Lately, it feels like we have been trapped in an ethical dilemma brought to life.

As we go from the initial weeks of pandemic lockdown to formulating plans for a “new normal” going forward, doctors, scientists, and public health experts offer their expertise. But the question of how we respond to the coronavirus in the long-term takes on a moral dimension. When we’re debating dates, distances, and precautions, we’re really talking about our priorities as a country. Who do we want to keep safe? What will we give up in order to do it? What are our responsibilities to one another? What are we willing to sacrifice for health and life?

In some aspects of the response, we’ve seen evangelicals defer to a sense of biblical morality over utilitarianism. Evangelical Protestants and Protestants from historically black churches, for example, are more likely than other demographic—and twice as likely as agnostics (60% vs. 30%) to say ventilators should go to the patients who need them most, even if they are older, sicker, and less likely to recover.

The more we debate how we will reopen and reenter community life, the more I think about our core commitments to God-given morality and our witness as believers. At the very least, we must consider how our behavior in these circumstances stands to affect the neighbors we are called to love and serve.

This is the realm of moral philosophy, which leaders like Evangelical Philosophical Society president Michael W. Austin see as crucial for cultural engagement and the pursuit of goodness, truth, and beauty. In a recent CT essay, Austin argues that beyond knowing the practical how-tos of ministry, knowing “how to think” makes Christians more adaptable and impactful at times like these.

“Philosophers explore issues like the character of God, the true nature of justice, the proper application of scientific knowledge, the structure of good arguments, and the nature of virtue and its connection to human flourishing,” he writes.

Last week, Liberty announced that it would be collapsing its philosophy program; Cedarville University had done the same several years ago, and Gordon College combined the department with politics and history. But despite the shifts at some institutions, Austin is resolute that the field is more relevant than ever.

Christianity Today happened to interview outgoing Liberty University philosophy professor David Baggett (he starts at Houston Baptist University this summer). Baggett makes the case that Christians’ belief in a moral order is also a form of witness.

“The moral argument … is not just an argument for God’s existence. It’s also an argument for God’s goodness and love and grace,” he said. “We recognize a moral standard, realize we fall short, but then discover that the One to whom we’re responsible is also the One who offers forgiveness for falling short and the grace to be transformed into the people we were meant to be. In other words, morality is but a penultimate foretaste of the glory to come.”

Part of how we reflect the nature of a good God is to make decisions that prioritize the things he values: love, life, flourishing. I pray that we would see glimpses of his kingdom come even in the unsettled chaos of the current crisis.

Kate