Liberty of Conscience
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 67, No. 1 - Fall 2024
Editor: Malcolm B. Yarnell III
By Dennis P. Hollinger. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2023, 304 pp., $29.99.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Old Testament theology began to pay more attention to creation accounts. It grounds the Old Testament law on creation as Walter Brueggemann states in his Theology of the Old Testament, 1997. Bruce Waltke also states the creation narratives undergird the Ten Commandments (An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach, 2007). John Goldingay explains how broadly the creation order impacts legal ethics (Old Testament Theology, volume 3, Israel’s Life, 2009). Christopher Wright also asserts a connection between creation and Israelite law (Old Testament Ethics for the People of God, 2004). Now Dennis P. Hollinger, president emeritus and senior distinguished professor of Christian ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, follows this pattern to place the creation story as the foundation of the Christian ethics.
In the Introduction, “Why Creation for Ethics,” creation is based on Genesis 1-2. It is about the character of the world and its implications. The reasons to start the discussion of Christian ethics with creation are five-fold: The biblical story is incomplete without creation; creation is a central theme throughout Scripture; the doctrine of the Trinity is related to creation; the final new creation is a renewing of what God created in the beginning; and finally, creation is full of salient ethical themes. Then in Chapter 1, “In the Beginning God,” Hollinger explains God loves humans, designed the whole universe, and spoke to create the universe and reveal Himself in nature and in the written and living Word. This is the fundamental concept for creation ethics.
“It’s a Good World After All” is the title of Chapter 2, where money, sex, and power, traps of Christian ministry, are declared as good gifts of God, but one needs to experience redemption in Christ and live by the power of the Holy Spirit to not misuse them to dishonor God who created them.
Chapter 3, “Made in the Image of God,” explains the value and dignity of humans. The dignity of all people should avoid racism and ethnocentrism. Dignity in the whole of life should be applied to the issues of abortion and euthanasia. Hollinger clearly states human worth and dignity are not based on one’s attributes, functions, or assessment by others.
In Chapter 4, “Creation Care,” the worldviews of anthropocentrism, biocentrism, and theocentrism are compared and discussed. The author explains the biblical view of theocentric foundations beginning with the creation story in Genesis 1-2, then from the rest of Scripture. This chapter ends with suggestions on how to care for God’s creation.
“Created for Relationship” has two chapters. Part 1 is about sexuality, marriage, sex, and family (Chapter 5). The first time that something is not good is about the singleness of Adam (Gen. 2:18). In discussing the current issues, the author differentiates between Christian ethics, pastoral care, and public policy. Pastoral care should have love, understanding, and empathy for a person who is not normal. In public policy, although the rights of transgender people should be protected, the rights of all individuals should be protected, too. Hollinger emphasizes marriage has a creation paradigm. Egalitarian marriage is consistent with the creation pattern, but the same-sex union is not. In discussing physical intimacy, sexual acts should be for Christians an act of spiritual intimacy that nurtures and deepens their relationship with God.
Part 2 of “Created for Relationship” includes other major institutions: the church, education, the media, leisure, economics, and government (Chapter 6). Hollinger asks for wisdom, prayer, and conversation with other Christians to reach an ethical stand in this complex world. He classifies Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC as propaganda agencies, not news stations. He states that a market (not command) economy is our least fallen choice. He argues, contrary to St. Augustine, that government is needed even if there is no human fall.
Chapter 7, “Created to Work,” explains the biblical perspective on work. Hollinger connects work with the creation story and the rest of the biblical story. He points out that Adam’s fall impacts the meaning of work, lays the theological foundation for the work ethic, and discusses work’s ethical principles and virtues. God instituting the “Sabbath” into a rhythm of life for worship, self-care, and justice is the topic of Chapter 8. The emphasis is not on the specific day but on the principles. Hollinger begins with the Sabbath and the Decalogue and discusses all the relevant passages in the Scripture. He comments on the different views on the Sabbath in the church’s history and says it does not affect the underlying principles. Finally, he details the ethical implications of the Sabbath commandment for today.
The penultimate chapter on human finitude goes from the creation story to the rest of the Scriptures to demonstrate that we are “limited and dependent” beings, on others and God. The fall is a rejection of finitude. Hollinger concludes with implications of human finitude for ethical issues of utopias, eugenics, transhumanism, and euthanasia. Accepting our finitude does not mean accepting the status quo, or against advancement to better human life, but staying within the confines of God’s design.
The final chapter summarizes the philosophical underpinning of the Christian ethic, human beings are “embodied souls or ensouled bodies.” Hollinger accepts both and connects them to the creation story. He develops the ethical implications in evangelism and social concern, artificial intelligence and the technicization of humans, and virtual gatherings for worship and work. He decries the ubiquitousness of technology, rejects virtual worship, and concludes we can never revert to a purely material approach to life or a purely spiritual approach.
In the short conclusion, Hollinger emphasizes the importance of living out a creation ethic in a pluralistic, complex, and fallen world. He dislikes the withdrawal or defiance model, and criticizes conservative or progressive Christians; instead, he advocates a faithful presence model, proposed by James Hunter. We must build a bridge to get a hearing on the creation ethics. Overall, this is a very good book on Christian ethics. Each chapter has its conclusion, which is helpful. Compared to Ken Magnuson’s Invitation to Christian Ethics, this book does not give details in countering non-biblical positions. Magnuson’s is suitable as a textbook, and this book as a supplemental reading. This book accepts egalitarian marriage but does not comment on Eve being created as a helper to complement Adam. Regarding creation as the foundation of ethics, it is not clearly stated in the creation account, but only by implications. It is possible to build evangelical ethics on a broader basis, Oliver O’Donovan builds it on the created order, eschatology and history, and knowledge in Christ.
