This volume introduces students to the history of cultural and theological responses to abortion as background for understanding a diversity of ethical positions in contemporary Christian, Jewish, and Muslim writings. Politicized debates about abortion are often presented in terms of a binary rhetoric of prolife versus prochoice; however, this collection of essays shows how that binary often breaks down when abortion is seen from different religious perspectives and in light of the voices of women themselves. While abortion is a global phenomenon, this volume focuses on the U.S. context. American abortion politics and culture wars have been dominated by Christian voices; nevertheless, Jewish and Muslim abortion ethics engage many of the same issues from different cultural and religious perspectives. Finally, this volume presents important examples of recent social scientific studies about the relationship of religion and abortion in the diverse cultural, racial, and economic fabric of American society. Pedagogical features include: - Introduction to the subject matter by the editors - Introductory essays to all five parts of the book - Questions for classroom discussion Additional pedagogical materials can be found at: https://abortionreligionreader.com/

The Danish theologian-philosopher K. E. Logstrup is second in reputation in his homeland only to Soren Kierkegaard. He is best known outside Europe for his The Ethical Demand, first published in Danish in 1956 and published in an expanded English translation in 1997. Beyond the Ethical Demand contains excerpts, translated into English for the first time, from the numerous books and essays Logstrup continued to write throughout his life. In the first essay, he engages the critical response to The Ethical Demand, clarifying, elaborating, or defending his original positions. In the next three essays, he extends his contention that human ethics "demands" that we are concerned for the other by introducing the crucial concept of "sovereign expressions of life." Like Levinas, Logstrup saw in the phenomenon of "the other" the ground for his ethics. In his later works he developed this concept of "the sovereign expressions of life," spontaneous phenomena such as trust, mercy, and sincerity that are inherently other-regarding. The last two essays connect his ethics with political life. Interest in Logstrup in the English-speaking academic community continues to grow, and these important original sources will be essential tools for scholars exploring the further implications of his ethics and phenomenology.

Augustine and the Cure of Souls situates Augustine within the ancient philosophical tradition of using words to order emotions. Paul Kolbet uncovers a profound continuity in Augustine's thought, from his earliest pre-baptismal writings to his final acts as bishop, revealing a man deeply indebted to the Roman past and yet distinctly Christian. Rather than supplanting his classical learning, Augustine's Christianity reinvigorated precisely those elements of Roman wisdom that he believed were slipping into decadence. In particular, Kolbet addresses the manner in which Augustine not only used classical rhetorical theory to express his theological vision, but also infused it with theological content. This book offers a fresh reading of Augustine's writings-particularly his numerous, though often neglected, sermons-and provides an accessible point of entry into the great North African bishop's life and thought.