Ecclesial Ethics

Some snippets from Philip Turner's Christian Ethics and the Church .

The premise of Turner's book is well summarized by a passage he quotes from Sabina Lovibond's Ethical Formation : "The ethical, let us say, pertains to what people learn to value through immersion in a community acquainted with ideas of right, duty, justice, solidarity, and common social or cultural interests extending beyond the lifetime of the present generation; and the transmission of any qualities regarded by the relevant community as virtues of character would no doubt be one “interest” figuring under the last of these headings" (33, quoted 173).

All ethical formation takes place in community. Christian ethical formation takes place in Christian community, i.e., the church. Rules are essential to communal life, but not sufficient.

The church is a unique ethical community, in that it is called “to be a society that includes all the peoples of the earth. As such, its members are to be resocialized into a community that has porous borders. The way into this community is not through the sorting gate of nationality, gender, age, status, occupation, moral rectitude, or any other distinguishing and excluding feature. The way is open to all” (155).

At the same time, it is a community that demands "recalibration" of “all our attachments and commitments” and “reformatting of our most common habits and practices” (155).

Turner isolates three particular values that must be recalibrated: “Matthew and Luke identify three forms of attachment that love of God renders subordinate to one’s devotion to the ‘kingdom of heaven.’ They are family, status, and possessions. . . . the character of the life Christians share is one in which these goods no longer define life’s chief goals. They are, after all, the primary sources of competition and hostile social division. Thus the character of the life Christians share is one in which family, status, and possessions are no longer the organizing centers of life. Rather, they become aspects of life provided by God because God knows them to be necessary” (159).

Recalibration isn't elimination. It's a matter of reassessment of value. Social goods remain goods, but they are subordinated to the higher good to which the church is called. Under this heading, he discusses the role of singleness in the church (recalibrating family), the demand for mutual submission and service (which recalibrates but doesn't eliminate hierarchy and status), and alms.

The liturgy is one of the primary places where this recalibration takes place: "worship helps to recalibrate: “God addresses his people. In this context, allegiances are questioned and must be addressed in relation to one’s love of God. In this context, each individual stands as a member of a people, and in this context each individual is called upon to assess his or her priorities. In this context, as the church hears the first and great commandment, family, status, and possessions – the idols that bemuse us – are toppled over and over again" (183).

The formation of this sort of ethical community is inherent in the church's mission. It's what God wants the world to see: “the manner in which Christians live together and in relation to the societies in which they find themselves is a sign that points to Christ, through whom the peoples of the earth have access to a moral order that accords with what God will and what God is like. God desires the nations to see a people who, though drawn from all races and tongues, are nonetheless joined together in a unified response to the way things are – a response of faith, hope, love, and praise. The manner of life, because it is born of God’s power, love, and mercy, reflects the glory of God revealed in Christ. Once God’s glory is glimpsed, it has power, through the work of the Spirit, to draw forth the appropriate human response” (154).