Newspaper Ethics and Theological Education
By Joe E. Trull, Editor
T. B. Maston challenged his Christian ethics students to live every day with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. By that he meant the Christian faith was, in his oft-stated phrase, "abidingly relevant."
I once proposed a course titled "Newspaper Ethics." Students liked the idea better than administrators did. Using news stories as the basic starting point seemed appealing to seminarians (much easier than reading Niebuhr or Hauerwas), but to the Dean it seemed not academic.
Actually however, to address the ethical issues raised in daily tabloids would demand of students their best skills in hermeneutics and moral decision making. In addition, it would prepare them to minister in the real world.
Look at this past year. A course in "Newspaper Ethics" in 2002 would have required students to grapple with difficult and challenging issues. A brief review of the major ethical questions of 2002 underscores the importance of Christian ethics.
War and Peace. At the top of every list of news events of 2002 is the continuing "War on Terrorism" and the potential war against Iraq. Christians of every stripe have been forced to ask tough questions. Should Christians model pacifism? What is a "Just War?" Is the killing of civilians and innocents ever justified? How is a just peace achieved in a sinful world? In 2002 the question "What Would Jesus Do?" has become more than a motto to wear on a bracelet.
Rowan Williams, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, suggested "that the attacks on America could ultimately become a teachable moment for the world and even a doorway to necessary transformation-or the horrible events of last year could be used in America and the West as an excuse for our very worst instincts and habits." Editor Jim Wallis adds, "The United States has the biggest and best hammers in the world. But they are the only `tools` we seem to know how to use. And all we seem able to do is look for more nails to pound" (Sojourners, 12/02, 7).
As North Korea has been added to the list of threats to world peace and the dangers of nuclear war, Christians must also deal with a very personal question: Is my first loyalty to God or government? The real patriots may be those who question the "rush to war" that seems so popular today. Ethicist Glen Stassen reminds us that the focus of our efforts should be "Just Peacemaking" (CET, 10/02, 8).
Clergy Sexual Abuse. The spotlight has been on the Roman Catholic Church and the scores of pedophilic priests who abused children in their parish. Equally disturbing has been the apparent cover-up by the church (including relocation of the predators), which has led to numerous lawsuits, million dollar judgments (some dioceses have considered bankruptcy), drastic revisions of church policy, and a general loss of trust in the church by congregants.
Messengers at the 2002 SBC meeting approved a resolution calling for churches and civil authorities to hold those clergy guilty of sexual abuse accountable. However, the SBC resolution also asked churches to follow the pattern of Matthew 18, which indicates their ignorance of the nature of CSA. In addition, a prominent SBC ethicist told reporters that CSA was not a major problem among Baptists.
As a teacher of Ministerial Ethics for two decades and co-author of a basic text on that subject, I can assure you it is a problem among Baptist ministers. Reliable research indicates about 30-35% of all ministers admit to sexually inappropriate behavior and 10-12% admit to sexual intercourse with a parishioner. I assisted Texas Baptists in their recent study of this issue and the production of the unique resource, Broken Trust. The convention presently is developing procedures to aid churches facing this problem.
Churches need to develop policies and procedures before an incident occurs. Denominational bodies need to take the issue seriously. One of the saddest reports in a meeting last week was that most Baptist state conventions do not believe CSA is a major problem.
Church and State. "Language in the Constitution protecting religious liberty probably would not pass if Congress were voting on it today," states Baptist Joint Committee leader J. Brent Walker. That is scary! But it is true.
Due to historical revisionists like Philip Hamburger (book review in this issue) who constantly attack church-state separation and the President`s insistence on giving more money to religious charities (Tom Teepen`s column), Jefferson`s wall of separation is crumbling.
Though faith-based legislation has been stymied by Senate Democrats, the director of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives states "the President is certainly going to work administratively to achieve his goal" (Christianity Today, 11/18/02, 25). Last October 3 a "compassion capital" grant of $24.8 million was awarded to 21 recipients, including $500,000 to Pat Robertson`s Operation Blessing International-an interesting grant since Robertson had criticized the possibility of money going to Wiccans, Moonies, and others he considered heretical religions.
Church-state issues such as prayer in public schools, school vouchers, the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and other questions will continue in 2003. Baptists who have traditionally been the "watchdogs of religious liberty" will need increasing vigilance, especially in light of new SBC leaders who want to use political power to support and enforce religious convictions.
Bioethics and Cloning. A cloning firm associated with a religious group that believes space aliens created human life recently claimed they have produced the first cloned human infant. Baptists ethicists of all varieties condemned the announcement. Ethicist David Gushee said the news means delays over illegalizing human cloning in the world`s legislatures may have had disastrous consequences.
Meanwhile a host of other bioethical issues continue to be debated. Stem-cell research, contraception, abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and reproductive technologies are major concerns. Thinking Christians soon realize these issues are not a simple decision between pro-life and pro-choice. At the same time, the basic issue in this complex area is our understanding of both human life and human responsibility.
Since this area deals with our basic understanding of humanity, many ethicists contend this is the battleground for Christian ethics in the twenty-first century. While recognizing the limitations of public discourse in bioethics, Alasdair MacIntyre noted "theological talk about medicine and morals may at least remind a pluralistic culture of the minimal character of the standards it presumes are universal, rational, and sufficient."
Capital Punishment. Last evening Gov. George Ryan of Illinois announced the pardoning of four death row inmates stating, "We have evidence from four men, who did not know each other, all getting beaten and tortured and convicted on the basis of the confessions they allegedly provide." In an hour-long speech, Ryan called Illinois` criminal justice system "inaccurate, unjust and unable to separate the innocent from the guilty, and at times, very racist."
Although most Americans and the majority of politicians favor capital punishment, that percentage is decreasing as new investigation (especially through DNA) has revealed many persons on death row who should not be there. False convictions are blamed on "rogue cops," zealous prosecutors, incompetent defense lawyers and judges who rule on technicalities rather than on what is right.
Ironically, many pro-choice advocates are among the strongest opponents of capital punishment and war. Likewise, many Christians who are strongly pro-life and oppose abortion for any reason are also among the most vocal in support of capital punishment and war. Cardinal Bernardin was the first to coin the term "seamless-garment ethic," noting the need for our ethical positions to be consistent. In other words, if one believes in the sanctity of life, that conviction must be applied to all life and death issues in the same way. Otherwise our ethical garment has a glaring seam dividing it.
Teaching Christian Ethics. Theological scholarship, as Ron Sider observes, is forever leaving ethics till last, and then leaving it out. Which brings me to my "present obsession."
In light of these crucial and complex issues, how important it is to train our future church leaders, both laity and clergy, in the discipline of Christian ethics. I am saddened to report Baptists are failing in that task-both SBC fundamentalists and Baptist moderates are "Equal Opportunity Offenders."
A few examples. How sad it was to learn that Southwestern Seminary, renowned for its Christian ethics department birthed and nurtured by the respected biblical scholar T. B. Maston, has suspended doctoral degree programs in this discipline "due to the retirement or resignation of faculty."
As a former professor of Christian ethics at another SBC seminary from 1985 until 1999 (no replacement there either), I can venture the reason. A friend who was contacted about teaching at Southwestern was told, "We want to get away from the Maston tradition and get back to the Bible." How ridiculous! Even Maston`s critics recognized he was biblical to a fault-if he or his students neglected anything, it was never the biblical basis for ethics. No wonder Southwestern has had difficulty.
Another SBC seminary president recently bragged that "Southeastern is the only institution on earth with three ethicists." Although I applauded his intent, I knew the statement was disingenuous (e.g., Notre Dame has 13 ethics teachers). According to the SEBTS catalogue, the two elected ethics faculty at this seminary never attended any Southern Baptist school, and the third is presently working on a PhD at Southeastern after graduating from Jerry Falwell`s Liberty University. Sorry, I`m not impressed!
Now before you criticize SBC seminaries, take a look at our moderate institutions. I was on sabbatical in Richmond when the Baptist Seminary in that city began. I remember being told that "we will incorporate ethics into our theology classes." I had heard that one before. And I keep hearing it from too many other moderate seminaries.
I love Truett Seminary at Baylor and thank God for its phenomenal growth. Yet it grieves me that after nine years of existence and six graduating classes, to date not one specific course in Christian ethics has been taught. I understand the financial limitations-I have heard the plans for the future. Yet I continue to witness the hiring of additional teachers in theology and other disciplines, even after hearing in 2000 with the rest of the seminary study committee that an ethics teacher was a first priority.
To their credit, Logsdon Seminary at Hardin-Simmons in Abilene does have the T. B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics, occupied by Dr. Bill Tillman. This is commendable. Yet, I have been told this chair is required to teach undergraduate introductory courses in religion at the B.A. level. If so, this not only limits the Christian ethics emphasis, it also fails to follow graduate school guidelines.
My purpose behind all of these comments is positive-the hope that Christian ethics will not be neglected or overlooked in theological education.
In that regard, we have much work to do. We must recover the biblical vision given by Jesus when he was asked, "Which commandment in the law is the greatest?" After quoting the command in Deuteronomy 6:5 to love God supremely, Jesus added "A second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Mt 22:36-39).
Like the two beams of the cross on which Christ was crucified, our faith has both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. The two cannot be separated. Faith without works is a dead faith (Jms 2:14-17). The critical ethical issues of our day demand our best. To do less is to limit the power of God to change people and to change the world.
