Ethics of Shrewdness
The Ethics of Shrewdness
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
Matthew 10:16
Michael C. R. McLoughlin, August, 1997
Abstract
The marketplace is a a difficult and dangerous environment for the Christian. It can be a place of compromise or a place of persecution. It is a place where Christians must make difficult ethical choices and fulfill important moral roles. To survive and prosper in this dangerous environment the Christian must heed the advice of Christ who sends his people into the world as sheep in the midst of wolves. Christ 's advice is to be shrewd but innocent. Innocent shrewdness is discovered in the context, commission character, and community of the Christian in business. The ethics of shrewdness are practiced by the Christian who knows the moral challenges, plans to overcome them, uses wise judgment to avoid offense and actively seeks to lead others out of the darkness.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Christian Survival in a Marketplace of Moral Relativism
Ethics may be "in" ; but "Christian" Ethics are definitely "out". In the late 1990 's concern for corporate social responsibility and for ethical decision making is a growing trend in our culture.[i] At the same time, Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship observes a increasing divide between secular and non secular ideas of morality. On one hand, there is an obvious need for accountability in public and private life. On the other hand, postmodern culture has abandoned the Judeo-Christian ethic as a means for that accountability.[ii] In the name of tolerance and moral relativism, a new intolerance has arisen in society that shuts out ethical decision making based upon a belief in absolute truth.[iii] A pluralistic Society says, "Yes, we need to have values, we need to have
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
Matthew 10:16
Michael C. R. McLoughlin, August, 1997
Abstract
The marketplace is a a difficult and dangerous environment for the Christian. It can be a place of compromise or a place of persecution. It is a place where Christians must make difficult ethical choices and fulfill important moral roles. To survive and prosper in this dangerous environment the Christian must heed the advice of Christ who sends his people into the world as sheep in the midst of wolves. Christ 's advice is to be shrewd but innocent. Innocent shrewdness is discovered in the context, commission character, and community of the Christian in business. The ethics of shrewdness are practiced by the Christian who knows the moral challenges, plans to overcome them, uses wise judgment to avoid offense and actively seeks to lead others out of the darkness.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Christian Survival in a Marketplace of Moral Relativism
Ethics may be "in" ; but "Christian" Ethics are definitely "out". In the late 1990 's concern for corporate social responsibility and for ethical decision making is a growing trend in our culture.[i] At the same time, Charles Colson of Prison Fellowship observes a increasing divide between secular and non secular ideas of morality. On one hand, there is an obvious need for accountability in public and private life. On the other hand, postmodern culture has abandoned the Judeo-Christian ethic as a means for that accountability.[ii] In the name of tolerance and moral relativism, a new intolerance has arisen in society that shuts out ethical decision making based upon a belief in absolute truth.[iii] A pluralistic Society says, "Yes, we need to have values, we need to have
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