Abstract
Craig Hovey begins this book with the following sentence: ‘All ethics is haunted by the word should.’ He then tells us that he wishes to shift the focus, not ignoring ‘should questions’, but paying due attention to, for example, ‘those things that are simply worth doing’ (p. 1).
One might query the exact terms in which this is expressed – mightn’t it be the case that one should (in some sense) do things that are simply worth doing? – but Hovey’s meaning is clear. His project in Exploring Christian Ethics is in effect a reframing of how Christian ethics is carried out. Much Christian ethics has focused on prescriptions, prohibitions and discrete acts in isolation from the wider context, but Hovey’s account gives similar attention to other aspects of Christian ethics, such as what it is to live a life that is not only righteous but possesses a richness in keeping with Christ’s aim that we might have life and have it abundantly.
The need for such reframing is perhaps a little exaggerated, since many modern books on Christian ethics seek to give similarly positive and inclusive accounts. But Hovey does a good job of it: the writing is engaging and accessible, and it communicates a generosity of vision with a gentle persuasiveness. He also tackles issues that polarize opinion (such as gender, sexual orientation, reproductive and end-of-life issues, war and violence) with sensitivity and irenicism. Hovey’s approach is to pay attention to concerns and principles that underlie different Christian responses to these difficult topics. In this he provides a way by which one might come to appreciate that those who hold opposing positions are also seeking to uphold important goods and principles. This book therefore encourages the conditions for fruitful and respectful dialogue.
Hovey lays good foundations for discussion of these topics. The chapters on the fundamentals underpinning Christian ethics (the Bible, the life of Christ, and key theological themes such as Incarnation, sacrifice and resurrection, for example) are very good. Throughout these chapters I was struck again and again by insightful remarks and memorable sentences – among them, ‘Augustine’s point wasn’t that addiction is sin, but that sin is like addiction’ (p. 4).
Hovey shows less command of his material, however, in his discussion of modern philosophical ethics and recent philosophical challenges, although these chapters are good on the whole. The definitions he gives of ‘meta-ethics’ (p. 96) and of ‘prima-facie rules’ (p. 99) are non-standard and problematic (for example, ‘a rule is said to be prima-facie when it is absolute except in cases …’ – absolute rules never admit of exceptions; a better word than ‘absolute’ would have been ‘binding’). And occasionally in these chapters and elsewhere there is a certain looseness of expression, with Hovey seemingly unaware that what he is saying, as if in passing, might be controversial if taken strictly: for instance, ‘In Christ, God undergoes a fundamental change’ (p. 46).
But these are minor blemishes in an otherwise fine book. I would happily recommend Exploring Christian Ethics to the general reader or instructor seeking an intelligent, balanced, engaging and irenic introductory-level book that is both relatively comprehensive and also discusses some specific moral issues in detail. Readers seeking more explicitly confessional and directive treatments might look elsewhere, but even such readers could benefit greatly from the generous vision and the insights of this book.