1. PHI 423 Ethical Theory and Practice
Mere Discipleship
Chapter 2

3. Letter to Diogonetus
“They love all men, and by all men are persecuted. They are unknown, and still they are condemned. They are put to death, yet they are brought to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich. They are destitute, yet they enjoy abundance. They are dishonored, and in their dishonor they are glorified…they are reviled, yet they bless… when they do good, they are punished as evildoers; undergoing punishment they rejoice because they are brought to life.”

4. But then there’s a shift…
Constantine

5. But then there’s a shift…
Constantine
Charlemagne

6. But then there’s a shift…
Constantine
Charlemagne
Ethelbert of Kent

7. “The ends justify the means”
Consequentialism – the rightness or wrongness of an act is determined by the consequences.
Utilitarianism.
Egoism.

8. What about today?
KKK
Vietnam
Gulf War
Kentucky Law

9. What about today?
“Doctrine” and “ethics” are divided into two separate categories.
“Spirituality” replaces lifestyle.
“Religion” replaces discipleship.

10. What if everyone lived this way?
Celsus (pagan) to Origen (Christian).
What would happen if everyone lived that way? We would be overrun by our enemies!
Origen’s Response:
You don’t mean that literally.
What you mean is, “What if I live that way, and others don’t?”
It is Christians who preserve society.