Set 3: Christian Ethics and Moral Theology Friday, January 4, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
NO EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)
In this passage from Matthew, Jesus is quoted as criticizing the scribes and Pharisees for neglecting to practice justice (as well as mercy and faith).
1. In an essay of 1000 words, present and expand on a Christian understanding of justice, drawing on your knowledge of sources in Scripture and the tradition of Christian thought. Identify and differentiate at least three forms of justice commonly discussed in Christian ethics and moral theology.
2. In an essay of 500 words, explain in detail what it means for individual Christians and the Church as a body to practice these forms of justice.
General Thoughts on Christian Ethics and Moral Theology
So this is one of the sections where there is a history of the question blind siding people from left field. The reality is that Cristian Ethics and Moral Theology are huge fields of study with a large number of teaching methodologies and no standardized Episcopal Seminary curriculum. The key thing is that there is generally one question every year that 70% of people fail and often it is this one. That is a sign that the question is the problem not the test takers.
This question in specifics:
This is a BAD question. I can tell you right now that if I was not in exactly the right head space and got this question I would have failed it. Here is the problem: “a christian understanding of justice” DOES NOT exist. There are multiple concepts of “justice” within the Christian tradition and the further statement to “identify and differentiate at least three forms of justice commonly discussed in Christian ethics and moral theology” further confuses the matter.
My initial response to a question that appears to be seeking an understanding of an unlimited number of “justices” and their relationship to “Christian Justice” would be to talk about eco-justice, class-justice, and queer-justice issues and how they relate to Christian ethics. THIS IS THE WRONG ANSWER... but there is good news because you should be able to tell it is the wrong answer immediately if you remember one thing...
THE GOEs NEVER WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL PET ISSUES! If at any point you are looking at a question and it appears the question wants you to express a few of your favourite things then IMMEDIATELY SHOVE JULIE ANDREWS IN THE CLOSET, LOCK THE DOOR, AND LOOK AGAIN.
What this question wants you to do is discuss three different ways of going about justice: Retributive Justice, Redistributive Justice, Reconciliatory Justice, etc.. It would have been really helpful if the question had stated this fact clearly. The only reason we know that this is how things are is because otherwise we would have to be talking about three of our pet issues.
The first paragraphs:
Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.” (Matthew 23:23)
In this passage from Matthew, Jesus is quoted as criticizing the scribes and Pharisees for neglecting to practice justice (as well as mercy and faith).
This is fluff. All but useless contextual fluff.
The third paragraph:
In an essay of 1000 words, present and expand on a Christian understanding of justice, drawing on your knowledge of sources in Scripture and the tradition of Christian thought. Identify and differentiate at least three forms of justice commonly discussed in Christian ethics and moral theology.
So this is, as always in the GOEs, a case of the simpler the better. You have to talk about three things, only talk about three things. For each of those three things you must cite some part of scripture and some part of tradition.
Paragraph 1: Retributive Justice (330 words)
1) Define the type of Justice
2) Show an example is scripture
3) Show an example from Christian Tradition
Paragraph 2: Redistributive Justice (330 words)
1) Define the type of Justice
2) Show an example is scripture
3) Show an example from Christian Tradition
Paragraph
3: Reconciliatory Justice (330 words)
1) Define the type of Justice
2) Show an example is scripture
3) Show an example from Christian Tradition
Final Paragraph:
In an essay of 500 words, explain in detail what it means for individual Christians and the Church as a body to practice these forms of justice.
So here is how you can go horribly wrong here... you can name one of the three above as the best version of justice for christianity. THIS IS THE WRONG ANSWER. Truth be told I think Bishop Tutu has proven overwhelmingly that Reconciliatory Justice is the only form of Christian Justice... but when it comes to the GOEs no one cares about my favorite things or specific thoughts they care if I understand the basics. The basics here is that you have just proven that three types of justice can be upheld by scripture and tradition. The question is how do we engage as individuals and a church in all three as Christians.
so the outline would be:
Retributive Justice (166 words)
1) As a christian individual
2) As a church
Redistributive Justice (166 words)
1) As a christian individual
2) As a church
Reconciliatory Justice (166 words)
1) As a christian individual
2) As a church
And the question is done.
So along with all our other notes about keeping it simple, double checking for grammar, etc. the key thing here is to remember that the GOE’s will never ask you to express personal pet issues, axes you have to grind, or about your favourite things. They always want you to express an understanding of basic information. If you find yourself picking up your battle axe or pumped to talk about your favorite issues, step back and refocus.
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