This article focuses on the moral distinction between appearance and reality, between an outward self and an inward self. It examines contemporary virtue ethics and the claim that Christian ethics is a virtue ethic. It identifies, examines, and evaluates three theses that are central to virtue ethics: a priority thesis, a perfectionist thesis, and a communitarian thesis. The paper concludes that the independence thesis, upon which virtue ethics rests, is untenable. It proposes as an alternative the structure of universal moral principles underlying the Christian faith as the proper subject matter for Christian ethics.