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This peer review discussion is closed. |
I've listed this article for peer review because I have just completed a total overhaul of this article and would eventually like to see it become a Good Article. I will appreciate any and all suggestions or comments made in good faith, but I will be especially grateful for a source review.
Thanks, Jenhawk777 ( talk) 22:50, 19 January 2021 (UTC)
Here are some thoughts after reading the lead:
Christian ethics, also called Moral theology, was a branch of theology for most of its historyI think we need to be a bit simpler here. What is Christian ethics exactly? The lead should probably be like
Christian ethics, also called Moral theology, is the study of .... It was a branch of theology for most of its history, but separated...
which focuses on the building of an ethical character and what kind of person we ought to be, and a deontological ethic, which assesses choices and what we ought to do.In general we avoid we because it sounds prescriptivist. I'm ambivalent about the emphasis on the "be" and "do". I don't know if it really helps the reader because it's more vague than the distinction between ethical character and assessment of choices. Open to your thoughts on this.
Since the Bible is the foundation of Christian ethics, and the Bible has a variety of ethical perspectives, there has been disagreement over the basic ethical principles of Christian ethics from its beginnings with seven of them requiring perennial reinterpretation.I'd suggest "The wide variety of biblical ethical perspectives has led to continued disagreement over the basic Christian ethical principles, with seven of them undergoing perennial debate." I think the word "requiring" and "reinterpretation" make it sound like the principles are demanding us to look back at them and reevaluate them.
The Christian ethical system is applied to every area of lifeBy whom? By all Christians? I'd suggest this:
The Christian ethical system concerns all areas of life.
I'll get to more later! Ovinus ( talk) 14:00, 20 January 2021 (UTC)
I'm back! I think we still need to be more explicit in the very first sentence. Christian ethics ... is both a virtue ethic ... and a deontological ethic? This construction is a bit confusing because it's using "ethic", already a pretty abstract term, in two ways, plural and singular. Also, I didn't know what a virtue or deontological ethic is, which makes me think it should be put in the second sentence. Ik Christian ethics is probably hard to define, but I'm looking for something like "Christian ethics, also called moral theology, is an ethical system and academic discipline based on the Bible." It may involve some imprecision or drawing the line on what constitutes Christian ethics. Ovinus ( talk) 20:33, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
"Christian ethics, also called moral theology, is an ethical system and academic discipline based on the Bible."would be an inaccurate oversimplification. It is not just based on the Bible as the definition section shows, so I can't say that.
I didn't know what a virtue or deontological ethic is,Please see your second point above^^^^!! You said the explanation I included wasn't helpful and was vague. So which is it - in or out? Jenhawk777 ( talk) 04:46, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
A really well-written section that brought a lot of clarity for me. Some questions (sorry for the deluge of these) and ideas:
Theologian Emil Brunner makes it a point to differentiate Christian ethicscould just be
... Brunner differentiates Christian ethics from ...
That would be a kind of legalism that is contrary to Christian ethics.Why exactly is it contrary? Because legalism clashes with the idea that ethics should come organically through dialectic? Because Christian ethics is often a deeply personal thing? Explicitness would help here
This includes morality that arises from natural law and human natureWhat is "this" referring to here?
Christian experienceWhat do you mean by Christian experience? The experience of traveling through and making sense of the world from a Christian perspective? A narrower experience of attending church groups and the like?
earlier philosophersEarlier than Plato or earlier than Christian scholars? I'd just say "early philosophers" or just "and others".
Early Christian writingsMaybe this should be the start of a new paragraph?
practical applicationI think "more practical application" would be better here, because it implies that sophisticated ethical analysis is impractical
as Christian ethics sought "moral instruction on specific problems and practices"How does this imply that the Roman empire had a hostile social setting?
until around the 1200sIs this necessary? I think we can just give a rough start and end date and shorten the quote to exclude the "most of the Middle Ages" part
A couple points here: