Christian ethics is a topic that I’m not sure many Christians read up on much, but it is a topic that every Christian engages with on an almost daily basis. How should Christians respond to abortion, divorce, bioethics, trans-humanism, suicide, etc? These are big issues that every Christian probably has an opinion on, but where do we base our convictions?
Luke Davis has given himself the impossible job of presenting a concise journey through Christian ethics in just 238 pages. An impossible task, that he does a really good job at…
When approaching any ethical question or topic, a person needs to know all the facts, but we need more than that too.
“We need to have intellectual understanding, passionate attachment, and practical application.”
Every ethical question takes on life when it becomes a reality for someone, therefore, we cannot approach topics with a mere factual mindset. That’s why I really like this book, it goes into the facts, but it also goes into the implications of decision and stances whilst also showing Christians how they can respond and what they can do.
Each chapter (except one) has a simple structure of ‘what’. ‘so what’ and ‘now what’. Following this structure means that each chapter is devoted in part to the facts, the implications and the applications of an ethical issue. And man does this book pack in a lot of material!
Split into four parts the book address; ideas, life, relationships and stewardship.
- Ideas Matter
In this section David does the ground work on the importance of ethics and explores some of the areas or ways ideas are shared / conveys (for examples; words, social media, self-image, opinions on diversity, etc.).
2. Life Matters
This sections deals with some of the most hotly debated issues in the world today; abortion, euthanasia, suicide, capital punishment, dignity and more. One of the things I like about this section is that Davis draws the reader in to see the beauty of what the Bible teaches and how human life is something to be celebrated and protected.
3. Relationships Matters
This section has chapters that fly right in the face of many ideologies that are being promoted in the world today. What is the Christian response to gender, marriage and cohabitation, divorce, pornography, homosexuality and transgenderism? Davis walks that line of being absolutely faithful to Scripture whilst also caring for those who struggle in these areas. If you’re thinking about how to deal with any of these issues, I seriously recommend this book as a great place to start! I also like the fact that Davis doesn’t just go straight for homosexuality and transgenderism, as other books do, but he also deals with other relationship issues like cohabitation and pornography.
4. Stewardship Matters
As Christians we have a responsibility to steward what the Lord has given us well. That includes our work, our money, the earth and the environment. This is a thought provoking section which will challenge you to engage with things that many Christians (in my experience) take for granted.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is really interesting and Davis is an engaging writer who helps you think through some really complex issues in a really ‘easy to follow’ way. If you want to think through some serious ethical issues that every Christian will need to engage with, at some time or another, this is a great book to start you off. You can buy the book here and get started on your concise journey through Christian ethics.
Luke H. Davis teaches Ethics and Church History at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis. He has also penned several novels in the Cameron Ballack Mystery series. Luke and his wife Christi live with their children in St. Charles, Missouri.
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