originally published 6/5/2017

Ethicist and priest Philip Turner reflects on how Christian ethics is misplaced if it has as its central concern individual moral behavior or social justice. While individual sanctification and service to society are inseparable relationships in Christian ethics, they are more appropriately understood as subordinate to the primary social relationship for the Christian, which is the Body of Christ. Using St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians as his central text, Turner argues that the purpose of the Church is to become a community in which Christ is taking form. Paul’s governing metaphor that members of the Church are members of Christ’s body requires that our questions of obedience and moral behavior must always re-member this central identity. Turner is the author of Christian Ethics for the Church: Ecclesial Foundations for Moral Thought and Practice (Baker Academic, 2015). This interview was first published on Volume 134 of the Journal.

28 minutes

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