Online Journal Article: "The Public/private Distinction: An Indispensable Heuristic Tool For Evangelicals" JETS 60/4 (2017): 793–815

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-4/JETS_60_4_793-815_Rothenberg.pdf

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https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-4/JETS_60_4_793-815_Rothenberg.pdf

From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)

JETS 60/4 (2017): 793–815
"THE PUBLIC/PRIVATE DISTINCTION:
AN INDISPENSABLE HEURISTIC TOOL
FOR EVANGELICALS"
by RONALD M. ROTHENBERG
Abstract: The public/private distinction has long been an indispensable heuristic tool for
evangelicals because of its basis in Scripture, use as a biblical hermeneutic principle, and inescapable instrument for shaping ethical discussion. However, the distinction has moved recently
from being a tool for framing contentious debates to the target of criticism. The thesis of this article is that the public/private distinction is an indispensable heuristic tool for evangelicals. Despite the inherent limitations and use in secular ethical arguments of the public/private distinction, the scriptural evidence, history of biblical interpretation, and systematic theological tradition all indicate that the distinction is an indispensable heuristic tool for evangelical interpretative, theological, and ethical reflection.
Key words: theology, ethics, applied ethics, public/private distinction, contemporary issues,
hermeneutics