This book presents the gospel as a sensemaking tool to critically examine five areas of personal leadership effectiveness, namely desire, identity, dignity, motive, and ambition. Every tipping point in changing the world for the better always involves leadership. Yet history also illustrates that even formidable leaders are prone to derailment and failures. Contrary to the popular idea that leaders need to enhance their self-efficacy to be effective, the focus of self is misguided because the self is the epicenter of the leadership problem. The author posits that the preoccupation with the self (and consequently, unbelief in the gospel) is the fundamental reason why leaders are blinded by power and control, create their own performance treadmill, live for the approval of others, and have myopic ambitions for things of this world. Drawing on biblical insights and scholarly research, the leadership principles outlined in the book and their street-level applications will equip both novice and seasoned leaders to begin and end well.

In the context of growing concern over climate change and other environmental pressures, Biblical Prophets and Contemporary Environmental Ethics explores what an ecological reading of the biblical text can contribute to contemporary environmental ethics. The Judeo-Christian tradition has been held partly to blame for a negative attitude to creation - one that has legitimised the exploitative use of the earth's resources. Hilary Marlow explores some of the thinking in the history of the Christian tradition that has contributed to such a perception, before discussing a number of approaches to reading the Old Testament from an ecological perspective.
Through a detailed exegetical study of the texts of the biblical prophets Amos, Hosea and First Isaiah, Marlow examines the portrayal of the relationship between YHWH the God of Israel, humanity and the non-human creation. In the course of this exegesis, searching questions emerge: what are the various understandings of the non-human creation that are present in the text? What assumptions are made about YHWH's relationship to the created world and how he acts within it? And what effect do the actions and choices of human beings have on the created world?
Following this close textual study, Marlow examines the problem of deriving ethical norms from the biblical text and discusses some key ethical debates in contemporary environmental theory. The book explores the potential contribution of the biblical exegesis to such debates and concludes by proposing an inter-relational model for reading the Old Testament prophets in the light of contemporary environmental ethics.

Please note this book is suitable for any student studying: Exam board: OCR Level: AS/A Level Subject: Religious Education First teaching: September 2016 First exams: June 2017 (AS) June 2018 (A Level) Oxford A Level Religious Studies for OCR is a brand new course developed by renowned authors Libby Ahluwalia and Robert Bowie for the 2016 OCR specification. This textbook has been endorsed by OCR and supports a deep engagement with philosophy, ethics and the study of Christianity using language and an approach accessible to all students. Key terms are clearly defined, and case studies and scenarios are used to give students a practical understanding of key theories and how they might be applied to the big ethical and philosophical questions of the day. The book includes a section on 'Developments in Christian Thought' to support the new requirement for a systematic study of a religious tradition. There is also dedicated support for developing students' essay-writing skills, as well as revision summaries and practice questions to ensure students feel prepared for their exam.

The philosophy of Albert Schweitzer has proved widely influential in modern thinking, especially in the field of ethics. His leading ethical idea can be summarized in the phrase "reverence for life" - namely, that good consists in maintaining and perfecting life, and evil consists in destroying and obstructing life. For Schweitzer, all life is sacred. Ethics thus deals with human attitudes and behavior toward all living beings.
Unlike many moral philosophers, Schweitzer argues that knowledge of human nature does not provide a sufficient foundation for any adequate moral theory. That is why he bases his ethics on much broader foundations, articulated in his philosophy of civilization and the philosophy of religion. Schweitzer argues that the material aspect of our civilization has become far more important than its spiritual counterpart. Even organized religion has put itself in the service of politics and economy, thereby losing its vitality and moral authority.
Schweitzer's ethics of reverence for life, argues Predrag Cicovacki, offers a viable alternative at a time when traditional ethical theories are found inadequate. Schweitzer's robust and un-dogmatic idealism may offer the best antidote to the prevailing relativism and nihilism of the postmodern epoch. His ethical vision directs us toward a new way of building a more just and more peaceful world. Collecting sixteen of Schweitzer's most effective essays, this volume serves as a compelling introduction to this remarkable thinker and humanist.

What might we learn if the study of ethics focused less on hard cases and more on the practices of everyday life? In Everyday Ethics, Michael Lamb and Brian Williams gather some of the world's leading scholars and practitioners of moral theology (including some GUP authors) to explore that question in dialogue with anthropology and the social sciences. Inspired by the work of Michael Banner, these scholars cross disciplinary boundaries to analyze the ethics of ordinary practices-from eating, learning, and loving thy neighbor to borrowing and spending, using technology, and working in a flexible economy. Along the way, they consider the moral and methodological questions that emerge from this interdisciplinary dialogue and assess the implications for the future of moral theology.

The monograph considers the relationships of ethical systems in the ancient Near East through a study of warfare in Judah, Israel and Assyria in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE. It argues that a common cosmological and ideological outlook generated similarities in ethical thinking. In all three societies, the mythological traditions surrounding creation reflect a strong connection between war, kingship and the establishment of order. Human kings' military activities are legitimated through their identification with this cosmic struggle against chaos, begun by the divine king at creation. Military violence is thereby cast not only as morally tolerable but as morally imperative. Deviations from this point of view reflect two phenomena: the preservation of variable social perspectives and the impact of historical changes on ethical thinking.The research begins the discussion of ancient Near Eastern ethics outside of Israel and Judah and fills a scholarly void by placing Israelite and Judahite ethics within this context, as well as contributing methodologically to future research in historical and comparative ethics.

The two-volume Cambridge History of Atheism offers an authoritative and up to date account of a subject of contemporary interest. Comprised of sixty essays by an international team of scholars, this History is comprehensive in scope. The essays are written from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including religious studies, philosophy, sociology, and classics. Offering a global overview of the subject, from antiquity to the present, the volumes examine the phenomenon of unbelief in the context of Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jewish societies. They explore atheism and the early modern Scientific Revolution, as well as the development of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and its continuing implications. The History also includes general survey essays on the impact of scepticism, agnosticism and atheism, as well as contemporary assessments of thinking. Providing essential information on the nature and history of atheism, The Cambridge History of Atheism will be indispensable for both scholarship and teaching, at all levels.

In der Kierkegaardforschung fehlt es bis dato an einer ausfA1/4hrlichen Rekonstruktion von Kierkegaards Begriff der Anerkennung. Die vorliegende Arbeit versteht sich als Versuch, Kierkegaards impliziten Begriff der 'Anerkennung' in Entweder/Oder und in Die Taten der Liebe aus den Begriffen der Wahl und der Liebe zu gewinnen. Es gilt zu zeigen, dass die Selbstwahl und die Selbstliebe als elementare Formen der Anerkennung zu verstehen sind. Damit ist gemeint, dass die FAhigkeit zur Selbstwahl und zur Selbstliebe Voraussetzung der gegenseitigen Anerkennung ist.

Christians of all theological and political backgrounds ought to be ardent advocates of advancing, not curbing, freedom of speech within their own ranks and in the increasingly secular societies in which they live. Christians, Free Expression, and the Common Good presents the concept of free expression, and its opposite of censorship, as a tool for the Western church (and the U.S. church in particular) to respond more wisely and effectively to controversy. In their most severe form, these controversies lead to both formal and informal limitations on free expression, as Christians seek to silence those with whom they most stridently disagree. This study is timely given the Western church's current state of flux as it tries to determine its identity and mission in a post-Christian setting. Christians, Free Expression, and the Common Good will appeal to a wide range of thoughtful religious scholars and others who would welcome ideas on how the church should refine and live out its mission in the early twenty-first century.

Sterben, Sterbehilfe (Beschaftigung mit "Dignitas") und Tod sind in den letzten Jahren - (auch) durch die Thematisierung in den Medien - verstarkt zu Objekten kontroverser Diskussionen in Deutschland geworden. Im Kontext dieser Entwicklung differenziert diese Arbeit elementare Wortbedeutungen, ordnet diese Begriffe in die aktuelle Debatte um unterschiedliche Formen der Sterbehilfe ein und entwickelt hieraus eine eigene Perspektive zum individuellen und gesellschaftlichen Umgang mit Sterben und Tod. Die Arbeit mit Sterbenden und deren Angehoerigen stellt unter anderem fur AErzte, Juristen, Theologen und Sozialarbeiter eine besondere Aufgabe dar. Trotz der oeffentlichen Diskussion uber Sterben, Sterbehilfe und Tod werden diese Themen im gesellschaftlichen und privaten Zusammenleben meist tabuisiert. Dieses Buch dient der Professionalisierung zuvor genannter Berufsgruppen und moechte einen Teil zur gesellschaftlichen Enttabuisierung von Sterben und Tod beitragen.

Greening the Children of God uncovers the theological roots of the growing ethical imperative to reconnect children to their natural environment. In their different traditions, theologians, environmental educators and psychologists all affirm that knowing their place in the natural environment helps a child develop an intersubjective 'ecological' identity that nurtures virtues of mutuality and care. During the Scientific Revolution this ethical harmony was threatened as science and moral theology began to adopt different epistemological methods, something the Anglican priest and poet Thomas Traherne was all too aware of. Traherne insisted that education should promote a child's attention to the moral dimensions woven into 'the tapestry of creation', and professed that play, wonder, and a sensory relationship to diverse creatures play a pedagogical role in a child's moral formation. Greening the Children of God establishes the contemporary significance of Traherne's moral theory in conversation with child psychologists, educators, philosophers, and theologians who know that cultivating a place-based relationship to the local ecology helps children perceive creation's deep mutuality and develop a moral identity in the image of a caring Creator.

What is the state of contemporary American morality? From their original conception in Christian scripture to their assimilation into Western culture, the 'Seven Deadly Sins' - lust, greed, envy, pride, and all the rest - have guided human morality, steering human behavior and psychology away from evil and toward a full embrace of the good. But their hold on modern life is increasingly tenuous. Indeed, one may observe that these days, deadly sin is far more common and more commonly practiced than its virtuous counterparts - humility, charity, kindness, industriousness, and chastity. Without greed, there is no economy; without anger, no politics; and without pride and envy, surely less motivation and competition would exist. James D. Wright carefully examines the complexities and ambiguities in modern society in the context of the seven deadly sins and their corresponding virtues. Are we all lost souls, condemned by our immoral deeds, or are the trappings of older sin deteriorating? Is it time, finally, to reconsider the classifications of evil and good? Wright uses each chapter to consider how the social sciences have operationalized each 'sin', how they have been studied, and what lessons have been learned over time. He reviews recent trends and contemplates the societal costs and benefits of the behaviors in question. Lost Souls emerges, then, as a meditation on contemporary sin, concluding that the line between guilt and innocence, right and wrong, is often very thin.

This book deals with the identity of the Torah that Yahweh promised he would write on the hearts of New Covenant participants, as prophesied in Jeremiah 31:33 and understood later in New Testament times by Paul. This theological and exegetical monograph is an invaluable reference work and textbook for all theological seminaries and Christian religious departments of universities worldwide. Pastors and virtually all Christians interested in reading or researching Paul and the subject of Gospel/law controversy in biblical studies will benefit from it. The book's investigative study of the history of interpretation of the church's teaching on the subject from the early church to modern theological era, and Second Temple Judaism's writings on the topic, is unsurpassed. No work currently existing on this subject can compete with this book's historical survey and exegetical analysis, reading Jeremiah and Paul contextually on the issue.

An ancient question asks what role moral formation ought to play in education. It leads to such questions as, do intellectual and moral formation belong together? Is it possible to form the mind and neglect the heart? Is it wise? These perennial questions take on new significance today, when education-especially, higher education-has become a defining feature in the lives of young people. Throughout his more than 40 years in academia, John Garvey has reflected on the relationship between intellectual and moral formation, especially in Catholic higher education. For 12 years as the President of The Catholic University of America, he made the cultivation of moral virtue a central theme on campus, highlighting its significance across all aspects of University culture, from University policy to campus architecture. During his two decades of presiding at commencement exercises, first as Dean of Boston College Law School and then as President of The Catholic University of America, Garvey made a single virtue the centerpiece of his remarks each year. The Virtues is the fruit of those addresses. More reflective than analytical, its purpose is to invite conversation about what it means to live well. Following Catholic tradition, The Virtues places the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love at the center of the moral life, and the cardinal virtues-justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence-with them. Alongside these major virtues, Garvey considers a collection of "little virtues," habits that assist and accompany us in small but important ways on the path to goodness. Though he treats each virtue individually, a common thread unites his reflections. "The intellectual life depends on the moral life," Garvey writes. "Without virtue we cannot sustain the practices necessary for advanced learning. In fact, without virtue, it's hard to see what the purpose of the university is. Learning begins with love (for the truth). If we don't have that, it's hard to know why we would bother with education at all." The Virtues invites its readers, especially students, to appreciate that the cultivation of virtue is indispensable to success, academic or otherwise, and more importantly, essential to their ultimate aim, a life well lived.

Winner of the 2018 American Board and Academy of Psychoanalysis (ABAPsa) prize for best Edited book Temporality has always been a central preoccupation of modern philosophy, and shame has been a major theme in contemporary psychoanalysis. To date, however, there has been little examination of the critical connection between these core experiences. Although they deeply implicate each other, no single book has focused upon their profound interrelationship. Temporality and Shame highlights the many dimensions of that reality. A core point of this book is that shame can be a teacher, and a crucial one, in evaluating our ethical and ontological position in the world. Granting the fact that shame can be toxic and terrible, we must remember that it is also what can orient us in the difficult task of reflection and consciousness. Shame enables us to become more fully present in the world and authentically engage in the flow of temporality and the richness of its syncopated dimensionality. Such a deeply honest ethos, embracing the jarring awareness of shame and the always-shifting temporalities of memory, can open us to a fuller presence in life. This is the basic vision of Temporality and Shame. The respective contributors discuss temporality and shame in relation to clinical and theoretical aspects of psychoanalysis, philosophy, anthropology, and genocide, as well as the question of evil, myth and archetype, history and critical studies, the 'discipline of interiority', and literary works. Temporality and Shame provides valuable insights and a rich and engaging variety of ideas. It will appeal to psychotherapists and psychoanalysts, philosophers and those interested in the basic philosophical grounds of experience, and anthropologists and people engaged in cultural studies and critical theory.

Addresses the revised CCEA Religious Ethics specification for GCE Religious Studies and covers Units AS 7 and A2 7. Covers the foundations, principles and practice of ethics and its application in society and explores both religious and non-religious ethics, and compares/contrasts them. Tasks and questions provided throughout. Includes material on other aspects of human experience. Contents: 1 Deontological Approaches to Moral Decision Making 2 Teleological Approaches to Moral Decision Making 3 Life and Death Issues 4 Developments in Bioethics 5 Moral Theory 6 Global Rights (1): The Nature of Rights 7 Global Rights (2): Sexual Identity and Gender Justice 8 Global Issues (1): War and Peace 9 Global Issues (2): Justice, Law and Punishment 10 Synoptic Assessment: Conscience, Freedom and Tolerance Bibliography Glossary Index

Modern medicine has produced many wonderful technological breakthroughs that have extended the limits of the frail human body. However, much of the focus of this medical research has been on the physical, often reducing the human being to a biological machine to be examined, understood, and controlled. This book begins by asking whether the modern medical milieu has overly objectified the body, unwittingly or not, and whether current studies in bioethics are up to the task of restoring a fuller understanding of the human person. In response, various authors here suggest that a more theological/religious approach would be helpful, or perhaps even necessary. Presenting specific perspectives from Judaism, Christianity and Islam, the book is divided into three parts: "Understanding the Body," "Respecting the Body," and "The Body at the End of Life." A panel of expert contributors-including philosophers, physicians, and theologians and scholars of religion- answer key questions such as: What is the relationship between body and soul? What are our obligations toward human bodies? How should medicine respond to suffering and death? The resulting text is an interdisciplinary treatise on how medicine can best function in our societies. Offering a new way to approach the medical humanities, this book will be of keen interest to any scholars with an interest in contemporary religious perspectives on medicine and the body.

What is a human? Are humans those with human DNA, those in possession of traits like rationality, or those made in the image of God? The debate over what makes human beings unique has raged for centuries. Many think that if society accepts the wrong definition of what it is to be human, people will look at their neighbor as more of an animal, object, or machine-making maltreatment more likely. In the longest running claim, for over 150 years critics have claimed that taking a Darwinist definition results in people treating each other more like animals. Despite their seriousness, these claims have never been empirically investigated. In this groundbreaking book John H. Evans shows that the definitions promoted by biologists and philosophers actually are associated with less support for human rights. Members of the public who agree with these definitions are less willing to sacrifice to stop genocides and are more supportive of buying organs from poor people, of experimenting on prisoners against their will, and of torturing people to potentially save lives. It appears that the critics are right. However, Evans finds that few Americans agree with these academic definitions. Looking at how most of the public defines humanity, we see a much more nuanced picture. In a fascinating account, he shows that the dominant definitions are unlikely to lead to human rights abuses. He concludes that the critics are right about the definitions of a human promoted by academic biologists and philosophers, and are therefore justified in their vigilance. However, because at present few Americans agree with these definitions, the academic definitions would have to spread much more extensively before impacting how the general public acts. Evans' book is a major corrective to the more than century-long debate about the impact of definitions of a human.

How can teachers introduce Islam to students when daily media headlines can prejudice students' perception of the subject? Should Islam be taught differently in secular universities than in colleges with a clear faith-based mission? What are strategies for discussing Islam and violence without perpetuating stereotypes? The contributors of Teaching Islamic Studies in the Age of ISIS, Islamophobia, and the Internet address these challenges head-on and consider approaches to Islamic studies pedagogy, Islamophobia and violence, and suggestions for how to structure courses. These approaches acknowledge the particular challenges faced when teaching a topic that students might initially fear or distrust. Speaking from their own experience, they include examples of collaborative teaching models, reading and media suggestions, and ideas for group assignments that encourage deeper engagement and broader thinking. The contributors also share personal struggles when confronted with students (including Muslim students) and parents who suspected the courses might have ulterior motives. In an age of stereotypes and misrepresentations of Islam, this book offers a range of means by which teachers can encourage students to thoughtfully engage with the topic of Islam.

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.

How can teachers introduce Islam to students when daily media headlines can prejudice students' perception of the subject? Should Islam be taught differently in secular universities than in colleges with a clear faith-based mission? What are strategies for discussing Islam and violence without perpetuating stereotypes? The contributors of Teaching Islamic Studies in the Age of ISIS, Islamophobia, and the Internet address these challenges head-on and consider approaches to Islamic studies pedagogy, Islamophobia and violence, and suggestions for how to structure courses. These approaches acknowledge the particular challenges faced when teaching a topic that students might initially fear or distrust. Speaking from their own experience, they include examples of collaborative teaching models, reading and media suggestions, and ideas for group assignments that encourage deeper engagement and broader thinking. The contributors also share personal struggles when confronted with students (including Muslim students) and parents who suspected the courses might have ulterior motives. In an age of stereotypes and misrepresentations of Islam, this book offers a range of means by which teachers can encourage students to thoughtfully engage with the topic of Islam.

This book is a contribution to the nascent discourse on global health and biomedical research ethics involving Muslim populations and Islamic contexts. It presents a rich sociological account about the ways in which debates and questions involving Islam within the biomedical research context are negotiated - a perspective which is currently lacking within the broader bioethics literature. The book tackles some key understudied areas including: role of faith in moral deliberations within biomedical research ethics, the moral anxiety and frustration experienced by researchers when having to negotiate multiple moral sources and how the marginalisation of women, the prejudice and abuse faced by groups such as sex workers and those from the LGBT community are encountered and negotiated in such contexts. The volume provides a valuable resource for researchers and scholars in this area by providing a systematic review of ethical guidelines and a rich case-based account of the ethical issues emerging in biomedical research in contexts where Islam and the religious moral commitments of Muslims are pertinent. The book will be essential for those conducting research in low and middle income countries that have significant Muslim populations and for those in Muslim-minority settings. It will also appeal to researchers and scholars in religious studies, social sciences, philosophy, anthropology and theology, as well as the fields of biomedical ethics, Islamic ethics and global health..

This volume provides a comprehensive resource for those wishing to understand the German theologian, pastor, and resistance conspirator Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) and his writings. During his lifetime he made important contributions to many of the major areas of theology: ecclesiology, creation, Christology, discipleship, and ethics. The Oxford Handbook of Dietrich Bonhoeffer surveys, assesses, and presents the field of research and debates of Bonhoeffer and his legacy, as well as of previous Bonhoeffer scholarship. Featuring contributions from leading Bonhoeffer scholars, historians, theologians, and ethicists, many essays draw attention to Bonhoeffer's positive contributions, while several essays also identify limits and problems with his thinking as it stands. Divided into five parts, the first section provides a detailed outline of Bonhoeffer's biography and the contexts that gave rise to his theology. The contributors explore the dynamic relationship between Bonhoeffer's life and theology. Section two provides rigorous engagements with and assessments of Bonhoeffer's theology on its own terms. Part three demonstrates how Bonhoeffer's ethical claims and engagements are deeply integrated with theological commitments. The fourth section showcases some of the best work drawing upon Bonhoeffer for engaging contemporary challenges, including feminism, race, public theology in South Africa, and contemporary philosophy. In recent decades, Bonhoeffer's theology has provoked significant critical reflection on social and cultural issues. The essays in this section exemplify how his writings can continue to contribute to such reflection today. The fifth and final section consists of essays on resources for the contemporary study of Bonhoeffer and his theology, including sources and texts, biographies and portraits, and readings and receptions. These essays also address pressing historiographical issues and problems surrounding writing about Bonhoeffer's life and theology. This authoritative collection draws together and assesses the very best of existing research on Bonhoeffer and promotes new avenues for research on Bonhoeffer.

Conventional wisdom holds that attempts to combine religion and politics will produce unlimited violence. Concepts such as jihad, crusade, and sacrifice need to be rooted out, the story goes, for the sake of more bounded and secular understandings of violence. Ted Smith upends this dominant view, drawing on Walter Benjamin, Giorgio Agamben, and others to trace the ways that seemingly secular politics produce their own forms of violence without limit. He brings this argument to life--and digs deep into the American political imagination--through a string of surprising reflections on John Brown, the nineteenth-century abolitionist who took up arms against the state in the name of a higher law. Smith argues that the key to limiting violence is not its separation from religion, but its reconnection to richer and more critical modes of religious reflection. Only political theology can keep secular politics secular. A historical and theoretical intervention, "Weird John Brown" is also a constructive theological proposal for rethinking the nature, meaning, and exercise of violence, both human and divine.