“…ethics cannot be understood and ventured as an independent discipline working on its own presuppositions and and according to its own methods, but only as an integral element in dogmatics.” (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.4 §74 “The Central Problem of Special Ethics”).

I resonate with this statement by Barth so deeply, yet find the application of this conviction in contemporary theological writing so often results in moral reflection that is superficially engaged and deeply disappointing. Even though we may conceive of ethics as a part of the task of theological reflection, this does not mean that a degree in Christian Doctrine leaves one properly equipped to conduct the task of Christian ethics.