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Durham E-Theses Durham E-Theses The case for theological ethics: an appreciation of Ernil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr as moral theologians Hamlyn, Eric Crawford How to cite: Hamlyn, Eric Crawford (1990) The case for theological ethics: an appreciation of Ernil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr as moral theologians, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/6271/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 THE CASE FOR THEOLOGICAL ETHICS An appreciation of Emil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr as moral theologians. Submitted by Eric Crawford Hamlyn Qualification for which it is submitted- M.A. University of Durham Department of Theology. 1990 The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without his prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. CONTENTS Abstract of Thesis: p i Introduction p 1 Chapter 1 Emil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr (an explanation of the comparison> p 6 Orthodoxy and liberalism p 20 Ethics and Theology p 23 Chapter 2 Natural Law p 33 Aquinas p 36 Brunner's criticisms of Natural Law p 41 Natural Law and Natural Orders p 44 The case against Natural Law Theories p 51 Chapter 3 Love, Law and Revelation p 60 Niebuhr on 'Love and Law' p 62 Brunner on 'Love and Law' p 72 'I - Thou' p 76 Summary of the Love Law Debate p 78 Nature and Grace p 79 Chapter 4 Particular Emphases p 89 Brunner - The Div:Jire Human Encounter p 90 Brunner - The 'Call' p 96 Chapter 5 Emphases (contd> p 105 Niebuhr's Political Pilgrimage p 105 Niebuhr - Theological Reflections p 114 Chapter 6 The State p 123 Brunner on • The State' p 124 Niebuhr on 'The State' p 130 Chapter 7 The Problem of War p 139 Brunner on Pacifism p 140 Niebuhr on the Problem of War p 146 Conclusion p 155 Bibliography p 158 i THESIS: The Case for Theological Ethics: - An appreciation of Emil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr as moral theologians. The purpose of this thesis is to test the hypothesis that Christian ethics is not merely a department of general ethics, but is essentially theological. The reason for choosing these two theologians is that Brunner is in danger of eclipse, and Niebuhr deserves to continue being widely read. The thesis attempts to exhibit the methods each used to clarify the Christian faith and relate it to selected structures of society. METHOD: The thesis proceeds thus: 1) The first chapter is biographical and a study of their respective environments, as well as an appraisal of other theological and secular positions contemporary with them. 2) The second chapter is an examination of how each dealt with the subject of nat ural law. 3) The thesis moves on to examine their views on the questions of love, law and revel at ion. 4) At this point the thesis deals with both theologians separately to evaluate their particular emphases. 5) The final part of the thesis examines how each applied theoloogical issues to particular situations. Those selected are 'The State' and 'The Problem of War'. The reason for the choice is that both were writing at a particularly turbulent period of world history. This part of the thesis is descriptive and not critical and is intended to serve as illustrative of the methods they used to apply theology to social and political issues. 1 INTRODUCTION Christian social ethics is a complicated subject. First, there are many variations in the interpretation of a social norm. If ethics are to be applied to social institutions then they will vary according to the social environment. For example, we can suggest that democracy is a description of a desirable social and political system. That is not the same as asserting that it has particular ethical merit. It could be argued that a benevolent patriarchy has as much ethical value as a democracy, and in applying ethical theories to such a system, one would use different methods from those applied to a democracy. All methods of establishing order within a state are open to ethical enquiry. Totalitarianism runs the risk of power being abused, and democracy runs the risk of those in power manipulating a situation in order to retain power. It follows that those who write about social ethics must have a grasp of the various forms of social institutions in various societies. Secondly, the word 'ethics' presents us with complications. Ethics is basically an examination of the means whereby we can establish the realities of right and wrong, good and bad. Further, ethics needs to establish whether or not there exist univerally valid conceptions of right and wrong, or whether there are relativities which make some actions right some of the time, and the same actions wrong some of the time. If one concludes that there are in fact universal values, then one needs to examine the nature of the authority which codifies those values and which enforces them. Therefore, secondary to the subject of ethics, but important to it, is the subject of the nature and validity of authority. Apart from the suggestion that most people believe that there are such concepts as good and bad, there is remarkably little consensus amongst moral philosophers as to how to reach a conclusion. Between classical theories of natural law, and thorough-going existentialism, there is a wide range of ideas and methods which have formed the basis of some variety of ethical teaching. Thirdly, the use of the word 'Christian' in a study of social ethics does not in fact narrow the range of ideas very much. Within the traditions of 2 Christian moral teaching there have been as many schools of thought as there have been in the teaching of ethics as a purely philosophical, or secular exercise. This thesis sets out to discover, from the writings of Emil Brunner and Reinhold Niebuhr, to what extent Christian ethics is part of theology. The question that we are asking here is whether Christianity has a unique system in answering ethical questions, based on theological doctrine, or whether secular ethics can be used by theology to address the questions. Further, apart from the answering of specific questions, the thesis at tempts to deduce that the whole ethical 'process' is, for a Christian, different. From there we need to address the question which arises, which is that if Christian ethics is distinctively theological. does it have any application to those without faith? There are, I suggest, good reasons for choosing the writings of Brunner and Niebuhr. As we shall see in the thesis, both addressed themselves, as theologians, to ethics in particular. They were contemporary with each other, one in Switzerland and one in America. Both were 'Protestant', influenced by Lutheranism, liberalism, and the findings of nineteenth century Biblical criticism. They both steered a course between the thorough-going Protestant stance taken by, for example, Karl Barth, which insisted on all theories being dependent upon 'Justification by Faith' and 'Revelation', only perceivable by the believer, and, on the other hand, the position taught by much of the Church, which depended on natural law as the ultimate determinant. They were familiar with each other's writings and had a great respect for each other - whilst not agreeing with each other all the time. We shall see that their disagreements were more about style and emphasis than about substance. One might expect that a thesis on ethics might give ethical answers to particular ethical questions. A comparison between two moral theologians might concentrate on how they apply their theology to moral issues. This thesis, however, is concerned, not with particular ethical questions, but with the theological thinking that forms the basis for answering such questions. It is true that all theories have to be tested and applied to particular issues. To that end, at the end of the thesis, I have examined Brunner and Niebuhr in their thinking about the 'State' and about 'War and 3 Pacifism'. These chapters are entirely descriptive and not critical. They are given as examples of how one might apply their particular theological views to social and political institutions. I have chosen these particular issues because of the turbulent period during which each of them wrote. They each experienced the rise of fascism and communism and events of two world wars. In any case, the Christian's view of 'The State' is of permanent interest. In dealing, then, with their theological writings, the point must be made that both were prolific. It would be impossible in a thesis of this scope to deal adequately with all that they wrote. Further, much has been written about them, and in particular about Niebuhr, who is still a theologian of considerable interest. I have therefore chosen themes common to both of them which I believe illustrate their concern to keep the study of ethics within the study of theology.
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