Abstracts of CGST JOURNAL
(Issue No.35 Jul 2003)
Christian Ethics (I): Basic Approaches

Table of Contents

The Foundation of Christian Ethics:
A Theologico-Ethical Approach
(An abstract)

Shun-kai Kevin Cheng
Associate Professor
China Graduate School of Theology

The Christian ethics pursued in this article is unapologetically theological. It takes the supreme authority of the Bible, the Word of God, as its stance and positions itself on moral realism.

Christian ethics involves not so much doing the right thing or obeying the Law, as a journey in life. To be precise, the moral life of Christians is a life loyal to the life, death and resurrection of Christ. A holistic Christian ethics must also attend to both the good and the right, as well as both the Law and the gospel.

The thesis of the article is as follows: A Christian ethics with a theologico-ethical approach has theological anthropology as its framework, and centers on divine command and life transformation, forming an integrative ethical theory.

Theological anthropology is not an anthropology based on natural theology. It is a theological construction founded upon biblical revelation. Such an anthropology consists of three aspects: 1. Human as a creature of God and an embodied sexual being; 2. human as a threefold relationality: relatedness to God, to others and to oneself; 3. human as subject within the context of intersubjectivity. Incidentally the moral ontology of Emmanuel LAvinas comes close to the relational dimension of theological anthropology, providing relevant conceptual tool to explicate moral personhood from a philosophical perspective.

Neither is divine command ethics equivalent to imposing biblical ethics literally to the world of today. Rather, it takes the moral universe of the biblical narrative as its context, so that one is ready to be encountered by God in God's freedom. A comment is also made upon the apparent incoherence between the freedom of God and the nature of goodness as formulated in Euthyphro's dilemma.

Nor is life transformation a branch of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics based on Greek virtues and hinges on a movement from vice to virtue renders it theologically unacceptable. Theological ethics is an ethics of grace, converting people from vice and virtue to daily walking in the grace of God, constantly renewing one's mind and heart within a community of grace.

This Christian ethics has a physical, relational, and subjectivistic anthropological structure, where relationality holds the key to one's being. Within this relationality, the divine command signifies divine presence and address to humans, being gracious to and covenanting with humans. Life transformation comprises the response of a liberated person living under the covenant of grace. Theological anthropology, divine command and life transformation thus form an integrated whole for a theologico-ethical approach to Christian ethics.

A Preliminary Study on New Testament Ethics
(An abstract)

Luke Cheung
Associate Professor
China Graduate School of Theology

Should New Testament ethics be just descriptive or should it be prescriptive as well remains a much debated issue. Recent attempts have been made to address the hermeneutical task of working from the descriptive perspective to the prescriptive. It is, however, doubtful to the present author that we should limit our studies to the New Testament as far as ethics is concerned. Should not the entire canon be normative rather than just parts of it? Hence, this paper concerns only the descriptive task and attempts to provide a framework for the construction of New Testament ethics.

Firstly, New Testament ethics is eschatological. What is eschatological is also revelatory and redemptive. It is God revealing Himself once again as the Lord of the Universe, and God redeeming the world through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is theocentric as well as Christocentric. To be faithful to God means to follow Christ in discipleship. As the children of God and the disciples of Christ, we should make God-Christ the object of our worship and the one whom we live to glorify. Though salvation has already begun, the final fulfillment is yet to come. New Testament writings present this already-and-not-yet eschatological scheme in many different ways. Christians living in this eschatological tension have to face various conflicts arising out of the constant struggles between spirit and flesh. We are, however, empowered by the power of the Spirit to move toward this final end of judgement by the Lord. The delay of parouisa has no place to play in the emphasis of good behaviour in the New Testament, as some scholars tend to assume. The "imperative" is grounded upon the "indicative" of salvation. Faith in Christ/God is never faith without works.

Secondly, New Testament ethics is hermeneutical and contextual. The double love command advocated by Jesus plays a highly significant role in the hermeneutics of good behaviour. The command to love one's neighbour as oneself is the law of Christ. It is through this law that we see each other as equal.

In conclusion, the New Testament concerns with ethical behaviour, ethical virtues as well as communal ethos. The motivation lies with the God-Christ initiative in redeeming humankind and in providing us with the necessary resources to live a moral life.

Love and Imitation:
A Dialogical and Hermeneutical Theological Ethics
(An abstract)

Ping-cheung Lo
Head, Department of Religion and Philosophy
Director, Centre for Sino-Christian Studies
Hong Kong Baptist University

Theological ethics, just like theology, should be dialogical and hermeneutical. It should be dialogical because it needs to engage, for instance, Asian thought and ethics into dialogue. It should be hermeneutical because its task should be the critical correlation of two horizons, viz., Christian ethics and, for instance, Asian ethics.

The subject matter of this paper is agape love. The author advances two theses on Christian love, the first is the thesis of continuities and the second the thesis of discontinuities. Thesis One: Christian love for others should imitate God's or Jesus Christ's love for us. This means, first of all, God's or Jesus Christ's loving action is the measure, yardstick, standard, or norm of our loving action. Such a divine love provides both the content and the justification of Christian love. Thesis Two: That our love for others should be continuous with God's love for us (through imitation) should not overshadow the fact that there should also be discontinuities between divine love and human love. In some crucial ways, human beings cannot and should not love as God or Jesus Christ loves. There should be contrasts or divergence as well as resemblance or correspondence between these two kinds of love.

In dialogue with Chinese religious and philosophical thought on love (ren in neo-Confucianism, and maitri-karuna in Mahayana Buddhism), the author argues that, just as in the Protestant ethics of agape love, both Chinese religious-ethical traditions contain a correlation of the motif of love and the motif of patterning after the ultimate reality (Heaven, Buddha). This common awareness of continuities notwithstanding, similar awareness of discontinuities is not present in these two traditions. In other words, while both neo-Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism would subscribe to my Thesis One, they would not endorse my Thesis Two. Such a difference reflects the different views on the ultimate reality and on human transformation. Hence the attempt to construct a contextualized theological ethics of love through correlating agape with ren and/or maitri-karuna is not advisable.

Happiness and Freedom:
A Comparison between Chinese and Western Ethics
(An abstract)

Jason H. Yeung
Associate Professor
China Graduate School of Theology

What is goodness? What is badness? This paper deals with these two basic concepts of moral philosophy. Four philosophers are selected to compare Chinese and western ethical conceptions. Epicurus is sometimes called a hedonist. He identifies happiness with the Good, and sees virtue as a means to happiness. Kant asserts that virtue and happiness should be detached. Virtue relates to good will, a good will is good in all circumstances and is therefore an absolute or unconditional good. It is manifested when one acts for the sake of duty. In other words, a human action is morally good because it is done for the sake of duty.

Kant points out that an action motivated by duty has moral worth, not because of the results it achieved or is seeking to achieve, but because of satisfying a formal principle or maxim, the principle of doing one's duty whatever that duty may be.

Because of the obstacles due to our impulses and desires, the moral law appears to us as a law that we ought to obey for its own sake, and so as what Kant calls it a categorical imperative. Categorical imperative is our only source of moral judgement. It comes from our practical reason and is a priori and universal. It is rooted in our free will. We are free to create the moral law and to obey it.

Mencius, on the other hand, says: "When men suddenly see a child about to fall into a well, they all have a feeling of alarm and distress, not to gain friendship with the child's parents, nor to seek the praise of their neighbors and friends . . . We see that a man without the feeling of commiseration is not a man . . . The feeling of commiseration is the beginning of humanity . . ."
The feeling of commiseration is inborn, that means the human mind is able to know what is good and evil, that is, it is capable of value judgment. This value judgment is not learned from outside but is inborn. We call this capacity of judgment "conscience."

Both Kant and Mencius recognize that man is free to make moral decision. However, they have yet to solve the problem of evil. Why do human beings commit sin? Both think that evil is external to free will. Kant makes it clear that all wrong doings come from human desires.

Kierkegaard traces the foundation of morality to God's will. He declares that "subjectivity is truth," meaning that the only way for truth's manifestation is through subjectivity. The Truth, he said, is the objectivity of God. The moral man should follow the will of God to make moral decision; this decision is paradoxical because it transcends human reason. It roots in our subjectivity.

Compared to Epicurus, Kant, Mencius and Kierkegaard are each trying to construct a universal moral law, varying from human subjectivity to the absolute Good. Moral judgment is to be free from human desires. Human beings are free -- free to make moral judgment.

The Development of
Mandarin Missionary Churches in Taiwan:
Viewed Theologically with a Focus on the Lutheran Denomination
(An abstract)

K. Edwin Lee
General Secretary (HQ)
China Ministries International

Among the many denominations involved in the historical development of the Mandarin speaking Mission in Taiwan, this article focuses on the Lutheran denomination and especially on the relationship between Taiwan Lutheran Church (TLC) and Chinese Lutheran Brethren Church (CLBC). When TLC was first formed in 1954, there were eight founding mission bodies. All of them were originally serving in the mainland prior to 1949, and they joined effort in Taiwan to Lutheran ministries as a continuation of their work in the mainland. These eight mission bodies are: the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Augustana Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Free Church of America, the Danish Missionary Society, the Norwegian Missionary Society, the Norwegian Lutheran Mission, the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway, and the Lutheran Brethren China Mission (LBCM). Among these eight, LBCM and the two Norwegian mission left TLC later on and became separate church bodies. On the other hand, The Finnish Missionary Society that moved to Taiwan in 1956 joined TLC as an associate member, though it also became independent in the mid-sixties. There are also other Lutheran missions which are not associated with the history of TLC, namely, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, and the Rhenish Church Hong Kong Synod.

The supposedly common theological convictions not only motivated the Lutheran missions to form TLC, but also brought them together to co-sponsor Lutheran theological education in Taiwan. Unfortunately, two controversial issues created discord among the supporting missions of TLC and eventually split their alliance. The first issue has to do with their respective stand on whether to join World Federation (LWF) in the early sixties, as this virtually became a positional statement on traditional beliefs, in particular, on biblical inerrancy. LBCM became so much alienated because of this issue, that it withdrew and started its own new Lutheran seminary at Hsinchu in 1966, and other American missions were barred from participation in this work until 1989. In the meanwhile, tension developed between TLC and the participating missions, and, as a result, Taiwan Lutheran Seminary at Taichung finally closed down in 1965.

Despite the fact that both CLBC and TLC are Lutheran denominations, the former is rather adamant in defending biblical inerrancy. It focuses on direct evangelism as the form of mission and pays less attention to church institution and liturgy. TLC, on the other hand, is multifaceted in its missionary effort, with services ranging from student ministry to medical mission and industrial outreach. Statistics reveals that both church bodies have doubled in size in the past ten years, whilethere is a difference in their mission strategies. As for the degree of theological enlightenment of Taiwan churches, we may find an indicator in their quality of theological education and publications. In this respect, the teaching force of Taiwan Lutheran seminaries is growing to become self-sufficient instead of dependent on foreign missionaries. Christian publications in Taiwan are attentive to popular appeal rather than theological studies, which is quite understandable, in view of the relatively young age of the Mandarin Church and the pastoral concerns that often take precedence over theological issues.

In terms of mobilization, the Chinese Baptist Convention as a Mandarin church body has shown greater advancement than TLC, and subsequently leads a lot of people to Christ. It is committed to the Lutheran themes of "back to the Scripture" and "priesthood of all believers," but it does not subscribe itself to the hierarchical Lutheran church order. Both of these results in favorable conditions to church growth: a church polity with simple liturgy, full lay involvement in ministry, and a decentralized church institution. All these have facilitated their efforts in reaching out to the populace at large. However, while direct evangelism is the basic mode of the Baptist mission in contrast to TLC's multi-facet ministries, Baptist church planting has been made possible mainly by an earlier missionary foresight, namely, the need of aggressive land purchase.

It is noted here also, that the China Free Methodist Church in Taiwan, which also has Mandarin ministry as its main thrust, concurrently develops Taiwanese, Hakka and aboriginal churches, and thus exemplifies theWesleyan vision of a worldwide parish. While the simple Wesleyan message of holy living appeals to all walks of life, and therefore to people of different social strata, Luther's "Theology of the Cross," which involves a paradoxical message that demands deeper reflection, is better comprehended by only the Mandarin speaking, and the city people.

It is well known that Lutheran theology has contributed a lot to the western theological construction. It probably will bring quite an impact on the future development of Chinese theology, especially with its emphasis on the "subject-ive existentialism," a dynamic mode of thought which is akin to the Chinese mindset and faithful to biblical truth as well.

Christian Responses towards
the Issue of Poverty in Hong Kong
(An abstract)

Eric S.Y. Tsui
Intern
Hospital Authority
Hong Kong

This paper introduces the issue of poverty in Hong Kong, and the Church's responses towards this issue.

The problem of poverty has existed for decades in Hong Kong. It did not, nevertheless, really capture the public's attention until the economic depression that took place in late 1990's. Various statistics conducted around that time indicate that over 10% of Hong Kong residents have been suffering from poverty. Most of them are local residents rather than immigrants arrived recently from the mainland. They are mainly elderly people, either retired or unemployed, as well as people with lesser education, who are unable to find jobs in the course of the city's economic transition.

Although very few of the poor are actually starving, all of them have less than HK$30 (around US$4) per day to spend on food. They often have to limit their expenses on social activities, and to forfeit opportunities to receive basic or further education. Vocational training provides little help, since only a few of them are qualified for admission to regular schools. Old age usually makes their conditions worse. More than one third of them have to keep working to earn a living. The economical development in the last decades did not benefit the poor much. Most social wealth are somehow channeled to the rich because of the present defective social structure.

Christian institutes have been providing social services to Hong Kong citizens since the city came into existence as a British colony. In the 1950's, a huge number of Chinese refugees thronged into Hong Kong, causing many social problems to arise within a short time. International Christian organizations therefore began to set their foot in the city to provide various services for the needy. Most of these international aids ceded in the 1960's as Hong Kong's economy began to flourish. However, a certain number of local Christian organizations maintained their services in the absence of foreign support. Eventually the Government promised to subsidize such organizations in the 1970's. Christian organizations had then become the major social service provider in the territory.

As time passed, the Church's ministries for the poor began to move beyond social services to social movements. Entering the 21st century, despite the financial pressure caused by economic depression and the withdrawal of government subsidies, Christian institutes still manage to serve on different levels. On several occasions, the Church even stands out bravely to speak for the poor, to draw public attention to their needs, and to mobilize Christians to donate and care for the poor and unemployed.

Christians in Hong Kong can have greater contributions in dealing with the problem of poverty. There are still lots of room for improvement in the Church's strategies in helping the poor. In face of the worsening polarization between rich and poor, the integration of faith and action remains always a real challenge to us.

Sinful Flesh, Sinful Nature and Tathāgatagarbha:
An Investigation on Christological Anthropology
(An abstract)

Pan-chiu Lai
Associate Professor
Department of Religion
Chinese University of Hong Kong

In response to Andres S. K. Tang's article "A Tien-tai Buddhistic Interpretation of Karl Barth's Christology," this paper argues that in order to avoid the ambiguities and possible misunderstandings associated with the term "nature," the human pole of the paradoxical structure of Christ should be understood as sinful flesh, instead of sinful nature. This understanding will be more in line with the Chalcedonian definition, which affirms that the distinction of natures is in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature will be preserved. If the sinful nature is a necessary part or the totality of human nature, it should be preserved rather than overcome in the hypostatic union. This will raise the issue concerning whether this sinful nature will be kept intact in the resurrected Christ eternally. This is precisely where the limitation of the Tien-tai framework lies, which is otherwise rather capable in explaining the paradoxical nature of the hypostatic union, when applied to the Chalcedonian Christology. A better alternative is to interpret the Chalcedonian definition from the perspective of Tathāgatagarbha thinking, which affirms that the essential nature of Buddha and that of all living creatures are the same. Instead of defining human nature in terms of sinfulness, the Tathāgatagarbha tradition affirms that human nature is "pure" (i.e., with the ability to grow and to purify itself) in its essential nature, though paradoxically it is in an empirical fallen state. Accordingly, one may affirm that Christ's human nature, in its essential nature, is no different from that of all other human beings. As Christ's human nature, under the divine grace, is endowed with a sinful flesh without sin, it demonstrates not only the full potential of human nature, but also how pure a human being as a creature can possibly be by the grace of God. As the human nature is preserved and even enhanced in the hypostatic union with the divine nature, this implies that the authentic human nature is to be understood in terms of its openness to the divine and the resultant ability to overcome sins. The resurrection and the then blessed state in eternity can thus be understood as a further actualization or completion of human nature rather than a negation or diminution of it.

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Last Modified:  2004-02-27