Ethics in a Consumer Culture

We live in a culture of commodification. People are too often defined by what they do or own; they're treated as a means to an end or cogs in a machine. What goes missing is a deep sense of personhood―the belief that all humans are unique, have inherent worth, and the right to self-determination in authentic communion with others.

In this course, Paul Louis Metzger offers a counter-narrative for this commodification, naming that human personhood begins with the personal, triune God, who invites us to live more fully as human beings. When we refuse to reduce our fellow humans―and ourselves―to mere abstractions or objects, we follow the example of Jesus in honoring the value of every person and of creaturely life as a whole.

Metzger draws from thought leaders and scripture to outlines an alternative ethical framework that can help us navigate a pluralistic world by applying it to a variety of pressing ethical issues, including abortion, genetic engineering, immigration, drone warfare, and more.