Improvisation

Christian ethics presented as an act of improvisation on the Bible Sam Wells sees Christian Ethics as a matter of 'faithfully improvising on the Christian tradition'. The Bible is not so much a script to rehearse, as it is a 'training school' that shapes the habits and practices of a community in action. The goal of Christian ethics is to teach Christians to 'embody their faith in the practices of discipleship at all times'. Drawing on scriptural narratives and church history, he details six practices that characterise both improvisation and Christian ethics, including categories such as 'forming habits', 'questioning givens' and 'reincorporating the lost'. He concludes with specific examples of ethical issues, such as facing evil and the perils and promises of genetically modified food. Well's fresh and imaginative discussion reinforces the goal of Christian ethics - not to 'help someone act Christianly in a crisis' but to teach Christians to 'embody their faith in the practices of discipleship all the time'.