Practical theology is about living in light of what we learn about God and his world through biblical and systematic theology. The first place in scripture we think to do, when it comes to finding ethical guidance, are the laws or commands. But the way we think about law is shaped by a worldview that the biblical authors didn’t share—for them, law was for learning wisdom. Thus, in order to fully leverage scripture for ethical guidance we need to know how to approach wisdom, both in the Old and the New Testaments.

Character as Virtue

In our second lesson, we will discuss how we can use philosophical ethics (particularly those of Aristotle and Confucius) to deepen our understanding of biblical ethics, and help us think more fully about living well without sacrificing the authority of scripture.

Friendship

Our third lesson will explore a topic that we may not instinctively associate with ethics: friendship. We’ll explore the role of friendship in living well in God’s world, applying what we’ve learnt over previous two lessons.

Decisions and Stances

In our fourth lesson, we will discuss the factors that we should consider when making ethical decisions, both from scripture and from philosophy.

Treatment of the poor

And in our final lesson, we will apply the principles of decision making to the question of how we treat the poor around us and in our various communities.