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Copyright © 2008 Christopher Archie Vinson All rights reserved. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has permission to reproduce and disseminate this document in any form by any means for purposes chosen by the Seminary, including, without limitation, preservation or instruction. USING SCRIPTURE IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS: INTERACTING WITH RICHARD HAYS'S THE MORAL VISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy by Christopher Archie Vinson May 2008 UMI Number: 3314609 Copyright 2008 by Vinson, Christopher Archie All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. ® UMI UMI Microform 3314609 Copyright 2008 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 E. Eisenhower Parkway PO Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 APPROVAL SHEET USING SCRIPTURE IN CHRISTIAN ETHICS: INTERACTING WITH RICHARD HAYS'S THE MORAL VISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT Christopher Archie Vinson Read and Approved by: *-»-jfey~Jv v«—*'-sy E. David Cook (Chairperson) Kenneth T. Magnuson 0 t+Xtu fit- Janfes Parker III Date 3>-^"6« To Jessica, my beloved, whose patience, encouragement, and love made this work possible. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii PREFACE x Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION 1 Scripture and Ethics: Five Approaches 2 Richard Hays's The Moral Vision of the New Testament 5 Thesis of the Dissertation 6 Outline of the Dissertation 7 2. EXPOSITION OF THE MORAL VISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 9 The Descriptive Task 9 The Order of New Testament Witnesses 10 Paul 11 Pauline Tradition 18 Gospel of Mark 21 Matthew 25 Luke-Acts 31 iv er Page John's Gospel and Epistles 34 Revelation 38 Conclusion 41 The Synthetic Task 41 Procedural Guidelines 42 Three Focal Images 43 The Hermeneutical Task 46 Diagnostic Questions 47 Normative Proposals 50 The Pragmatic Task 54 Violence 54 Divorce and Remarriage 57 Homosexuality 62 Anti-Judaism and Ethnic Conflict 66 Abortion 71 Conclusion 75 3. CRITIQUE OF THE MORAL VISION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 76 Strengths of The Moral Vision 77 Shortcomings of The Moral Vision 82 A Fragmented View of Scripture 82 Hays's Focal Images 86 The Priority of Narrative 94 v er Page Metaphors and Moral Judgments 107 Conclusion 121 4. SCRIPTURE AND ETHICS: A PRESCRIPTIVE MODEL 123 Presuppositions for Building a Prescriptive Model 124 The Nature of Christian Ethics 124 The Nature of Scripture 131 Scripture and Ethics 146 Appropriating the Ancient Text to Contemporary Ethical Concerns 146 Understanding What the Text Meant 147 Understanding the Ethical Instruction of the Text 160 Understanding the Text's Significance 164 Applying the Text's Meanings to Contemporary Concerns 167 Testing the Model Prescribed 176 In Vitro Fertilization 177 IVF and Scripture's Ethical Instructions 179 Drawing Conclusions 182 Conclusion 186 vi Chapter Page 5. CONCLUSION 187 Application 190 Suggestions for Further Research 193 BIBLIOGRAPHY 195 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies AusBR Australian Biblical Review BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BBR Bulletin of Biblical Research CC Christian Century CT Christianity Today CTJ Calvin Theological Journal CTM Concordia Theological Monthly EvQ Evangelical Quarterly FJ Founders Journal FT First Things HDR Harvard Divinity Review ICC International Critical Commentary Int Interpretation JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JR Journal of Religion JRE Journal of Religious Ethics MR Modern Reformation viii MSJ Master's Seminary Journal MT Modern Theology NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NTS New Testament Studies NovT Novum Testamentum PRS Perspectives in Religious Studies RE Review and Expositor RSR Religious Studies Review SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SJT Scottish Journal of Theology TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament TS Theological Studies WTJ Westminster Theological Journal ix PREFACE Though this dissertation bears my name, it has been influenced and shaped by many people. I am grateful to Dr. Ken Magnuson for his support and friendship throughout my program. I chose to enter the doctoral program in part because of Dr. Magnuson's encouragement and counsel. He often challenged me to examine ethical problems from more than one angle. Dr. Jim Parker provided valuable insight and analysis as well. I cannot thank Dr. E. David Cook enough for his endurance throughout my time of study. When circumstances led me to ponder whether I would continue in the doctoral program, he encouraged me. Even as he suffered major health concerns, he remained engaged and helpful. He is a tremendous asset to the defense of the faith, and an indispensable advocate for life in the kingdom of God. If possible, however, I must give even more credit to my family. Jessica has been extremely patient, loving, and supportive, giving me encouragement and time to research and write. Our children provided much joy and a welcome distraction at many points along the way. Last and most importantly, thanks be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who "through His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3). Christopher A. Vinson Vidalia, Georgia May 2008 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Writing in 1970, Brevard Childs lamented, "In spite of the great interest in ethics ... there is no outstanding modern work written in English that even attempts to deal adequately with the Biblical material as it relates to ethics." There had been sufficient interest in the field of biblical ethics, but biblical scholars and Christian ethicists frequently had little contact with each other. Near the end of the decade, however, many were beginning to notice a change. Allen Verhey could optimistically report, "Recently, there has been an increasing interest in 'bridging the gap' between biblical studies and ethics."3 Despite its benefits, such an interest raised a more fundamental problem. In seeking to bring Scripture and Christian ethics together, the need arose for an appropriate methodology in moving from Scripture to moral claims. Put another way, how does the Bible function when making ethical decision? What role should Scripture have, or, as Brunt and Winslow asked, "Is it reasonable to expect such an ancient collection of documents to speak to the moral issues of contemporary society?"4 In their article "The Bible's Role in Christian Ethics," Brunt and Winslow summarize five current approaches to this issue. 'Brevard Childs, Biblical Theology in Crisis (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1970), 124. 2See Ibid., 242 n.l. 3Allen Verhey, "The Use of Scripture in Ethics," RSR 4 (1978): 28. 4John Brunt and Gerald Winslow, "The Bible's Role in Christian Ethics," AUSS 20 (1982): 3. 1 2 Scripture and Ethics—Five Approaches The first methodology, according to the authors, is commonly held by fundamentalists and evangelicals. It views biblical ethics as the same thing as Christian ethics. This approach emphasizes the revealed morality that Scripture represents. Brunt and Winslow consider Carl F. H. Henry to be the epitome of this approach. For Henry, "There is no ethical decision in life which the biblical revelation leaves wholly untouched and for which, if carefully interpreted and applied, it cannot afford some concrete guidance."5 According to this model, "Scripture provides a unique, revealed morality that addresses any situation a Christian might face so that there is no ambiguity of duty.. Basically, Christian ethics consists of discovering what the Bible says and, as converted persons, acting on this."6 The second approach summarized by Brunt and Winslow is expressed best by Jack Sanders. He considers biblical ethics irrelevant for Christian ethics. Two factors make the Bible's morality irrelevant—the diversity of Scripture and the imminent eschatological expectation of the New Testament writers. Since the biblical writer's expectation was not realized, the church is left to deal with the complexities of life in a world that continues. Jesus does not offer any help either, since "his ethical teaching is interwoven with his imminent eschatology to such a degree that every attempt to separate the two and to draw out only the ethical thread invariably and inevitably draws out also strands of the eschatology."7 This approach stands at the opposite pole of the first method. Whereas the first approach equated biblical ethics with Christian ethics, the Carl F. H. Henry, Christian Personal Ethics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), 339, quoted in Brunt and Winslow, "The Bible's Role," 5. It is not clear that Brunt and Winslow read Henry sympathetically here. 6Brunt and Winslow, "The Bible's Role," 5. Jack Sanders, Ethics in the New Testament: Change and Development (Philadelphia: Fortress Press,