Date

9-2017

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Theology and Apologetics (PhD)

Chair

David Baggett

Keywords

Children, Culture, Morality, Ontology, Philosophy, Presuppositions

Disciplines

Ethics in Religion | History of Christianity | Other Religion | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

We have excellent reasons to take moral intuitions about the moral treatment of children seriously. In fact, this gives us excellent prima facie reason to believe in God as the best explanation of, say, the inherent dignity of people, including children. But when we look to the past, we see that often children have been horribly treated and not accorded worth. And today, still, there are lots of disturbing trends as to how they’re treated, which invariably reflect deficient worldviews. Ultimately, it’s not just theism we need, but something more, arguably Christian theology, which makes great sense of our best moral intuitions about the little ones. The theology of Christianity, and the special revelation we have in Scripture, gives us even deeper reasons to take with great seriousness our moral intuitions and insights about the humane treatment of children, the most vulnerable of our species. In this way, Christianity can receive some corroboration from our best considered judgments about the value of children, and we can identify the resources we need to battle troubling contemporary trends of child mistreatment.

Download

Share

COinS