Our relationship to future generations raises fundamental issues for ethical thought, to which a Christian theological response is both possible and significant. A relationship to future generations is implicitly central to many of today's most public controversies - over environmental protection, genetic research, and the purpose of education, to name but a few; but it has received little explicit or extended consideration.

In Living for the Future Rachel Muers argues and seeks to demonstrate that to consider future generations as ethically significant is not simply to extend an existing ethical framework, but to rethink how ethics is done. Doing intergenerationally responsible theology and ethics means paying attention to how people are formed as theological and ethical reasoners (reasoners about the good), how social practices of deliberation about the good are maintained and developed, and how all of this relates to an understanding of the world as the sphere of God's transforming action. In other words, an intergenerationally responsible theological ethics will pay attention to the ethics, and the spirituality, of "ethics" itself.

Her account of the ethical relation to future generations centres on three key concepts: "choosing life" (see Deut 30:19); "keeping the sources open"; and "sustaining fruitful contexts." These concepts are developed theologically and in engagement with extra-theological conversations on intergenerational responsibility. She shows how they take up and move beyond concerns expressed in those conversations - for "survival," for the right distribution of resources, and for the maintenance of human values.

Nothing confuses Christian ethics quite like the Old Testament. Some faithful readers struggle through its pages and conclude that they must obey its moral laws but may disregard its ceremonial and civil laws. Others abandon its teaching altogether in favor of a strictly New Testament ethic. Neither option, argues Chris Wright, gives the Old Testament its due. In this innovative approach to Old Testament ethics--fully revised, updated and expanded since its first appearance in 1983 as Living as the People of God (An Eye for an Eye in North America) and including material from Walking in the Ways of the Lord--Wright examines a theological, social and economic framework for Old Testament ethics. Then he explores a variety of themes in relation to contemporary issues: economics, the land and the poor; politics and a world of nations; law and justice; society and culture; and the way of the individual. This fresh, illuminating study provides a clear basis for a biblical ethic that is faithful to the God of both Testaments.

"Sometimes the storm rises and the winds blow, hurricanes and earthquakes come to shake the very foundations which we stand, but certainly we must remain confident in our walk of faith."

In this world of dangers, seen and unseen, there is a need and demand for virtue in the lives of women everywhere. In the innovative guide "Keys to Becoming a Virtuous Woman," Dr. Latrina W. Jenkins gives you strategies and concepts on how to become a woman of high moral fortitude.

By focusing on the spiritual concept of virtue, Jenkins delivers a powerful case for finding and achieving virtuousness in our society today. She explores seven keys to obtaining moral integrity that each woman should strive to incorporate into their lives. These include being holy, trustworthy, strong, and secure.

Don't let the dictates of society steer you from your course. With God's help, you can find virtue in every aspect of your life!

Little known historical background and compelling humor combine to make this an unusual look at the role the Ten Commandments should play in the life of today's Christian. Reflection questions make it perfect for study groups and classes.

Ethics is a core subject of any theological syllabus. Anyone studying theology, whether for ministry or in a university context, has to take a course in ethics, exploring the issues, concepts and approaches of moral decision making and appropriate living. The SCM Core Text Theological Ethics is intended for those studying Christian ethics at upper undergraduate level. The book offers a discussion of Christian moral thought in a variety of key areas. Many discussions of ethics start by considering particular issues. By contrast, this book gives a presentation of the patterns and traditions of thought that lie behind some of these discussions, in the hope that this will enable particular issues to be fully understood. The book begins by asking 'What is Theological Ethics?' and proceeds to introducing different approaches to Ethics, Ethics in the Catholic and Protestant traditions and subjects such as Sin, Grace and Free Will (Augustine), Natural Law and the Human Good (Thomas Aquinas), Virtue, Conscience and Love.

Transforming Exclusion is concerned with the interface between the study of religion & theology and issues surrounding exclusion. Religious beliefs can be important in shaping attitudes that can lead to the exploitation or marginalization of both humans and non-humans. At the same time, religious beliefs and practices have much to offer in transforming the world, creating a more equitable place for all who occupy it. At other times, the voices of members of religious communities are suppressed and marginalized by other more dominant religious or secular individuals or communities. This book addresses all of these aspects of social exclusion and aims to demonstrate that the study of theology and religion, in addressing religious communities and society more widely, have important contributions to make in creating a more just world. The issue of exclusion is engaged with from a range of different perspectives by scholars involved in fieldwork with religious communities, systematic, contextual and practical theologians, and practitioners involved in the preparation of individuals and groups for a range of ministries and professions.

A thought-provoking collection of essays on Buddhist ethics by some of the leading thinkers in the field. The reader is provided with engaging explorations of central issues in Buddhist ethics, insightful analyses of the ways Buddhist ethical principles are being applied today in both Asian and Western countries, and groundbreaking proposals about how Buddhist perspectives might inform debates on some of the core ethical issues of the modern world, including consumerism, globalization, environmental problems, war, ethnic conflict, and inter-religious tensions. The leading figure in identifying the field of Buddhist ethics and articulating some of its core issues is Professor Damien Keown of the University of London. This book brings together a group of eminent scholars who have all been influenced by Keown's work, and who are also friends and close colleagues. The result is a wonderful volume for those who are struggling with practical issues of ethical concern. This will be a valuable resource in the study of ethics for years to come.

2011 Reprint of 1949 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Also known as "The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals." This is Kant's first contribution to moral philosophy. It argues for an a priori basis for morality. Where the "Critique of Pure Reason" laid out Kant's metaphysical and epistemological ideas, this relatively short, primarily meta-ethical, work was intended to outline and define the concepts and arguments shaping his future work, "The Metaphysics of Morals." The treatise is broken into a preface, followed by three sections. Kant's argument works from common reason up to the supreme unconditional law, in order to identify its existence. He then works backwards from there to prove the relevance and weight of the moral law. The third and final section of the book is famously obscure, and it is partly because of this that Kant later, in 1788, decided to publish the Critique of Practical Reason.

Description: What is the moral criterion for those who hold power positions and authority in governments, corporations, and institutions? Ahn answers this question by presenting the concept of the positional imperative. The positional imperative is an executive moral norm for those who hold power positions in political and economic organizations. By critically integrating the Neo-Kantian reconstructionism of Jurgen Habermas with the Neo-Augustinian reconstructionism of Reinhold Niebuhr, through the method of ""co-reconstruction,"" Ahn identifies the positional imperative as an executive moral norm embedded in all power positions: ""Act in such a way not only to abide by laws, but also to come by the approvals of those affected by your positional actions."" By uncovering this executive moral norm, Ahn argues that a position holder is not just a professional working for the system, but a moral executive who is willing to take the responsibility of his or her positional actions. Endorsements: ""How should Christians and non-Christians live moral lives in the tightly defined roles characteristic of modern corporate and bureaucratic societies? This is a seldom-asked question in our age that celebrates spontaneity and flexibility. But this fine book both asks this difficult question and answers it with the resources of Christian ethics and political philosophy. It is an important study that creatively investigates new territory in social ethics."" --Don Browning Alexander Campbell Emeritus Professor of Religious Ethics and the Social Sciences, University of Chicago ""In this compelling book, Ilsup Ahn addresses a burning contemporary issue: are there moral criteria for those in corporate, governmental, or institutional positions of power? Engaging the philosopher Jurgen Habermas and the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, Ahn identifies a 'positional imperative.' In light of this norm, power holders are moral executives who bear responsibility for their actions. In our time when moral responsibility has been denied or ignored in financial institutions and governments, Ahn makes a singular contribution to thought. I highly commended this work for anyone interested in current political and moral questions."" --William Schweiker Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics University of Chicago About the Contributor(s): Ilsup Ahn is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at North Park University, where he teaches philosophical, religious, and social ethics.

Asserting what most Americans already suspect -- that corporate-based managed care places profits over patient care -- theologian Abigail Rian Evans points out that medical experts have reduced health care to medical treatment under arrangements with health insurance plans and HMOs. Her reasoned, practical alternative engages Christian theology, proposing a much broader concept of health care. An important contribution to a critical discussion.

What is possibly the most exquisite single group of psalms - 120 - 134 - describe themselves as 'songs of ascents'. They recall the journeys of pilgrims from all over the land 'up' to Jerusalem to keep the feasts of the Lord. And as the people walked, they sang. God's people today may not make quite such a journey but, as Alec Motyer contests, in living the Christian life we have all embarked on a pilgrimage of the heart. The life of faith is to be lived on the move; through varying terrains but with a single destination - as we walk with eyes fixed on Jesus. A devotional read to hearten both weary and sure-footed travellers.

It is true and troubling that we humans are able to control and manipulate nature in many ways, and this ability seems to be growing exponentially. In this book Allen Verhey addresses this reality and seeks to show the importance of bringing a Christian voice into the debate.
Verhey identifies the various narratives under which people view the term nature and then questions these narratives or myths at work in our culture. He presents the biblical narrative as an alternative story capable of providing a different understanding of nature and altering it. Finally Verhey shows the relevance of the Christian story to many forms of discourse in our society, including contemporary ecological wisdom and analytical and political discourse.
Nature and Altering It is Verheys effort to nurture minds formed and informed by the Christian story that are capable of challenging the minds that shape our cultures attitudes toward nature and our use of it.

This book investigates interreligious hospitality from five different religious perspectives: Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic. "Hosting the Stranger" features ten powerful meditations on the theme of interreligious hospitality by eminent scholars and practitioners from the five different wisdom traditions: Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic. By gathering thinkers from different religious traditions around the same timely topic of what it means to "host the stranger," this text enacts the hospitality it investigates, facilitating a hopeful and constructive dialogue between the world's major religions. The first part of the volume offers five different hermeneutic readings that each wrestle with what interreligious hospitality means and what it demands. The second part is divided equally between the five different religious perspectives on hosting the stranger, with two thinkers representing each religion. Together these essays remind us of the urgent need for interreligious hospitality, and more importantly, they testify to its ongoing possibility.

Do we meet Jesus in a church or in a soup kitchen? In a Bible camp or in a housing project?

Such distinctions are false, says Arthur Paul Boers. We cannot experience God in heaven without loving the needy on earth. Nor can we truly love the needy on earth if not empowered by God in heaven.

This updated survey of Christian ethics addresses major thinkers, movements, and issues from the early church to the present. A broad range of topics is discussed, including the biblical and philosophical legacies of Christian ethics and ethics through the early, medieval, Reformation, Enlightenment, and modern eras. This new edition contains more extensive discussions of ethics in the twentieth century, including Vatican II, ecumenical social ethics, and Orthodox Christian ethics. A new section, "Toward the Third Millennium," looks at the issues we will face in the coming decades, including medical, scientific, and political dilemmas, and issues of terrorism, war, and peace.

In Church and Countryside, Tim Gibson offers a primer in rural theology. He sees the rural church as having a distinctive character that is grounded in its sacramental life. He also makes practical suggestions about ways in which the church in the countryside can contribute to the flourishing of the communities it serves. Gibson's work is informed by his own experience of ministry in rural areas. It is shot through with his enthusiasm for, and deep love of, the rural context. Gibson's insights are derived from an intimate knowledge of the issues facing rural communities in the early twenty-first century, and a genuine desire to see the church responding to these issues. For Gibson, the rural church has a unique story to tell about what it means to live in community with one's fellow creatures. This book is an attempt to explore that story, and to find ways in which the Church's members can live it. Tim Gibson is a writer and lecturer, with a particular interest in rural affairs, ethics and theology. He lives in rural Somerset and teaches at the Southern Theological Education & Training Scheme. 'In this thoughtful, reflective and imaginative book, Tim Gibson has given us an outstanding insight into rural ministry today. He offers a shrewd, perceptive and wise analysis of the opportunities and challenges that face the rural church. He is able to articulate the hope and prospects for future ministry, and offers a theologically vibrant and tenacious vision for the rural church. Spiritually vivid and imaginatively written, this is a superb book for all those who want to explore how the rural church can conduct its mission and ministry in today's world.' Martyn Percy, Principal, Ripon College Cuddesdon 'In this insightful and refreshing analysis of the rural church and countryside concerns (food, farming, rural services, landscape and leisure), Tim Gibson takes theology seriously and demonstrates that theology matters. Here is a sustained attempt in rural theology that is both worth the attention of clergy and accessible to lay people.' Leslie Francis, Professor of Religions and Education at University of Warwick, and Canon Theologian at Bangor Cathedral 'Dr Gibson offers an account of rural theology that is accessible, hopeful and realistic. It will be a valuable catalyst for discussion in very many rural contexts. His stress on the centrality of the eucharist is particularly timely and challenging at a juncture at which eucharistic life is tending to diminish within ever-larger groupings of churches. Warmly recommended.' Christopher Southgate, Research Fellow in Theology, University of Exeter

2010 Reprint of 1918 Edition. The Social Gospel movement was a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The movement applied Christian ethics to social problems, especially social justice, inequality, liquor, crime, racial tensions, slums, bad hygiene, child labor, weak labor unions, poor schools, and the danger of war. Theologically, the Social Gospel leaders were overwhelmingly post-millennialist in the sense that they believed the Second Coming could not happen until humankind had rid itself of social evils by human effort. Social Gospel leaders were predominantly associated with the Progressive Movement and most were theologically liberal, although they were typically more conservative when it came to their views on social issues. Walter Rauschenbusch was one of the leaders of this important Christian movement.

Nature around us and indeed, our own human nature are constantly changing. The question before us then is not if there will be change, but rather whether we will be conscious and conscientious about the course of that change. In Changing Human Nature, James Peterson helps us to think through what our part should be from a Christian perspective.