Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life by Bruce C. Birch, Larry L. Rasmussen (review)

166 BOOK REVIEWS Bible and Ethics in the Christian Life. By BRUCE C. BmcH and LARRY L. RASMUSSEN. Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1976. Pp. 221. $8.95. Two scholars, both professors at Wesley Seminary in Washington, D. C.Birch in Old Testament, Rasmussen in Christian Ethics-have put together a study of the way the bible can and ought to help our moral decision making. They note the present gap between the work of biblical scholars and Christian ethicists. The first tend to produce highly technical and often conflicting analyses of biblical materials. The ethicists, not being trained biblical scholars, tend to be gun-shy of all that erudition and avoid grounding their thought in the bible and tum rather to the life sciences, psychiatry, the social sciences and the common fund of human, practical wisdom. Birch and Rasmussen want to bring the bible back to central prominence in helping Christian ethicists do their work. To accomplish this they survey recent efforts to relate the bible to ethics, restate the task of Christian ethics, point up the church as a community of moral deliberation, discuss the authority of the bible vis-a-vis non-biblical sources, show ways of making the bible more available to the work of ethics, and conclude with some reflections on the implication of all this for the church. The survey, though somewhat plodding, is surely a help in collecting into one place the various nuances of thought by prominent men in this matter. In restating the task of Christian ethics the authors emphasize the importance of character formation and the personal acceptance of value before one moves to decision making and doing. Here they state the central point of their book: " Our contention is that the traditionally neglected topic in American Christian ethics (i. e., character formation) is also the most important one. It should have higher priority and be considered of greater importance than has been the case. Our contention is also that biblical materials can and ought to exercize their greatest impact upon Christian ethics at this point; that is, upon the character or identity of the decision maker" (p. 84). A truly illuminating passage (pp. 105-107) describes a person who has found in Jesus the object of final loyalty, devotion and commitment, and who seeks to take from him the clues of how to be and how to do. This is not done effectively, it is argued, except in the church as a gathered community of worship, fraternity, and education. The use of the bible in the development of moral character is not a matter of quick study but of long-term nurture, which can be given only in a community of believers . Thus we see the importance ~f liturgy and sacrament, doctrine and teaching, preaching and pastoral counseling; in other words, the importance of the church as a shaper of moral identity, bearer of moral tradition, and BOOK REVIEWS 167 community of moral deliberation. Regarding the authority of the bible vis-a-vis non-biblical sources, the authors hold that the church cannot do ethics today on the basis of the bible alone. It never did. Augustine used neoplatonic thought; Aquinas used Aristotle and natural law. The task of the church is rather to bring its unique scriptural resources into dialogue with the many non-biblical sources of ethical insight. Still, the bible remains primary in its authority since it is the key to distinguishing Christian ethics from ethics done in other ways. We are urged to keep in mind, however , the immense variety of biblical literature and be discerning how each sort of literature such as narrative stories, historical events, wisdom sayings, parables, liturgical and eschatological materials, and so on, should be used in illuminating ethical matters. The importance of good exegesis is stressed and its method explained in detail. The authors also insist that the whole canon, that is, the totality of scripture both in the Old and New Testament , be kept intact. We are not free to disregard those scriptures we don't like. The book concludes with strong words about the role of the church. Its gathered communities (the body of worshippers) should not turn...