BTheol Bachelor of Theology Christian Ethics 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following best describes 'theonomy' as an ethical position?
- The view that God has no relevance to civil law
- The position that Old Testament civil law should govern modern society (Correct answer)
- The belief that natural reason alone is sufficient for ethics
- The idea that each person autonomously determines their own moral law
Correct answer: The position that Old Testament civil law should govern modern society
Theonomy is the view, associated with Rousas Rushdoony, that the Mosaic civil code should be normative for Christian nations today.
Question 2: In bioethics, the Christian principle of the sanctity of human life most directly challenges which practice?
- Organ donation after confirmed death
- Elective abortion for convenience (Correct answer)
- Vaccination programs to prevent disease
- Blood transfusions in emergency medicine
Correct answer: Elective abortion for convenience
The sanctity of human life, grounded in Imago Dei, is the primary Christian argument against elective abortion, which terminates a human life for non-medical reasons.
Question 3: The concept of 'preferential option for the poor' originates primarily in which theological movement?
- Reformed theology
- Prosperity gospel
- Liberation theology (Correct answer)
- Dispensationalism
Correct answer: Liberation theology
Liberation theology, especially through figures like Gutiérrez, developed the preferential option for the poor as a central hermeneutical and ethical principle.
Question 4: Which virtue, according to Aquinas, is the 'mother of all virtues' that orders the other moral virtues toward their proper ends?
- Justice
- Prudence (Correct answer)
- Fortitude
- Temperance
Correct answer: Prudence
Prudence (phronesis) is called the mother of virtues in Thomistic ethics because it is practical wisdom that rightly directs all other virtues toward their proper ends.
Question 5: What is the primary concern of 'feminist Christian ethics' as developed by theologians like Rosemary Radford Ruether?
- Establishing female-only religious communities apart from society
- Critiquing patriarchal structures and recovering the full humanity of women in theological ethics (Correct answer)
- Replacing all male language for God with exclusively female language
- Prioritizing women's economic advancement over theological concerns
Correct answer: Critiquing patriarchal structures and recovering the full humanity of women in theological ethics
Feminist Christian ethics critiques patriarchal distortions in theology and ethics, arguing that the full humanity of women must be recovered as a theological and moral imperative.
Question 6: In Christian ethics, the 'golden rule' (Matthew 7:12) commands believers to:
- Accumulate wealth through honest labor and share 10% with the church
- Treat others as you wish to be treated (Correct answer)
- Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself
- Do no harm to any living creature in thought, word, or deed
Correct answer: Treat others as you wish to be treated
The Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12 states 'Do to others what you would have them do to you,' providing a practical summary of moral obligation toward others.
Question 7: Which ethical challenge does AI and technology pose that is most relevant to Christian ethics today?
- Whether Christians may own personal computers
- Questions of human dignity, surveillance, algorithmic bias, and the nature of personhood (Correct answer)
- The permissibility of digital music in worship services
- Whether the internet constitutes a form of false idol worship
Correct answer: Questions of human dignity, surveillance, algorithmic bias, and the nature of personhood
Christian ethics engages AI and technology by asking how Imago Dei, human dignity, justice, and neighbor-love apply to surveillance, algorithmic decision-making, and personhood questions.
BTheol Bachelor of Theology Christian Ethics 5
Which of the following best describes 'theonomy' as an ethical position?