The Moral Quest is Stanley Grenz's quest to present Christian ethics in a comprehensive context. In this book report I will first address the author's view of Christian ethics, then I will deal with his method of arriving at this view, and finally I will analyze his Christian ethic and point out what I consider its major shortcoming.
The Christian Ethic of Stanley Grenz
Dr. Grentz's view of Christian ethics appears immediately in his preface; "My basic conclusion is that the Christian ethic is the outworking in life of the theological vision disclosed in and through the narrative given to us in Scripture" (p. 10). He builds on this view in the introduction by concluding, "In the end, therefore, the moral quest leads to the task of reflecting in our relationships the love that lies at the heart of the biblical God. To show why this is the case is the task of the following chapters" (p. 21).
Dr. Grenz expounds his view of Christian ethics in Chapter 7, Chapter 8 and an epilogue. He describes his ethic as "theological", "trinitarian", "eschatological" and "communal". The ethic is theological because it acknowledges the Bible as embodying divine revelation. The ethic is founded on Scripture. The ethic is trinitarian because at its apex abides self-sacrificial love. This love, which is eternal, is eternally expressed among the three persons of the triune God. The ethic is eschatological because it applies throughout all time and holds in view the consummation of history. The ethic is communal because the task of living must take place in a context of the Christian community.
The Method used in The Moral Quest
Chapter 1 of The Moral Quest is an introductory overview. Then follows an interesting mix of chronological survey and inductive survey. First comes the chronological. Dr. Grenz surveys the ethical tradition of Greece (chapter 2); then the ethical tradition of the Bible (chapter 3); then the ethical proposals of Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther (chapter 4) and finally viewpoints from 20th century Christians (chapter 5). This group includes Niebuhr, Barth, Fletcher, Sheldon, Bohnoeffer, and M.L. King. The direction of the book then turns inductive, from the general to the particular. In chapter 6 Dr. Grenz describes the general milieu of ethical viewpoints in which current Christian ethics exists. This leads to chapter 7 in which he focuses on clearly evangelical Christian ethics. Chapter 8, his concluding chapter, sets out his particular ethical theory of comprehensive love.
The Moral Quest is impressively documented with 48 pages of endnotes, 16 pages of bibliography and 11 pages of indexes by author, name, subject and scripture.
Analysis of The Moral Quest
I concur with the conclusion of Stanley Grenz, that "we are to embody the comprehensive love that characterizes God's own life. (p. 299)" As he points out so well in 300 pages, the object of the moral quest is to imitate Christ. I like the word "christopraxis". However, I am disappointed with The Moral Quest in one regard. Dr. Grenz does not provide examples of how this theory of comprehensive love can be put into practice to help resolve difficult ethical questions. What is he afraid of? He did set up two quasi-ethical problems at the beginning of Chapter 8. The first dealt with Don and Donna, divorced friends who were tempted by sex. The other dealt with George and his unfeeling surgeon Dr. Rogers. But these were obvious softballs. He concludes Chapter 8 with Don and Donna agreeing to abstain from sex and with Dr. Rogers becoming more understanding of George. These were "no-brainers". I would have liked to see Dr. Grenz tackle the moral dilemma on page 28, "What should Heinz do?" Would his ethic of comprehensive love inform Heinz to steal the drug or to allow his wife to die? A response to that would intrigue me.
I encountered a moral dilemma in my own life. My mother recently died with Alzheimer's disease. In her last years of dementia, she would constantly ask me "Are we going anywhere today?" At first I told the truth. When I said "yes", then she would become agitated and sit on the sofa by the front door. She could anxiously sit for hours. After a while, I learned always to respond "no", regardless of the facts. That seemed to reduce my mother's anxiety. I felt bad in telling bold-faced lies. It lay heavy on my heart. Was I being ethical? I don't know. What would Jesus do? Again, I don't know.
The problem I have with The Moral Quest is that although it stimulated me intellectually, it did not provide me with the tools I need to navigate in an ethical world. Is Grenz really saying that if "all my relationships embody the comprehensive reality of love revealed in the biblical narrative of God in Christ effecting the reconciliation of the world" (p.296) then all my choices will be moral? How does that help me choose? I do believe that when I "reflect as far as possible in the midst of the brokenness of the present that eschatological ideal community of love which models itself after the community of the triune God" (p.296) that I will make truly ethical decisions. But how do I do that? Is he telling me first I "become", and then whatever decision I make is ethically correct?
It's like I'm asking Dr. Grenz "How can I live to be one hundred years old?", and his response is "you must first reach the age of ninety-nine and then you must be very very careful".
Note 1: I did note one factual error in the book. On page 16, Grenz alludes to the "war to make the world safe for democracy" as being World War II. Actually this phrase was coined by Woodrow Wilson in 1917 referring to the on-going war in Europe, that is World War I.
Note 2: I just finished reading the second required book [June 21, 2000] Evangelical Ethics: Issues Facing the Church Today by John Jefferson Davis. This book was just the opposite of The Moral Quest and perhaps its counterbalance. Davis was all too eager to offer opinions about difficult moral choices. It was wise to require that both books be read in tandem.
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