Paul and Virtue Ethics Building Bridges Between New Testament Studies and Moral Theology

by Harrington, SJ, Daniel J.,; Keenan, SJ, James F.,

• ISBN13: 9780742599598
• ISBN10: 0742599590
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-16
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

In Paul and Virtue Ethics, Daniel Harrington and James Keenan build upon their successful collaboration Jesus and Virtue Ethics to discuss the apostle Paul's teachings as a guide to interpret theology and ethics today. Examining Paul's writings, the authors investigate what they teach about the basic questions of virtue ethics: Who am I?; Who do I want to become?; And how do I get there? Their intent is not to provide stringent rules, but to awaken discovery and encourage dialogue. The book first considers the concept of virtue ethics_an approach to ethics that emphasizes moral character_and Paul's ethics in particular. Next, the authors focus on the virtues of faith, love/charity, and hope as treated by Paul and Thomas Aquinas. Closing the book with reflections on the roles of other virtues (and vices) in individual and communal Christian life, the authors discuss various issues in social ethics and sexual morality as they are dealt with in Paul and in Christian virtue ethics today.

Author Biography

Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, is professor of New Testament at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. He is the author of a number of books, including How Do Catholics Read the Bible? and, with James F. Keenan, Jesus and Virtue Ethics. James F. Keenan, SJ, holds the Founders Professorship in Theology at Boston College. He is the author of several books, including Moral Wisdom and The Ethics of the Word.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. xi
The Shape of Christian Virtue Ethics
Virtue Ethics and Fundamental Moral Theology	p. 3
The Nature of Virtue Ethics	p. 3
Responding to Criticisms regarding Virtue Ethics	p. 8
Virtue Ethics on Tomorrow's Landscape	p. 12
The Shape of Paul's Christian Virtue Ethics	p. 15
Paul's Christian Virtue Ethics; Philippians 3:10-11	p. 15
Who Was Paul?	p. 17
Paul's Conversion and Call	p. 19
Paul's Jewish Eschatological Consciousness	p. 21
What Did Paul Hope For?	p. 24
The Human Condition before and after Christ: Pauline Perspectives	p. 29
Life before and after Christ: Romans 7:24-8:2	p. 29
Sin, Death, and the Law	p. 32
The Lament of the Enslaved	p. 34
New Life in Christ Jesus and in the Holy Spirit	p. 36
Conversion and the Human Condition: Theological Perspectives	p. 41
Artistic Representations	p. 41
The Absolute Priority of God's Love and Action	p. 43
The Absolute Priority of Jesus Christ	p. 46
The Response to Love	p. 47
The Many Contexts of Paul's Ethical Teachings	p. 49
The Christian Theological Context: Romans 12:9-16	p. 49
Indicative and Imperative	p. 52
The Last Judgment	p. 54
Other Influences 56
Experience and Conscience in Theology Today	p. 61
An Illustration	p. 63
An Application	p. 65
Conscience	p. 67
The Voice of Conscience	p. 68
Formation of the Conscience	p. 69
The Theological Virtues: Paul and Thomas Aquinas
Faith: Pauline Perspectives	p. 75
The Three Theological Virtues: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-4	p. 75
Faith as a Pauline Virtue	p. 78
Faith: Theological Perspectives	p. 83
Thomas Aquinas	p. 84
Summa Theologiae	p. 86
Thomas in the Summa on Faith	p. 86
The Assent of Faith	p. 87
Love: Pauline Perspectives	p. 91
Faith Working through Love	p. 91
Love in Biblical Perspective	p. 91
Love as a Pauline Virtue	p. 92
Charity: Theological Perspectives	p. 95
Thomas in the Summa on Charity	p. 95
Hope: Pauline Perspectives	p. 99
What Paul Hoped For	p. 99
Hope in Biblical Perspective	p. 99
Hope as a Pauline Virtue	p. 100
Hope: Theological Perspectives	p. 103
Thomas in the Summa on Hope	p. 103
Applying the Insights of Thomas (and Paul)	p. 105
Other Virtues and Christian Life
Virtues and Vices: Pauline Perspectives	p. 109
Lists of Vices and Virtues: Galatians 5:19-23	p. 109
More Lists	p. 112
Extrabiblical Examples	p. 113
Deuteropauline Lists of Virtues	p. 115
A Deuteropauline Household Code	p. 117
Godliness as a Christian Virtue	p. 118
Virtues and Vices: Theological Perspectives	p. 121
The Specificity of Christian Theological Ethics	p. 121
Pauline Virtues beyond Faith, Hope, and Charity	p. 125
Ethics in a Communal Setting: Pauline Perspectives	p. 129
An Egregious Offense: 1 Corinthians 5:1-5	p. 129
Paul's Letters as Social and Pastoral Communications	p. 131
A Communal Crisis of Conscience	p. 133
Discerning the Spirit in Community	p. 135
The Strong and the Weak at Rome	p. 137
Ethics in a Communal Setting: Theological Perspectives	p. 141
Humility as a Biblical Virtue	p. 141
Augustine and Thomas Aquinas on Humility	p. 143
Contemporary Emphasis on Humility	p. 146
Communal Ethics and the Eucharist	p. 149
The Lord's Supper: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26	p. 149
Christians and Pagan Worship: 1 Corinthians 10	p. 150
A Scandal Pertaining to the Eucharist: 1 Corinthians II	p. 151
Eucharist and Virtue	p. 153
The Shift to Relational Self-Understanding	p. 153
Worship as the Embodied Practice of Fundamental Moral Theology	p. 155
The Moral Practices of the Liturgy of the Word	p. 156
The Moral Practices of the Eucharist	p. 158
The Virtues and Social and Sexual Issues
Social Ethics: Pauline Perspectives	p. 163
Stay As You Are: 1 Corinthians 7:21-24	p. 163
Problems for Philemon and Paul	p. 166
Church and State	p. 169
Social Institutions within the Church	p. 172
Deuteropauline Household Codes	p. 173
Social Ethics: Theological Perspectives	p. 179
Seven Points for Consideration	p. 179
A Closer Look at Hospitality	p. 183
Relationships and Sexual Ethics: Pauline Perspectives	p. 189
Marriage as the Usual Pattern: 1 Corinthians 7:1-7	p. 189
Other Teachings in 1 Corinthians 7	p. 191
"No Longer Male and Female"?	p. 197
Sexual Immorality/Fornication	p. 197
Gender Roles	p. 198
Incest	p. 199
Prostitution	p. 199
Homosexuality	p. 200
Paul's Sexual Ethic	p. 200
Relationships and Sexual Ethics: Theological Perspectives	p. 203
Chastity	p. 203
More Virtues for Human Relationships	p. 204
Developing a Relational Sexual Ethics out of These Cardinal Virtues	p. 206
Epilogue: Paul, Dietrich, Martin, and Bernhard	p. 211
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)	p. 211
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968)	p. 212
Bernhard Häring (1912-1998)	p. 213
Index	p. 217
About the Authors	p. 225
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.