's great tragedy. As unorthodox as it may sound, I propose to shed light on the darkling religiosity of King Lear by turning-not to the theological doctrines of early modem Christians-but to the postmodern ethics of a twentieth-century Jew."

Two Directions Toward Ethical Peoplehood, Jonathan R. Cohen

UF Law Faculty Publications

From the biblical era through the present day, the conception of Israel as a people devoted to ethical ends has been a core Jewish value. But how is such a model to be implemented? This essay suggests two basic ways of thinking about ethical peoplehood, namely, that one can begin with a people and try to transform it into an ethical people ("from tribe to ethics") or that one can begin with ethical norms and through those norms attempt to build a people ("from ethics to tribe"). Part I of this essay begins by sketching these two modalities in Jewish …

Living In Question, Cynthia Rothschild

Occasional Paper Series

September 11 and the following months found Rothschild's students asking: "Why is there suffering?" "What has real value for me and for my society?" and, most resoundingly, "Is there a God?" She had few answers. The value that came to the forefront in her post-September 11 teaching was the value of living in question.

Divine Utilitarianism, Jimmy Lewis

Masters Theses

This work addresses the subject of God and ethics and aims to answer questions concerning why God does what he does and whether God is a utilitarian in his ethics. In order to answer these questions, God’s nature is explored through the lens of classical theists such as Anselm, Thomas of Aquin, and Augustine. Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill’s conceptions of utilitarianism are also explicated so that there is no confusion regarding the definition of utility which is used in Divine Utilitarianism. Finally, Divine Utilitarianism is juxtaposed to Divine Command Theory and the explanatory power of each is considered. …

A Survey Of Ethics Training In Undergraduate Psychology Programs At Jesuit Universities, Thomas G. Plante, Selena Pistoresi

Psychology

Training in ethics is fundamental in higher education among both faith-based and secular colleges and universities, regardless of one’s academic major or field of study. Catholic colleges and universities have included moral philosophy, theology, and applied ethics in their undergraduate curricula for generations. The purpose of this investigation was to determine what, if anything, Jesuit college psychology departments are doing to educate psychology majors regarding ethical issues. A survey method was used to assess the psychology departments of all 28 Jesuits colleges and universities in the United States. A total of 21 of the 28 schools responded and completed the …

The Normative Approach Of The Catholic Tradition In The Ethical And Religious Directives For Resolving Ethical Dilemmas Regarding Medical Technology, David G. Garvis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The dissertation engages the Catholic Tradition enunciated in the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services to provide a normative approach for resolving ethical dilemmas regarding pivotal breakthroughs in medical technology.

This normative ethical approach has two components: a normative framework for Catholic health care ethics that adopts practical ethical principles as enunciated in the Ethical and Religious Directives (Chapter 2) and secular decision-making models in organizational and clinical ethics that are consistent with the Catholic Tradition (Chapter 3).

At the end of the theoretical analysis in these chapters, the conclusion to Chapter 3 explains how this normative …

The Ethical And Economic Concerns Of Physician Assisted Suicide, Wade M. Smith

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Daredevil: Legal (And Moral?) Vigilante, Stephen E. Henderson

Faculty Articles

In 1964, the comic world was introduced to its first physically disabled practicing attorney: Matt Murdock. Initially a proud graduate of "State College" and later more impressively pedigreed as a graduate of either Columbia or Harvard Law, Murdock supplemented his day job as attorney with a side of vigilante justice as Daredevil. In 2003, Murdock became the only attorney superhero to appear as the title character in a movie. A truly awful movie, yes, but a movie all the same. And then in 2015, thanks to the talents of Drew Goddard, Murdock became the star of a terrific television series. …

Mercy And Business: A Partnership For Catholic University Business Students, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

A university mission that reflects mercy and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition can be integrated into business courses. Critical to this integration is the willingness of students to embrace concepts such as fairness and mercy, as part of their lives beyond academia; that caring for others is inclusive in business and private life. Some examples in management courses include; the protection from harassment or disenfranchisement of any ethnic, economic or lifestyle differences; fairness of applications, interviews and testing, and opportunities for training and promotions. In all business courses, the understanding of cultural dimensions and respect for others are emphasized.

The Secular Transformation Of Pride And Humility In The Moral Philosophy Of David Hume, Kirstin April Carlson Mcpherson

Dissertations (1934 -)

In this dissertation I examine Hume’s secular re-definition and re-evaluation of the traditional Christian understanding of pride and humility as part of his project to establish a fully secular account of ethics and to undermine what he thought to be the harmful aspects of religious morality. Christians traditionally have seen humility, understood as receptivity to God, to be crucial for individual and social flourishing, and pride as the root of individual and social disorder. By contrast, Hume, who conceives of pride and humility immanently in terms of our self-appraisals, sees pride as a key virtue that serves as the ultimate …

Theo-Dramatic Ethics: A Balthasarian Approach To Moral Formation, Andrew John Kuzma

Dissertations (1934 -)

What role does beauty play in our moral formation? What difference does the perception of beauty make to the way we live our lives? In order to answer these questions, I look to the twentieth-century Catholic theologian, Hans Urs von Balthasar. Relatively little has been written about Balthasar’s ethics. He is, perhaps, best known for his retrieval of beauty as a transcendental property of being. Balthasar, though, never set down an extended account of his ethics or moral theology. While he had no explicit ethic, he certainly thought that his theology could be lived. The Theo-Drama, for instance, discusses the …

The Essential Nature Of Humility For Today's Leaders, Jerry D. Breedlove Jr.

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

Using socio-rhetorical criticism and analysis, the author explores the inner-textual and intertextual texture of 1 timothy 3:1-7. In particular the author draws out how the apostle Paul’s leadership requirement of not being a recent convert is less about the timing of a conversion to christianity and more about the adverse effects of pride on the ability of a leader to lead in a healthy manner. In so doing, the author provides support and insight into the ways in which humility as an essential virtue is applicable to leadership in secular settings as well as christian environments. Furthermore, the author strengthens …

Abortion In Paraguay Case Study, Eileen A. Ruppel

Augustana Center for the Study of Ethics Essay Contest

No abstract provided.

Kant, The Natural Law, And The Question Of Normativity In Catholic Ethics, John Robert Crowley-Buck

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the question of normativity in 21st century Catholic ethical reflection. While, today, the natural law tradition frames and founds the normative question in Catholic ethics in terms of the imago Dei, this project explores the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant and the challenge it presents to the natural law's claim to normativity. Specifically, this dissertation argues that in Kant's ethics, the normative question is answered in terms of the dignity of humanity, rather than the imago Dei, and that the dignity of humanity is a more relevant, shareable, and normative grounding for ethical reflection. To this end, …

The Theology And Agency Of Love As The Substance Of Kingian Non-Violent Philosophy And Activism., Matthew Quainoo

Senior Honors Projects

The theology of Love focuses on King’s understanding of God as love:

A Research Abstract (Project Summary)

Problem: Almost 50 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., controversy continues to swirl around the motivational forces that inspired the nonviolence approach employed by King in his fight for equality for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest. Some scholars argue that Kings was inspired by such advocates of nonviolence such as Mahatma Gandhi and Buddha Shakyamuni. Others believe that Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence was an expression of the Christian theology of God …

A Taste Of Armageddon: When Warring Is Done By Drones And Robots, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Discusses the increasing use of drones and weaponized robots. Argues that the international community must put firm ethical guidelines in place before the technology becomes rampant.

Maker's Breath: Religion, Magic, And The 'Godless' World Of Bioware's Dragon Age Ii (2011), Kristin M.S. Bezio

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The core conflict of BioWare’s 2011 digital role-playing game Dragon Age II places the Christianesque Chantry in opposition to both the hierarchical Qunari and the Circle of Magi. In Dragon Age II religious beliefs, particularly those of the Chantry, prove destructive; by demonstrating the chaos of religious conflict, the game guides the player to recognize the danger inherent in extremist devotion to religion, and argues that interpersonal relationships should form the basis of our ethics. In Dragon Age II, the player-character, Hawke, is evaluated by each of his (or her) non-player companions; the mechanic forms the basis for a …

Toward The Development Of Roman Catholic Teaching About Contraception In Light Of The Experience Of South Korean Catholic Women, Taeeun Kim

Dissertations

In recent decades, the morality of artificial contraception has been hotly debated in the Roman Catholic Church. Many theologians and ethicists have challenged the hierarchical church teachings in the last fifty years. The opening chapter of the dissertation reviews Catholic Church teachings on birth control throughout history, and in Chapter Two I explore the theo-ethical reflections on artificial contraception from two different approaches (traditionalist and revisionist) and support the revisionists' perspectives, findings, and arguments. Then, in order to lay the context for my interpretations of my ethnographic interviews with ten participants, in Chapter Three I explore South Korean sexual culture …

Review Of: Andrew R. Murphy (Ed.), The Blackwell Companion To Religion And Violence, Brian Stiltner

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Blackwell Companions, and instalments from similar series, should be initially sized up according to their purpose and audience. Such hefty tomes present themselves first as reference books—as collections of articles by scholarly experts that treat the key methods, topics, historical developments, etc., in the field. Second, each Companion is addressed to students and teachers as a state-of-the-field resource that provides several benefits: a sound picture of the field, assessment of various theories and methods used in the field, a sense of the innovative developments and open questions, and plenty of information to follow up on. Finally, some Companions give primacy …

Avoiding "Silent Fall": Ethics And The Future Of Hunting, Derek Larson

Headwaters

No abstract provided.