Given the largely Eurocentric nature of moral theology in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, what will it take to invest the theological community in the history and moral challenges of the Church in other parts of the world, especially Africa? What is to be gained for the whole Church when this happens in a deep and lasting way? In this timely and important study, Paulinus Ikechukwu Odozor brings greater theological clarity to the issue of the relationship between Christianity and African tradition in the area of ethical foundations. He also provides a constructive example of what fundamental moral theology done from an African and Christian (especially Catholic) moral theological point of view could look like.
Following a brief history of the development of African Christian theology, Odozor examines responses of African theologians to African tradition and Christian responses to the reality of non-Christian religions. In a context where the African religious experience and heritage are powerful sources of meaning and identity, Christian evangelization raises questions both about the African primal religions and about Christianity itself and its claims. Odozor takes up the subject of moral reasoning in an African Christian theological ethics and concludes with case studies that show how the African Church has tried to inculturate moral discourse on a religiously pluralistic continent and relate the healing gospel message to African situations. Students and scholars of moral theology and ethics and church leaders will profit from the issues raised in "Morality Truly Christian, Truly African."
"This is an ambitious book. The scholarship is sound and the author engages a range of authors and their views. Odozor takes seriously the critical and moral demands of Christian theology as well as those of African indigenous religions and their cultures. There is perhaps nothing so thoroughgoing on this topic since Benezet Bujo's "Foundations of an African Ethic: Beyond the Universal Claims of Western Morality."" --M. Shawn Copeland, Boston College

In 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer-a theologian and pastor-was executed by the Nazis for his resistance to their unspeakable crimes against humanity. He was only 39 years old when he died, but Bonhoeffer left behind volumes of work exploring theological and ethical themes that have now inspired multiple generations of scholars, students, pastors, and activists. This book highlights the ways Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work informs political theology and examines Bonhoeffer's contributions in three ways: historical-critical interpretation, critical-constructive engagement, and constructive-practical application. With contributions from a broad array of scholars from around the world, chapters range from historical analysis of Bonhoeffer's early political resistance language to accounts of Bonhoeffer-inspired, front-line resistance to white supremacists in Charlottesville, VA. This volume speaks to the ongoing relevance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's work and life in and out of the academy.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is many things to many people-committed pacifist, reluctant revolutionary, Protestant saint but in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Ethics of Formation, Ryan Huber argues that Bonhoeffer should be engaged as a Christian ethicist of formation. Huber demonstrates that formation lies at the heart of Bonhoeffer's ethical project and personal story, providing a third way between virtue and character ethics in contemporary Christian thought concerned with moral growth.

Ethics in Ancient Israel is a study of ethical thinking in ancient Israel from around the eighth to the second century BC. The evidence for this consists primarily of the Old Testament/ Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha, but also other ancient Jewish writings such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and various anonymous and pseudonymous texts from shortly before the New Testament period. Professor John Barton argues that there were several models for thinking about ethics, including a 'divine command' theory, something approximating to natural law, a virtue ethic, and a belief in human custom and convention. Moreover, he examines ideas of reward and punishment, purity and impurity, the status of moral agents and patients, imitation of God, and the image of God in humanity. Barton maintains that ethical thinking can be found not only in laws but also in the wisdom literature, in the Psalms, and in narrative texts. There is much interaction with recent scholarship in both English and German. The book features discussion of comparative material from other ancient Near Eastern cultures and a chapter on short summaries of moral teaching, such as the Ten Commandments. This innovative work should be of interest to those concerned with the interpretation of the Old Testament but also to students of ethics.

Many Christians find that today's increasingly secular world is not in line with their beliefs. And rather than turn away from society, they are faced with the options of trying to impose their beliefs on others or suppressing their faith. Either option provokes a stream of difficult questions about what it means to be a good Christian, and how a Christian life should be led. In Why You're Here John Stackhouse proposes another path for these people, one that might reconcile Christian beliefs with a world that is often perceived as being openly hostile to those beliefs. Moreover, Stackhouse offers a pragmatic theology that promotes effective action for the challenges of real life. This compact volume offers an accessible, concrete program for faithful Christian living in today's world. Written in engaging and lucid prose, Stackhouse speaks directly to these everyday Christians who are searching for straightforward advice on some of their most complex quandaries about the challenges inherent in staying true to the Bible's teachings. Why You're Here is a thoroughly readable and resolutely practical book designed to help people understand who they are in the sight of God, and therefore what they are to do according to God's calling on their lives here and now.

Dependency is a central aspect of human existence, as are dependent care relations: relations between caregivers and young children, persons with disabilities, or frail elderly persons. In this book, Sandra Sullivan-Dunbar argues that many prominent interpretations of Christian love either obscure dependency and care, or fail to adequately address injustice in the global social organization of care. Sullivan-Dunbar engages a wide-ranging interdisciplinary conversation between Christian ethics and economics, political theory, and care scholarship, drawing on the rich body of recent feminist work reintegrating dependency and care into the economic, political, and moral spheres. She identifies essential elements of a Christian ethic of love and justice for dependent care relations in a globalized care economy. She also suggests resources for such an ethic ranging from Catholic social thought, feminist political ethics of care, disability and vulnerability studies, and Christian theological accounts of the divine-human relation.

The goal of this book is to provide readers interested in questions about medical research with orientation concerning the latest controversial developments in gene and stem cell research. It explains the scientific basis and processes, throws light on the possible benefits and risks, and provides an ethical evaluation. At the core of the book is a stage model with which the possible medical applications of gene and stem cell research are arranged in four stages of medical and ethical responsibility.

This work, Radical Islam and Civil Conflict in Africa, is written by a two-time Fulbright-Hays Fellow who currently serves as course director of global and world history courses within the University of Maryland University College system. The author, Norman C. Rothman, Ph.D., has written numerous published works related to Islam. This work serves to highlight recent and continuous struggles between Islamic militant forces and civil societies in North Africa, West Africa, and East Africa. The countries that will represent these regions are Libya, Nigeria, and Somalia. These countries are currently witnessing conflicts with no end in sight. The book examines the roots of these conflicts and analyses the reasons for their continuance. It goes on to assess possible outcomes for these internecine struggles, which appear to have become endemic to these countries. This work also delves into the causes of the growth of radical movements and provides insight as to why they have attracted and continue to attract support. It concludes with recommendations for resolving these conflicts, which at present appear to be permanent and intractable. The book is directed to those who have both a general and specific interest in comparative religion, recent history, international relations, Africa, and Islam.

This volume includes three classic works by John Owen on sin, temptation, and repentance in the Christian life. The editors have made this difficult-to-read Puritan accessible for the modern reader without sacrificing Owen's work.

The conflict between Israel and Palestine is at the center of a firestorm of political controversy, religious zeal, and bloodshed in the Middle East. Many feel that they have a biblical obligation to 'stand with Israel' - but do we really understand the conflict? And is Zionism the true path to peace? An American Jew, Mark Braverman was transformed by witnessing firsthand the devastating consequences of the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians to bring peace to their land. From the bustling communities on either side of the Jerusalem barrier, to the historical intricacies of the Holocaust and South African apartheid, to the foremost voices in conflict resolution today, Braverman outlines the conflict's origins, gives Christians a biblical and historical basis for supporting both the state of Israel and Palestine, and offers a path of action both at home and abroad to initiate peace. Illuminating and provocative, this book will challenge what readers think they know about Israel and Palestine, and inspire them to help bring God's peace to the Holy Land.

Inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, these essays are the fruit of a series of seminars sponsored by the Center for Catholic Studies and the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota. With a special focus on the works of John Paul II (especially Veritatis Splendor and Fides et Ratio), the authors bring to light a host of considerations that set the work of his pontificate within the illuminating light of the living intellectual tradition.

Karl Heim (1874-1958) pragte als Theologe an den Universitaten Halle, Munster und seit 1920 in Tubingen sowie von 1920 bis 1948 als Fruhprediger an der Tubinger Stiftskirche Generationen von Pfarrern. Unter seinen Zuhoerern befanden sich auch viele Nicht-Theologen, denn Karl Heim konnte einerseits komplizierte naturwissenschaftliche Sachverhalte erstaunlich einfach und doch zutreffend elementarisieren und andererseits den christlichen Glauben mit diesen Ergebnissen in einen fruchtbaren Dialog bringen. Der 23. Jahrgang dieses Jahrbuches konzentriert sich auf das Verhaltnis von Evolution und Schoepfung einerseits sowie auf medizin- und gesellschaftsethisch relevante Problemstellungen andererseits. Auch mit diesem Jahrbuch wird die bleibende Bedeutung der Theologie Karl Heims fur eine dialogfahige Theologie im 21. Jahrhundert deutlich. Volume 23 of the Yearbook of the German Karl Heim Society presents a variety of articles. Most of them are devoted to the relationship between evolution and creation, and the remainder elucidates bioethical aspects. The authors want to show the enduring significance of Karl Heim's insistence on a dialogue between theology and the natural sciences, and to further the intention of the Karl Heim Society to present a biblical Christian orientation in a world shaped by technology and the natural sciences. Though the contributions are in German, an extensive summary in English is appended to each of them.

This book examines moral issues in public and private life from a religious but not devotional perspective. Rather than seeking to prove that one belief system or moral stance is right, it undertakes to help readers more fully understand the effect of religious beliefs and practices on ways of conceiving and addressing moral questions, without having to accept or to reject any specific religious outlook. It shows how the similarities between religions and the differences within any one religion are more important than the reverse. The book asks - Where do moral imperatives come from, and how do the answers found in religion and law interact? - How does the fact that a moral norm is grounded in religion affect our thinking about it? - What is the significance of the differences (and similarities) between religious and secular sources of moral norms?

There is a growing crisis in scientific research characterized by failures to reproduce experimental results, fraud, lack of innovation, and burn-out. In Science and Christian Ethics, Paul Scherz traces these problems to the drive by governments and business to make scientists into competitive entrepreneurs who use their research results to stimulate economic growth. The result is a competitive environment aimed at commodifying the world. In order to confront this problem of character, Scherz examines the alternative Aristotelian and Stoic models of reforming character, found in the works of Alasdair MacIntyre and Michel Foucault. Against many prominent virtue ethicists, he argues that what individual scientists need is a regime of spiritual exercises, such as those found in Stoicism as it was adopted by Christianity, in order to refocus on the good of truth in the face of institutional pressure. His book illuminates pressing issues in research ethics, moral education, and anthropology.

The principle of double effect has a long history, from scholastic disputations about self-defense and scandal to current debates about terrorism, torture, euthanasia, and abortion. Despite being widely debated, the principle remains poorly understood. In Intention, Character, and Double Effect, Lawrence Masek combines theoretical and applied questions into a systematic defense of the principle that does not depend on appeals to authority or intuitions about cases. Masek argues that actions can be wrong because they corrupt the agent's character and that one must consider the agent's perspective to determine which effects the agent intends. This defense of the principle clears up common confusions and overcomes critics' objections, including confusions about trolley and transplant cases and objections from neuroscience and moral psychology. This book will interest scholars and students in different fields of study, including moral philosophy, action theory, moral theology, and moral psychology. Its discussion of contemporary ethical issues and sparse use of technical jargon make it suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in applied ethics. The appendix summarizes the main cases that have been used to illustrate or to criticize the principle of double effect.

Using interdisciplinary methods, this book is a pioneering exploration of Asian understandings of human dignity and human rights. It encompasses rigorous scrutiny of dignity jurisprudence in major Asian apex courts, detailed philosophical analysis of dignity in religious traditions, and contextualized socio-political analysis of religious dignity discourse in several Asian societies. This is an innovative systematic survey of how human dignity is understood in Asia, demonstrating how those understandings converge and diverge with other parts of the world. Synthesising legal, philosophical, and sociological expertise, this volume furthers the dialogue between Asia and the West, and advances debates on whether human rights are universal or particular to any one region. As many of the world's liberal democracies are challenged by polarization and populism, this comparative study of human dignity broadens our horizons and offers a potential alternative to a rigidified social imagination.

Soul food has played a critical role in preserving Black history, community, and culinary genius. It is also a response to--and marker of--centuries of food injustice. Given the harm that our food production system inflicts upon Black people, what should soul food look like today? Christopher Carter's answer to that question merges a history of Black American foodways with a Christian ethical response to food injustice. Carter reveals how racism and colonialism have long steered the development of US food policy. The very food we grow, distribute, and eat disproportionately harms Black people specifically and people of color among the global poor in general. Carter reflects on how people of color can eat in a way that reflects their cultural identities while remaining true to the principles of compassion, love, justice, and solidarity with the marginalized. Both a timely mediation and a call to action, The Spirit of Soul Food places today's Black foodways at the crossroads of food justice and Christian practice.

Music does not make itself. It is made by people: professionals and amateurs, singers and instrumentalists, composers and publishers, performers and audiences, entrepreneurs and consumers. In turn, making music shapes those who make it-spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, socially, politically, economically-for good or ill, harming and healing. This volume considers the social practice of music from a Christian point of view. Using a variety of methodological perspectives, the essays explore the ethical and doctrinal implications of music-making. The reflections are grouped according to the traditional threefold ministry of Christ: prophet, priest, and shepherd: the prophetic role of music, as a means of articulating protest against injustice, offering consolation, and embodying a harmonious order; the pastoral role of music: creating and sustaining community, building peace, fostering harmony with the whole of creation; and the priestly role of music: in service of reconciliation and restoration, for individuals and communities, offering prayers of praise and intercession to God. Using music in priestly, prophetic, and pastoral ways, Christians pray for and rehearse the coming of God's kingdom-whether in formal worship, social protest, concert performance, interfaith sharing, or peacebuilding. Whereas temperance was of prime importance in relation to the ethics of music from antiquity to the early modern period, justice has become central to contemporary debates. This book seeks to contribute to those debates by means of Christian theological reflection on a wide range of musics: including monastic chant, death metal, protest songs, psalms and worship music, punk rock, musical drama, interfaith choral singing, Sting, and Daft Punk.

This book sets the scene for the deliberations on ethics and its application to healthcare in the twenty-first century. The word ethics, in classical Greek, means the "beliefs of the people" the study of what is right and good in human conduct and the justification of such claims. Without a doubt this task is not simply about setting up a list of rights and wrongs. Rather, it is a discussion, a process that helps tease out the real issues and find and teach ethical solutions to complex practical problems. The centrality of the patient is of prime consideration in this book, and the health of the individual patient is the first consideration in the teaching considerations discussed. Applied ethics in healthcare may have lost sight of what traditional ethics was trying to accomplish: a good life for good people over a lifetime in society with others. We must put biomedical ethics into perspective and develop a truly comprehensive approach to health care ethics. On the practical level, we need structures integrating givers ethical perspectives. But, there seems to be a gap and significant perception differences among healthcare providers' learning environments and actual professional situations. Hence, teaching ethics and healthcare providers values is important to bridge this gap.

This volume brings together a unique collection of legal, religious, ethical, and political perspectives to bear on debates concerning biotechnology patents, or 'patents on life'. The ever-increasing importance of biotechnologies has generated continual questions about how intellectual property law should treat such technologies, especially those raising ethical or social-justice concerns. Even after many years and court decisions, important contested issues remain concerning ownership of and rewards from biotechnology - from human genetic material to genetically engineered plants - and regarding the scope of moral or social-justice limitations on patents or licensing practices. This book explores a range of related issues, including questions concerning morality and patentability, biotechnology and human dignity, and what constitute fair rewards from genetic resources. It features high-level international, interfaith, and cross-disciplinary contributions from experts in law, religion, and ethics, including academics and practitioners, placing religious and secular perspectives into dialogue to examine the full implications of patenting life.

An insightful and fresh perspective of the Ten Commandments reveals how this ancient text is the underpinning for social justice, equality, and the foundation of society.

Each commandment is expanded beyond interpersonal morality to encompass the global economy and our hyper-connected age. Stealing, for example, is recast as the difference between the fair trade price of a commodity and what we pay. Keeping the Sabbath is recast as resistance to consumer culture, having enough.

The Ten Commandments are a resource for everyone, from the spiritual-but-not-religious to the deeply observant, who wants to resist injustice, heal our earth, and find personal dignity amid the free-for-alls of modern life.

We don't have to invent a bunch of new practices to meaningfully integrate our spirituality and politics. There is already a perfectly good set of ten of them, with as much progressive firepower as any of us can handle, that has existed for some 3000 years.

Introduction: The Ten Commandments Are Practices of Liberation

The First Commandment: You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me Dethrone the Modern Deities of Political, Social, and Corporate Power

The Second Commandment: Do Not Make for Yourself a Sculpted Image; Do Not Bow to Them, Do Not Serve Them Accept No Substitutes for God's Power of Liberation

The Third Commandment: Do Not Take the Name of God in Vain Defend the Goodness of God; Take Responsibility for Resistance and Change

The Fourth Commandment: Observe the Sabbath Day and Keep it Holy Squander One Day Every Week

The Fifth Commandment: Honor Your Father and Your Mother Stay Accountable to Where You Came From

The Sixth Commandment: Do Not Kill Renounce Human and Ecological Violence

The Seventh Commandment: Do Not Commit Adultery Stay In for the Long Run, Reject Throw-Away Culture

The Eighth Commandment: Do Not Steal Pay What Stuff Really Costs in Fair Wages and the Planet's Resources

The Ninth Commandment: Do Not Testify Against Your Neighbor As a Lying Witness Speak and Demand Truth in Every Sphere - Home, Corporations, Government

The Tenth Commandment: Do Not Covet Practice Your Liberation--You Have Enough, You Are Enough

Offers a faithful, constructive way to deal with dissent. What happens when we approach disagreement not as a problem to solve but as an opportunity to practice Christian virtue? In this book James Calvin Davis reclaims the biblical concept of forbearance to develop a theological ethic for faithful disagreement. Pointing to Ephesians and Colossians, in which Paul challenged his readers to "bear with each other" in spite of differences, Davis draws out a theologically grounded practice in which Christians work hard to maintain unity while still taking seriously matters on which they disagree. The practice of forbearance, Davis argues, offers Christians a dignified, graceful, and constructive way to deal with conflict. Forbearance can also strengthen the church's public witness, offering an antidote to the pervasive divisiveness present in contemporary culture.

In public debates over biotechnology, theologians, philosophers, and political theorists have proposed that biotechnology could have significant implications for human nature. They argue that ethical evaluations of biotechnologies that might affect human nature must take these implications into account. In this book, Gerald McKenny examines these important yet controversial arguments, which have in turn been criticized by many moral philosophers and professional bioethicists. He argues that Christian ethics is, in principle, committed to some version of the claim that human nature has normative status in relation to biotechnology. Showing how both criticisms and defences of this claim have often been facile, he identifies, develops, and critically evaluates three versions of the claim, and contributes a fourth, distinctively Christian version to the debate. Focusing on Christian ethics in conversation with secular ethics, McKenny's book is the first thorough analysis of a controversial contemporary issue.