Kathryn B. Alexander argues that natural beauty is a source of religious insight into the need and way of salvation, and this project develops a theological aesthetics of nature and beauty with an aim toward cultivating a theological and ethical framework for redeemed life as participation in ecological community. With interdisciplinary verve, engaging systematic, philosophical, and art theory systems of aesthetics, the volume fosters the cultivation of the sense of beauty through creative, religious, and sacramental experience. All three types, in fact, are critically necessary, as the author argues, in eliciting hope for ecological redemption. This volume makes a vital contribution to the systematic and philosophical framework for ecological theology, aesthetics, and theological ethics.

In Patristics and Catholic Social Thought: Hermeneutical Models for a Dialogue, Brian Matz argues that scholars and proponents of the modern Catholic social tradition can gain from the use of ancient texts for contemporary socioethical formation. Although it is impossible to expect a one-to-one correspondence between the social ideas of early church theologians, such as Augustine, and those of modern Catholic social thought, this book offers four hermeneutical models that will facilitate a fruitful dialogue between the two worlds. The result is a challenge to modern Christian ethicists to think more deeply about their work in light of the perspective of those who trod a similar path centuries ago. Matz first examines an "authorial intent" hermeneutical model, as articulated in the philosophies of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Wilhelm Dilthey. The second is a "distanciation" model, relying on the thought of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricoeur. The third is a "normativity of the future" model, so named by its proponents, Reimund Bieringer and Mary Elsbernd. The fourth is a "new intellectual history" model, which relies on contemporary literary-critical theories. In a series of case studies, Matz applies each model to two early Christian sermons on the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man and, in so doing, illustrates that each one draws out different social ideas. Although each model ultimately bears fruit for Catholic social thought today, Matz concludes that the "normativity of the future" model is the one best suited to a productive use of early Christian texts in contemporary Catholic social thought.

For the living, death has a moral dimension. When we confront death and dying in our own lives and in the lives of others, we ask questions about the good, right, and fitting as they relate to our experiences of human mortality. When others die, the living are left with moral questions - questions that often generate personal inquiry as to whether a particular death was "good" or whether it was tragic, terrifying, or peaceful. In The Ethics of Death, the authors, one a philosopher and one a religious studies scholar, undertake an examination of the deaths that we experience as members of a larger moral community. Their respectful and engaging dialogue highlights the complex and challenging issues that surround many deaths in our modern world and helps readers frame thoughtful responses. Unafraid of difficult topics, Steffen and Cooley fully engage suicide, physician assisted suicide, euthanasia, capital punishment, abortion, and war as areas of life where death poses moral challenges.

Gift and Communion offers a critical presentation of John Paul II's theology of the body, understood in the light of Christian theological tradition. The main thesis of the book is that John Paul II's theology of the body forms a new, inspiring approach to Christian ethics and the theology of marriage and family, as well as to theological anthropology. A central thrust of Gift and Communion is to treat theology of the body - as it deserves - in all its philosophical and theological seriousness and to present it as an important stage in the historical development of Catholic theology. This new approach combines a hermeneutical, post-modern reading of the holy scriptures with an attempt to interpret the biblical text in the light of important currents of Western philosophy as well as Catholic theological tradition. Gift and Communion critically evaluates the method, fundamental notions, and significance of John Paul II's thought, places his thought in the context of contemporary challenges to Christian belief and presents it as an important stage in the historical development of Catholic tradition.

Robin Gill's A Textbook of Christian Ethics continues to be popular with students and lecturers - it is difficult to find another textbook in the field that combines primary texts with extensive analysis and commentary. This 4th edition has been extensively revised and it incorporates up-to-date developments in the field of Christian ethics. Gill retains all the popular features of the previous editions, including its layout and structure. This new edition focuses more strongly throughout on current debates, which are expanded on a variety of topics, such as global Christianity, global economics, euthanasia and global justice or the environment. Gill uses modern texts by William Schweiker, Mark Allman, and Rowan Williams, alongside the classical texts from Augustine, Aquinas and Luther. Gill analyses these texts in a systematic and balanced way, examining differing ethical positions and arguments together with the social and historical factors which shaped them.

Over the last several decades, perceptive observers of Western civilization have documented what virtually everyone has perceived: as the old foundations of society have toppled, morality and personal character have been set adrift and often vanished altogether. How can character be cultivated when it seems no one is willing or able to provide a definitive description of character to which humans should aspire? Equipped with explicit texts and a rich heritage detailing the content of human character, it would seem that Christianity is ideally positioned to address this problem. Yet even the church has often been complicit in undermining and eviscerating a rich, meaningful account of character. While the reasons for this are many and complicated, one of the more potent singular factors is actually theological. Contemporary Lutheranism, in particular, has struggled with the appropriate place of morality and character formation, as these pursuits often have been perceived as at odds with the central Christian doctrine of justification. A Case for Character explores this problem and argues that Christian doctrine, specifically as articulated within a Lutheran framework, is altogether capable of encouraging a robust pursuit of character formation while maintaining a faithful expression of justification by grace alone through faith alone.

As demonstrated in any conflict, war is violent and causes grave harms to innocent persons, even when fought in compliance with just war criteria. In this book, Rosemary Kellison presents a feminist critique of just war reasoning, with particular focus on the issue of responsibility for harm to noncombatants. Contemporary just war reasoning denies the violence of war by suggesting that many of the harms caused by war are necessary, though regrettable, injuries for which inflicting agents bear no responsibility. She challenges this narrow understanding of responsibility through a feminist ethical approach that emphasizes the relationality of humans and the resulting asymmetries in their relative power and vulnerability. According to this approach, the powerful individual and collective agents who inflict harm during war are responsible for recognizing and responding to the vulnerable persons they harm, and thereby reducing the likelihood of future violence. Kellison's volume goes beyond abstract theoretical work to consider the real implications of an important ethical problem.

An abridged edition to include: The Problem - Religious Affiliation & Social Stratification - The Spirit of Capitalism - Luther's Conception of the Calling - Task of the Investigation - The Practical Ethics of the Ascetic Branches of Protestantism - The Religious Foundations of Worldly Asceticism - Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism - Endnotes

Rebecca Todd Peters argues for an ethic of solidarity as a new model for how people of faith in the first world can live with integrity in the midst of global injustice and how we can shape our lives in ways that move us toward a more just future. Solidarity Ethics seeks to address concretely the economic and social structures that undergird the globalized context of the contemporary era and the problems brought to light within those 'vanishing' boundaries. Seeing religious communities as the primary source for moral and social education, Peters argues for a concrete ethics rooted in the Christian tradition of justice and transformation generative of deep patterns of solidarity and relationality. Utilizing these theologically rich resources, a substantive ethics of relational reflection, action, and construction is provided as an avenue for building viable strategies for social transformation.

Twenty-first century's nightly news can't pass by without running another story on religious conflict or clashes. While these modern-day battles play out for the world to see, the issues that act as a catalyst for them are deeply embedded in ancient texts that claim to contain absolute certainties. An eye-opening and vitally-important new book has burst upon the literary scene called Allah, Jesus, and Yahweh: The Gods That Failed. The author, Gordon Harrison, conducts a definitive expose of the ravages caused by religion and breaks new ground in the world of investigative literature. In this riveting history of three of the world's major religions-Islam, Christianity, and Judaism-this book explores the relationship between belief and the suspension of logic with its consequential suffering. Beginning with the September 480 BCE Battle of Marathon, the author traces the spread of Eastern belief systems (and the three major religions in particular) from the Middle East into Europe and the rest of the world. Citing examples of how fanatic elements of each faith have caused war, bloodshed, confusion and suffering, Harrison makes his case for reason and freethinking. As the author notes the parlance in vogue for this present invasion is a clash of civilizations-East versus West But this is not entirely the case. There is a clash, but we have confused the combatants. Many in the West do not intend to fight for the preservation of Christianity; some in the East feel the same about Islam. What we will defend is freedom, democracy, and the values of the Enlightenment versus submission, dictatorship, and the buzz of the hive mind. A colossal clash of ideals is underway between the Enlightenment and the Army of the Night-those who "know" they have absolute certainty without evidence. Religion is certainty without proof; science is proof without certainty. From religion to science, it has been a long night's journey into light. Harrison asks the reader to hold his hand, walk with him through these pages, and see the glory and the horror we have created. Since its release, the book has garnered a consistent string of rave reviews-here are three: This is an extremely impressive book, one that should enlighten any open-minded reader, theist and non-theist alike. Harrison transports the reader from the ancient battle at Marathon across two millennia, following the march of civilization to the present day. He shows in a clear and engaging manner the moral corruption that is inherent in the ancient texts that continue to serve as the scriptural foundations of modern religions. His compelling mixture of philosophy, theology, astronomy, psychology and physics, presented always in a very accessible and entertaining style, persuasively demonstrates how science illuminates and promotes understanding while religion ossifies thinking patterns and all too often produces intergroup conflict. I highly recommend this book to all. By James Alcock, Professor of Psychology at York University, Toronto Something that worked really well for me was the author's use of personal anecdotes to illustrate some of his arguments. The one that really stood out was the story about Mother Courage. The author re-creates his experience with the bear and her cubs very vividly for the reader. I found it not only very germane to his point about the presence of morality in nature, but also very moving. This book deserves a wide readership. By Dirk Verhulst, English Teacher. Hilarious and powerful Equal to anything written by Hitchens, Harris, Dawkins, and Dennett, the Four Horsemen of the Anti-Apocalypse. Allah, Jesus, and Yahweh takes a deeper view of time and a more humorous Mark Twain narrative approach than those authors do. By Bill Walker, Freethinker"

This broadly adopted textbook weds literary and historical approaches to focus on the New Testament's structure and meaning. Anatomy of the New Testament is systematic, critical, and reliable in its scope and content.This seventh edition has been revised throughout, to take account of current trends in scholarship and to discuss important interpretative issues, such as the Gospel of Thomas. Each chapter includes two new features, Have You Learned It? offering questions for analysis and synthesis What Do They Mean? presenting definitions of key terms to enhance student comprehension and critical thinking. The text is augmented by numerous sidebars to stimulate discussion of matters "Behind," "Within," and "Beyond the New Testament."

Description: From intellectual inquiry to spiritual practice to social reform, Pietism has exerted an enormous influence on various forms of Christianity and on Western culture more generally. However, this contribution remains largely unacknowledged or misunderstood in Anglo-American contexts because negative stereotypes--some undeserved, others deserved--tend to cast Pietism as a quietistic and sectarian form of religion interested in a narrow set of individualistic and spiritual concerns. In this volume, scholars from a variety of disciplines offer a corrective to this misunderstanding, highlighting the profound theological, cultural, and spiritual contribution of Pietism and what they term the ""pietist impulse."" The essays in this volume demonstrate that Pietism was a movement of great depth and originality that was not merely concerned with the ""pious soul and its God."" Rather, Pietists were from the beginning concerned with issues of social and ecclesial reform, the nature of history and historical inquiry, the shape and purpose of theology and theological education, the missional task of the church, and social justice and political engagement. In addition, the essays collected here fruitfully raise the question of the ongoing relevance of Pietism and the ""pietist impulse"" for contemporary problems and questions across disciplines and in the church at large. Endorsements: ""Understanding Pietism is critical for grasping the modern manifestations of Protestantism in Europe and North America. This impressive volume illustrates both the diversity and range of American research on Pietism and its promise for scholars on both sides of the Atlantic."" --Hartmut Lehmann Max-Planck-Institut fur Geschichte, Gottingen ""The editors of The Pietist Impulse have assembled a deep and far-ranging collection on an important theme in the history and practice of Christianity. Leading scholars from a variety of fields investigate a unifying theme in a refreshing number of methodological, chronological, and geographic permutations. These works demonstrate the vitality, the centrality, and the many possibilities of Pietist studies today."" --Katherine Carte Engel Texas A&M University About the Contributor(s): Christian T. Collins Winn is Associate Professor of Historical and Systematic Theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is author of ""Jesus is Victor "" The Significance of the Blumhardts for the Theology of Karl Barth (2008) and Series Editor for the Blumhardt Series (Cascade Books). Christopher Gehrz is Associate Professor of History and coordinator of the Christianity and Western Culture program at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. G. William Carlson is Professor of History and Political Science at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of numerous articles on Baptist General Conference history, Swedish Pietism, religion in the Soviet Union, and comparative evangelical political thought. Eric Holst is a graduate of Bethel Seminary, with an interest in contextual theology and theories of Christian education.

How can North Americans come to terms with the lamentable clash between indigenous and settler cultures, faiths, and attitudes toward creation? Showcasing a variety of voices-both traditional and Christian, native and non-native-Buffalo Shout, Salmon Cry offers up alternative histories, radical theologies, and poetic, life-giving memories that can unsettle our souls and work toward reconciliation. This book is intended for all who are interested in healing historical wounds of racism, stolen land, and cultural exploitation. Essays on land use, creation, history, and faith appear among poems and reflections by people across ethnic and religious divides. The writers do not always agree-in fact, some are bound to raise readers' defenses. But they represent the hard truths that we must hear before reconciliation can come. 360 Pages.

Having taught on ethics in Africa for almost a decade, James Nkansah-Obrempong presents a work that goes some way to addressing the dearth of materials on ethics that combine African social, religious, cultural and moral values with biblical and theological values. Integrating these from African, Western and biblical contexts Nkansah demonstrates how important they are for dealing with contemporary moral and social issues facing the church in Africa and African societies. The book develops a theoretical, biblical and theological foundation for Theological Ethics and uses this to address the broader issues that affect the socio-political and economic life of African people and the church.

Walking with Faith addresses a long-standing need to develop the faith-related dimensions of Christian moral life and explore their implications. It responds to Vatican II's exhortation that theological studies be renewed through a lively contact with the mystery of Christ and the history of salvation. Accordingly, this book examines the relationship between faith and moral life in the Scriptures and acknowledges the normative quality of the biblical texts. It reviews the long experience of the Church, paying special attention to history, worship, and intellectual currents. These dimensions of Christian life show the relationship between faith and moral life at any given time and allow the actions of one generation to have effects that extend far into the future. Walking with Faith promotes an understanding of contemporary pastoral and theological issues and encourages a deep and informed approach to Christian life.

This authoritative book is the most comprehensive examination ever of the sacredness of human life. Never before has one volume explored this subject in such a multifaceted way, encompassing biblical roots, theological elaborations, historical cases, and contemporary ethical perspectives. Tracing the concept of the sacredness of human life from Scripture through church history to the present day, David Gushee argues that viewing human life as sacred is one of the most precious legacies of biblical faith -- albeit one that the church has too often failed to uphold. Besides providing a masterful historical survey, Gushee's discussion covers the many current ethical challenges and perspectives that will impact the survival and flourishing of human life, including biotechnology, the death penalty, abortion, human rights, nuclear weapons, just war theory, women's rights, and creation care. Gushee's Sacredness of Human Life is a game-changing book that will set the standard for all future discussions of this key ethical concept.

The choice of whether or not to consume animals is more than merely a dietary one. It frequently reflects deep ethical commitments or religious convictions that serve as the bedrock of an entire lifestyle. Proponents of vegetarianism frequently infuriate nonvegetarians, who feel that they're being morally condemned because of what they choose to eat. Vegetarians are frequently infuriated by what they consider to be the nonvegetarians' disregard for the environment and animal-suffering.
Vegetarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed offers a much needed survey of the different arguments offered by ethical vegetarians and their critics. In a rigorous but accessible manner, the author scrutinizes the strengths and weaknesses of arguments in defense of vegetarianism based on compassion, rights, interests, eco-feminism, environmentalism, anthrocentrism, and religion. Authors examined include Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Carol J. Adams, and Kathryn Paxton George.
As the global climate crisis worsens, population increases, and fossil fuels disappear, ethical and public policy questions about the ethics of diet will become ever more urgent. This book is a useful resource for thinking through the questions.

This book reconstructs the cornerstones of Jesus's moral teachings about how to lead a good, even exemplary, human life. It does so in a way that is compatible with the most prominent, competing versions of the historical Jesus. The work also contrast Jesus' understanding of the best way to lead our lives with that of Friedrich Nietzsche. Both Jesus and Nietzsche were self-consciously moral revolutionaries. Jesus refashioned the imperatives of Jewish law to conform to what he was firmly convinced was the divine will. Nietzsche aspired to transvalue the dominant values of his time -which themselves were influenced greatly by Christianity- in service of what he took to be a higher vision. The interplay of these radical versions of the good human life, seasoned with critical commentary emerging from modern findings in the sciences and humanities, opens possibilities and lines of inquiry that can inform our choices in answering that enduring, paramount question, "How should we live our lives?"

"Humility Matters" makes the claims that humility is for a disciple of Jesus Christ what enlightenment is for a Buddhist, realization for a Hindu, surrender for a Muslim, and righteousness for a Jew. It is the unmistakable character of one who has accepted the vocation to undertake the spiritual journey. It is at the core of our experience of life in Christ.

Meg Funk guides readers deeper into a life of humility by following the movement of what the early Christians called the four renunciations: to renounce our former way of life, our thoughts of our former way of life, our self-made thoughts of God, and our self-made thoughts of ourselves. With the help of the compelling examples of St. Benedict, St. Teresa of Jesus, and St. Therese of Lisieux, Funk shows the way to ongoing conversion of mind, heart, and way of life.

"Mary Margaret Funk is a Benedictine nun of Our Lady of Grace Monastery, Beech Grove, Indiana. From 1994 through 2004, she served as executive director of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue, which fosters dialogue among monastics of the world's religions. In addition to the volumes of the Matters Series, she is the author of "Islam Is... An Experience of Dialogue and Devotion" and "Into the Depths: A Journey of Loss and Vocation.

The study of comparative religious ethics is at a critical juncture, given the growing awareness of non-Christian ethical beliefs and practices and their bearing on social change. Christine Gudorf is at the forefront of rendering comparativeand competingreligious beliefs meaningful for students, especially in the area of ethics. Unlike other texts, Gudorf's work focuses on common, everyday issuesincluding food and diet, work, sex and marriage, proper dress, anger and violence, charity, family, and infirmity and the elderlywhile drawing out ethical implications of each and demonstrating how different religious traditions prescribe rules for action. An introductory chapter reviews standard ethical theory and core elements of comparative religious analysis. Each chapter opens with a riveting real-life case and shows how religious ethics can shed light on how to handle the larger issues, without determining for the reader what a proper ethical response might be. Helpful pedagogy, including summaries, questions, and list of readings, along with special chapter features, charts and photographs and a glossary, combine to make this new text most suitable for the wide array of courses in comparative religious ethics.