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The Westminster Standards and the possibility of a Reformed virtue ethic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 June 2018

David B. Hunsicker
David B. Hunsicker*
Affiliation:
Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA [email protected]
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Abstract

The renaissance of virtue ethics in Christian moral discourse has led a handful of Reformed theologians to consider whether or not the Reformed tradition is compatible with classical and medieval concepts of virtue. Barthians, in particular, express doubt regarding the prospect of such a retrieval, arguing that classical notions of virtue compromise the Reformed hallmark of divine sovereignty and Luther's dictum simul justus et peccator. This essay counters that the Reformed tradition is broad enough to find more productive ways to engage virtue ethics. In particular, the Westminster Standards provide both the formal space for a significant theological exploration of human agency and the material content for the development of something like a classical virtue ethic. Barthian concerns regarding divine sovereignty and moral progress are satisfied by a demonstration that Westminster's attention to human agency is always within the context of a greater emphasis on divine agency.

Keywords

BarthReformed theologytheological ethicsvirtueWestminster Standards
Type
Research Article
Information
Scottish Journal of Theology , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , May 2018 , pp. 176 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

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References

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2 These concerns are first expressed in Hunsicker, David B., ‘Review of Reformed Virtue After Barth: Developing Moral Virtue Ethics in the Reformed Tradition, by Kirk J. Nolan’, Journal of Reformed Theology 10/1 (2016), pp. 97–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

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20 WCF, 10.1–2.

21 WCF, 10.1–2.

22 WCF, 11.1–4.

23 WCF, 12.1.

24 WCF, 13.1.

25 WCF, 13.1–3.

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29 WCF, 14.2.

30 WCF, 14.3.

31 WCF, 15.1–5.

32 WCF, 16.3.

33 WCF, 16.4–5.

34 WCF, 17.2.

35 WCF, 18.3.

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41 WCF 13.1–3.

42 WCF, 16.3.

43 WCF, 11.2.

44 WCF, 19.2.

45 LC, Q. 122.

46 LC, Q. 101. Deut 5:1–6 gives even more narrative context, recounting the covenantal relationship between God and Israel that serves as the basis for the Decalogue.

47 LC, Q. 32.

48 LC, Q. 141.

49 LC, Q. 142.

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58 LC, Q. 66.

59 Barth, Theology of the Reformed Confessions, p. 143.

60 Ibid., p. 144.

61 Ibid., p. 146.

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65 Ibid.