Dolores Christie has written a very good textbook appropriate especially for introductory courses in theological ethics or moral theology. The book is structured in eight chapters, followed by three appendixes that will be particularly helpful tools for classroom instructors in designing assignments and guiding thoughtful discussions.
The book covers most areas traditionally considered key to understanding fundamental moral theology. Chapters 1 to 6 will assist instructors as they engage students in questions like the following: What is morality? What are the cultural, intellectual, and personal factors that contribute to moral decision making? How do factors like personal experience, reason, the sciences, and one's own conscience shape perspectives on moral queries? Chapter 7 draws these questions together by outlining a process for moral decision making. Finally, chapter 8 gives students an opportunity to apply what they have learned to moral questions related to sexuality, end-of-life care, immigration, and ecology. Among the most helpful components Christie includes in the text are reflection questions at the end of each chapter, appendixes that include books and films that are illustrative of moral concerns, and case studies that prompt students to consider moral questions using the methods and sources outlined in the text. Throughout each component of the book, Christie illustrates a commitment to teaching students how to think, rather than what to think.
Underlying the text are Christie's decades of experience teaching undergraduates. Her acumen with regard to what makes the average college student think clearly is most apparent in the numerous examples, specifically geared toward students, that she employs to illustrate the concerns and concepts of fundamental moral theology. Any instructor who has ever felt “stuck” in coming up with real-life, relevant examples will find Christie's text a godsend. For this reader, the examples sometimes were too numerous or repetitive; however, it is possible that Christie has provided an appropriate number for undergraduate students encountering theological ethics for the first time.
In the spirit of Christie's own observation that “any book offers the incomplete melody of its singular author” (211), it is important to note that many instructors would likely want to pair this text with a variety of other sources in order to expose students to a more diverse range of perspectives on moral issues. The greatest strengths of Christie's book are its accessibility, especially for middle-class, American undergraduates, and the tools it offers for teaching that demographic some of the basics elements of fundamental moral theology. A weakness of the text is that it engages largely with Western moral thinking from relatively privileged forms of discourse. While the contributions of feminist theology, black theology, and liberation theology are mentioned and discussed briefly at points, they are not critically engaged as robustly as methodologies such as natural law, proportionalism, and Germain Grisez's notion of basic goods.
Overall, Moral Choice, when intentionally paired with perspectives from the margins of theological scholarship, can be an excellent text for introductory ethics courses. If one goal of theological education is transformative learning that empowers students to critically analyze the signs of the times, then Christie's textbook undoubtedly provides instructors with an avenue toward that aim. In other words, it can be a starting point for shaping students into critically thinking, compassionate people who are thoroughly engaged with the moral questions that arise in their own social contexts.
