The deep difficulty in Christian ethics, as evidenced in the work of public theologians such as Thiemann, Stackhouse and Garcia, is that Kant’s answers are assumed but his profound question ignored. They do not seek to refute Kant. They do not seek to point to concrete, sensuous forms of life to show that Christian faith is reasonable. Instead they speak in general terms. They speak of a cosmopolitan social ethics, a criterion of publicity, and universal human rights. Their work contributes to the production of a generic theology that makes no particular claims on people of faith or people outside faith. The result is a refusal to challenge Kant’s designation of freedom as more basic than the goodness of God. This Christian social ethics only continues the Kantian quest. We can use the language of faith and continue to speak of God and Judeo-Christian anthropology, but the concrete material reality of Christianity (Jesus’ flesh) is rendered superfluous to the moral life.
Stephen Long The Goodness of God
