This is the first republication of Volume 3 of a rare three volume set of books favoring polygamy. In 1781, when this book was first published, the Reverend Martin Madan was the most famous clergyman in all the world. His Chapel at the Lock Hospital was renowned for its Sunday night concerts and his hymnal was full of majestic songs of worship. He was the most prolific living composer of sacred music and had long been the standard bearer for the Evangelicals. Madan's pen had always been free of mercenary interests since he'd been blessed with a great inheritance and yet this rich man had spent the last thirty-five years of his life ministering to the least beloved of society, the disease ridden prostitutes of the Lock Hospital. The front cover features a portrait of Lock Hospital as it appeared in the 18th century. It was built with funds raised by Martin Madan. Madan was godfather to the famed hymn writer, Charles Wesley and was himself the most prolific hymn composer of his day. This is Volume 3 - In Print Again for the First Time in over 228 years.

Stephen Long opens his erudite discussion of theology and ethics with the insistence that moral critique must emerge from a particular location, rather than from the fluid values of any "neutral" observer. Long sets out to put theology and ethics-as well as the church-in proper relation to one another. Ethics must be based in theology, not the other way around. Our "finite participation in the infinite make possible participation in a goodness beyond us." That goodness comes to us in the flesh of Jesus Christ, and the church is indispensable in drawing all people toward God's goodness. The church, a social ethic in itself, gives purpose and order to other social institutions, including family, government, and the market. "'The goodness of God'--such a simple phrase, such a profound (and maybe even distruptive) concept if we dare explore its implications. Not only does Steve Long lead us skilfully and smoothly through potentially difficult matters of theology and philosophy, he also brings home how our lives might be different if we really took the goodness of God to heart. "From matters of violence and economics to sexuality and family, Long takes his readers through a thicket of competing ideas, and leads them out the other side into greater clarity of vision, unity of purpose, and passion for God's good kingdom. Seminaries and Sunday schools alike will benefit from this scholarly but accessible volume." --Michael Budde, DePaul University D. Stephen Long is assistant professor of theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and codirector of the Center for Ethics and Values. He is the author of Divine Economy, a volume in Routledge's Radical Orthodoxy series.

In The Destiny of Man, Nikolai Berdyaev sketches the plan of a new ethics. This new ethics will be knowledge not only of good and evil, but also of the tragedy which is constantly present in moral experience and complicates all of man's moral judgments. It will emphasize the crucial importance of the personality and of human freedom. The new ethics will interpret moral life as a creative activity; it will be an ethics of free creativeness, an ethics that combines freedom, compassion, and creativeness.

Homosexuality continues to be a much debated subject in church and society. Many people use the Bible to form their opinions on gay marriage, gays in the church, etc. In Out of Order, Dr. Wold thoroughly examines the biblical references to homosexuality while at the same time explaining the nature of same-sex relations in the ancient Near East. The author states: "What is needed in the current debate regarding the Bible and homosexuality is a spirit of reconciliation rather than condemnation or confrontation on the part of all who address this issue."

Tracing attitudes toward wealth from the Old Testament to the New Testament, Jacques Ellul discusses both societal and individual responsibilities related to the use of money and power. 173 pages, paper

Does sexual difference matter for marriage? Are there good theological reasons why the two main characters in a marriage should be a male and a female, or is marriage a more flexible covenant, which any two people can keep? Creation and Covenant analyzes latent but under-examined beliefs about sexual difference in the theology about marriage which has been dominant for centuries in the Christian west. The book opens by studying patristic theologies of marriage, which rested on mostly implicit and often incompatible beliefs about sexual difference. However, Roberts argues that Augustine developed a coherent theology of sexual difference, according it a shifting significance from creation to eschaton. Roberts traces how Augustine's theology influenced and was developed by subsequent theologians, such as Bernard of Clairvaux, Luther, Barth, and John Paul II. Finally, Roberts engages today's debates about gay marriage. Before becoming an academic, Dr. Roberts was a journalist. On behalf of PBS television, he covered both the Lambeth Conference in England and the World Council of Churches in Zimbabwe. During those years, he was disappointed by both the liberal and conservative arguments on homosexuality. Left-wingers seemed more interested in privacy, autonomy, and experience than in theology, and right-wingers seemed to have lots of prohibitions but little good news. In the final chapters, this book tries to do better, inviting liberals to improve the standard of their arguments, and explaining what is beautiful and persuasive about the traditional case.>

This book presents a new examination of ethical dictum 'The Golden Rule' exploring its formulation and significance in relation to the world's major religions. The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. This ethical dictum is a part of most of the world's religions and has been considered by numerous religious figures and philosophers over the centuries. This new collection contains specially commissioned essays which take a fresh look at this guiding principle from a comparative perspective. Participants examine the formulation and significance of the Golden Rule in the world's major religions by applying four questions to the tradition they consider: What does it say? What does it mean? How does it work? How does it matter?Freshly examining the Golden Rule in broad comparative context provides a fascinating account of its uses and meaning, and allows us to assess if, how and why it matters in human cultures and societies.

Religion, War, and Ethics is a collection of primary sources from the world's major religions on the ethics of war. Each chapter brings together annotated texts - scriptural, theological, ethical, and legal - from a variety of historical periods that reflect each tradition's response to perennial questions about the nature of war: when, if ever, is recourse to arms morally justifiable? What moral constraints should apply to military conduct? Can a lasting earthly peace be achieved? Are there sacred reasons for waging war, and special rewards for those who do the fighting? The religions covered include Sunni and Shiite Islam; Judaism; Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant Christianity; Theravada Buddhism; East Asian religious traditions (Confucianism, Shinto, Japanese and Korean Buddhism); Hinduism; and Sikhism. Each section is compiled by a specialist, recognized within his or her respective religious tradition, who has also written a commentary on the historical and textual context of the passages selected.

This book is a facsimile reprint and may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages.

Pharmacists who refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives. Surgeons who pray in the OR. Pro-life clinics and end-of-life interventions, intelligent-design activists and stem-cell-research opponents. Is "this "the state of modern medicine in America?

In "Blind Faith, "Dr. Richard P. Sloan examines the fragile balance and dangerous alliance between religion and medicine—two practices that have grown disconcertingly close during the twenty-first century. While Sloan does not dispute the fact that religion can bring a sense of comfort in times of difficulty, he nevertheless believes, and in fact proves, that there is no compelling evidence that faith provides an actual cure for any ailment. By exposing the flawed research, Sloan gives readers the tools to understand when good medical science is subverted and, at the same time, provides a thought-provoking examination into the origins and varieties of faith, and human nature itself.

Description: In response to the confluence of moral uncertainty with the increase of human power to alter nature, and through critical integration of the philosophical naturalism of Hans Jonas and the critical religious naturalism of James M. Gustafson, The Tangled Bank argues for an ecotheological ethics of responsible participation. By making the case that the moral pressures of our time call for a vision that is as deeply naturalistic as it is deeply theological, a critical perspective is advanced that is attuned to human embeddedness within nature as well as to human distinctiveness. In support of this, a moral anthropological method is deployed as a creative new way to integrate the comparative, critical, and constructive tasks of theological ethics. The insights of Hans Jonas and James M. Gustafson, interpreted comparatively for the first time, are critically drawn together to suggest new directions for scholarship and teaching in theology and religion and science studies. Endorsements: ""In this elegantly written book, Michael Hogue insightfully compares two leading figures dedicated to reconstructing ethics in the light of our environmental situation, the philosopher Hans Jonas and James M. Gustafson, a Christian theologian. . . . This book is a welcome addition to religious and philosophical reflection on ecology and ethics. I heartily commend it to anyone and everyone engaged with the pressing moral challenges we all now face."" --William Schweiker Author of Theological Ethics and Global Dynamics ""Michael Hogue takes the interaction between environmental and Christian ethics to a new and satisfying level. . . . He writes with clarity, grace, depth, and humor."" --John Opie Author of Nature's Nation ""Michael Hogue breaks down the usual stereotypes about the value of philosophy and theology and challenges his readers to expand our ideas about how to live on Earth. Scholarly yet lucidly written and engaging, this book charts new territory in environmental thinking."" --Jerome A. Stone Author of The Minimalist Vision of Transcendence About the Contributor(s): Michael S. Hogue is Assistant Professor of Theology at Meadville Lombard Theological School (Chicago, IL). He is the author of Varieties of Religious Ethics and the Vulnerability of Life (2009).

The Sacred Santa is an inquiry into the religious dimension of postmodern culture, seriously considering the widespread perception that contemporary culture witnesses a profound struggle between two antithetical systems -- a collision of two worlds, both religious, yet each with vivid visions of the sacred that differ radically with regard to what the sacred is and what it means to human life and social endeavor.