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Online courses like this one have faculty at the center and ministry training as their goal. This preview class is formatted similarly to our typical online class with unit pages, engaging lecture content, weekly reading, and assignments. Unlike this preview course, our courses also include significant opportunities for interaction with Dr. Thacker and other students, as well as regular feedback on assignments. You can Apply Today to become a student at Boyce College, or check out our full database of online courses with our Course Snapshots.

Click each unit topic below to jump to that unit's content.

Unit Navigation

Unit Schedule

Unit 1: Why Study Ethics? Intro to Ethical Method
Unit 2: What is Metaethics?
Unit 3: Why is Normative Ethics?
Unit 4: What is Christian Ethics?
Unit 5: Bioethics
Unit 6: Sexual Ethics & Marriage
Unit 7: Social Ethics
Unit 8: Ethics, Justice and Society

Greetings from Dr. Jason Thacker

Welcome to Introduction to Ethics at Boyce College! My name is Dr. Jason Thacker, and I am excited to serve as your professor for this course. This is one of my favorite courses to teach and I look forward to our time together in this class. Ethics is central to the Christian life and, as we will learn, can be defined as how we love God in light of who he is and what he has done for us through Christ. Ethics focuses on the things we do and the type of people we are becoming.

Our goal in this course will be to examine how many people have pursued the good life and how we are to live as Christians who seek fulfill Jesus’s words to love God and love our neighbors as ourselves as we read in Matthew 22:37-39. We will first explore the how we can best study ethics and the nature of the good life before shifting to discuss various foundation and theoretical elements of ethics. We will spend much of our time together exploring the many questions of applied ethics ranging from bioethics and sexual ethics to questions of justice and technology. The study of ethics is best done in community, and I am grateful to have you in class as we journey together exploring questions of the good life as Christ followers.

Jason Thacker

Welcome Video

Course Description

An introduction to the major ethical systems with a special focus on Christian approaches. Contemporary ethical issues will be examined in light of biblical revelation.

Course Objectives:

By the end of the course, the student will develop:

1. Knowledge
  1. Identify the basic contours of the major philosophical and theological families of ethics as well as major figures in the field of ethics.
  2. Explain the strengths and weaknesses of major ethical views, including questions of metaethics, normative, and applied ethics.
  3. Grasp the vast and widespread nature of ethics in all of life, especially as part of the daily pursuit of following Jesus.
2. Skills
  1. Read, synthesize, and analyze primary and secondary sources from both the Christian and non-Christian moral tradition in community.
  2. Identify critical questions that foster quality in-depth discussion about people, concepts, and ideas in the broader field of ethics.
  3. Apply Christian commitments and biblical principles charitably to readings and topics relevant to moral philosophy
3. Virtues
  1. Identify contributions of both Christian and non-Christian thought recognizing the wonder of God’s common grace in the created order.
  2. Develop humility and charity toward people, ideas, and concepts that stand in conflict with fundamental Christian ethical commitments.
  3. Recognizing the virtue of sober judgments and the vice of rhetorical flourishes that merely embolden one’s own perspective at the demise of another.
  4. Acknowledge the stewardship of reading charitably, critiquing with patience, and offering alternatives derived from diligent study and prudent reflection.

Expectations of Students:

- Email:
  - Students are expected to check their SBTS email accounts at least twice a week throughout the term. This is necessary to stay up to date on pertinent class communication and updates.
- Acceptable Document Formats:
  - Upload documents as either PDF or Word Doc (.doc or .docx) only.
- Late Work:
  - Late work– assignments not submitted by the due date in this syllabus– may be turned in until the last day of class; however, it will automatically be penalized two letter grades. In other words, if you miss a deadline, you are still able to turn in your assignment until the last day of class but your grade for that assignment will start at a "C." After the last day of class, absolutely no semester work will be received. No exceptions to this policy. There is no need to communicate the rationale for a late assignment. Only extreme circumstances such as family tragedy involving loss of life, medical emergencies, etc. may be considered outside this policy and should be discussed with your professor.
- Respect for Divergent Viewpoints:
  - Students and faculty are to show appropriate respect for each other even when divergent viewpoints are expressed through class assignments and discussion boards. Such respect does not require agreement with or acceptance of divergent viewpoints.
- Plagiarism and Cheating:
  - Students who pass off ideas or words of another person as their own without crediting the source are guilty of intellectual property theft or literary theft better known as plagiarism. Students who conduct any part of their participation in the course in a fraudulent or deceptive manner are guilty of cheating. Students caught in either of these acts of academic misconduct will be reported to the Boyce College Dean of Students, resulting in disciplinary action up to and including failing the course and academic dismissal.
- Disability Accommodation:
  - Boyce College is pleased to offer reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. If you are a student who qualifies for academic accommodations because of a documented disability, you should contact your professor to request accommodations as early in the term as possible. If you have not yet presented documentation to the Center for Student Success, please reach out to the Disability Services advisor at disabilityservices@sbts.edu. Professors and OTAs cannot provide accommodations without approval from the Center for Student Success. Accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.
- Grievances and Grade Disputes:
  - If a student has a concern about a grade that he or she received, the student is expected to request clarification from the instructor via Canvas. If the student still has significant concerns, he or she may contact the Dean of the Boyce College.