An Introduction to Biblical Ethics

Rating:
Summary: An Exposition of the Ten Commandments
Review: Dr. McQuilkin's textbook on Christian Ethics is actually a very well-written development of the Ten Commandments for today. The book would be very acceptable to Reformed-Presbyterians, and other groups with strong Sabbatarian convictions.

However, I only give it 3 stars because it's not really a book about distinctively Christian ethics...Christian being defined as New Covenant ethics. There is no real acknowledgement that there are any other approaches to Christian ethics than the transposition of the Ten Commandments as such into the present era. There is no discussion of the greater redemptive framework within which ethics operates (Old vs. New Covenant). There is little discussion on how the shift from a political theocracy to an international faith-confessing body changes the ethical system we follow (e.g., the absence of land-references or any civil laws in the New Testament).

Although Dr. McQuilkin is a Baptist, his underlying assumption is that of covenant theology, and the way he handles O.T. law is almost Theonomic. Now, if you agree with that, then you'll think this book is fine. And it is a good book, well worth reading. But it fails to deal with most of the bigger theological issues underlying Christian ethics, and presupposes an approach that many Christians might not accept.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource
Review: I know the author and he has my deepest respect. He practices what he preaches! I use this book for my adult Sunday School class and my students love it. The first six chapters are a must read; the rest is a handy and helpful resource. The scholarship is well-done, very practical, and thoroughly biblical.

Rating:
Summary: A Guide to Biblical Ethics
Review: We live in a world where ethics are no longer a concern. What is sin one day is viewed as normal the next (see Massachusetts and its legalizing of gay marriages). Dr. McQuilkin gives the Christian a textbook on biblical ethics. His authority is not his opinion or his astute intelect but the inerrant Word of God.

There is hardly an issue that Dr. McQuilkin does not deal with from pornography, alcohol, abortion, war, politics, and homosexuality. He comes at each issue with one purpose and that is to examine what the Bible says about the issue. Sometimes that is easier said than done. However, Dr. McQuilkin always seeks to find a biblical understanding of ethics and disregards cultural values that change with the latest opinion polls.