In light of globalization, ongoing issues of race, gender, and class, and the rapidly changing roles of institutions, this volume asserts that Christian social ethics must be reframed completely. Three questions are at the heart of this vital inquiry: How can moral community flourish in a global context? What kinds of leadership do we need to nurture global moral community? How shall we construe social institutions and social movements for change in the twentyfirst century? The illustrious contributors include: Anthony B. Pinn, Katie G. Cannon, Noel Erksine, Jacob Olupona, Riggins R. Earl Jr., James H. Cone, Dwight N. Hopkins, Lewis V. Baldwin, Jonathan L. Walton, Rosetta E. Ross, Traci C. West, Melanie L. Harris, Victor Anderson, Emilie M. Townes, and Barbara A. Holmes.

A practical and balanced approach to the physical and spiritual wealth as a tangible manifestation, this simple guide offers tools and techniques for a daily life in partnership with God. From building a money magnet to the concept of personal tithing, financial wisdom is combined with spiritual practice to create greater daily abundance.

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.

Bitterness often grows out of a small offense perhaps a passing word, an accidental shove, or a pair of dirty socks left in the middle of the living room floor. Yet when bitterness takes root in our hearts, its effects are anything but small. In this collection of short articles, Jim Wilson and others discuss what it means to live as imitators of God. As the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians, we have been called to leave the bitterness and anger of the world and instead embrace the love and compassion of our God. The authors remind us that we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven, pointing to Scriptural admonitions and examples as they offer sound teaching on the trials and temptations of everyday life.

Bioethical issues are rarely out of view in Western societies. New developments in areas such as human embryology continually raise new ethical questions, while more familiar issues frequently reappear in public debate. These are issues of central concern for Christians and for a wider public, because they raise questions about the value of life, the meaning of suffering and death and humanity's place in the natural world. Neil Messer is Reader in Theology and Head of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Winchester. He has a research background in molecular biology, and is a minister of the United Reformed Church.

Dale Patrick examines the first five books of the Bible--the Pentateuch--the Law.He provides an effective method for studying and understanding this vital part of the canon. His introduction concentrates on the exposition of the major thrust of Old Testament Law: the Ten Commandments, the Book of the Covenant, the Deuteronomic Law, the Holiness Code, and the Priestly Law.Law--rules and regulations, concepts and principles, legal codes--written and unwritten. Patrick tackles important questions surrounding the formation of the Law. What is the Law? How was it formulated? What implications does the Law of the Israelites have for Christians today? Patrick's deft handling and answering of these questions results in a book that provides a means to understand the specific rules governing the concepts and principles of the written law so that we may grasp the unwritten law; i.e., the justice, righteousness, and holiness required by God.Patrick offers critical exposition in a format that makes a seemingly difficult and esoteric part of the Bible accessible to the reader. This introductory text serves as a springboard to further study.

Seeking the Truth about Money In the wake of the global financial crisis, are there any financial principles we can rely on? Amidst ongoing economic instability and uncertainty, can we find any solid truth about money? Are you interested in what God has to say about money? Do you seek better financial health? Or do you have enough money but feel poor in spirit? Whatever your need, God wants to help you in both the spiritual and the financial dimensions of your life. In this book, discover why those two dimensions sometimes compete and conflict and how they can better connect. Many Christians today deal with money on the basis of partial truths, relying on a handful of favourite Bible verses or a few palatable principles. As a result, they follow an incomplete, imbalanced, distorted version of God's truth about money. To address this problem, Seeking the Truth about Money provides a comprehensive, well-rounded, and well-grounded biblical view on how we can integrate wise inner attitudes towards money with practical activities such as acquiring, giving, saving, investing, and spending money. This book challenges the reader to develop a carefully balanced approach to the various facets of handling money. Seeking the Truth about Money refers to almost one thousand verses from the Bible. It also relates stories from the lives of the author, her family and friends, and dozens of well-known Christians. It includes nuggets of practical financial wisdom gleaned from lawyers, accountants, and investment advisors, which can enrich your future discussions with your own financial advisors. Above all, this book will encourage you to more highly prioritize and value the development of rich and meaningful relationships with God and others. About the Author: Karen Henein practiced as a lawyer for twenty years. She is the author of Counsel of the Most High and Bent Out of Shape. Married to a medical doctor and the mother of two adult children, she lives in Canada. She is presently writing, speaking, and serving various Christian organizations.

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.

Before he became the 28th President of the United States (1913-21), the 34th Governor of New Jersey (1911-13), or even the 13th President of Princeton University (1902-10), Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) was a scholar and professor. In 1885, he received his Ph.D. in history and political science from Johns Hopkins University, and in 1897, he was granted tenure at Princeton University.

As an educator, and a person of deep faith (his father was a Presbyterian reverend), Woodrow Wilson believed firmly in the importance of the humanities to human flourishing and freedom. In "On Being Human," Wilson sets out his vision for the good life, and offers insight into the foundations of his later political policies. "On Being Human" is among the most personal of Wilson's public writings, revealing an enthusiastic nature at odds with his later staid persona. While the essay makes little direct reference to faith, it does reveal Wilson's view of the good life, which is both hopeful and historical, and draws on both Aristotle's notion of "the golden mean" and Augustine's view of the "ordo amorum" (the order of the loves)-specifically, that the good life consists largely in a well-balanced, harmonious ordering of one's passions and priorities. Wilson's ideal is "the truly human man: a man in whom there is a just balance of faculties, a catholic sympathy—no brawler, no fanatic, no Pharisee, not too credulous in hope, not too desperate in purpose, warm, but not hasty, ardent, and full of definite power, but not running about to be pleased and deceived by every new thing."

"When a Man Comes to Himself," written just a few years later, reveals the wholesome and regenerating change which a man undergoes when he "comes to himself." It is not only after periods of recklessness or infatuation, when he has played the spendthrift or the fool, that a man comes to himself. He comes to himself after experiences of which he alone may be aware.

Peter Manley Scott offers a theological and ethical reading of our present situation. Due to the vigour of its re-engineering of the world by its technologies, western society has entered into a postnatural condition in which standard divisions between the natural and the artificial are no longer convincing. This postnatural development is liberating - both theologically and politically. Scott develops an 'anthropology' that does not repeat Christianity's history of anthropocentrism but instead criticises it by exploring the mutual entanglement of animals, humans and other creatures. Deeply disrespectful of traditional centres of power, his ethical critiques of 'pioneering' technologies expose their anti-social and anti-ecological tendencies and identify possible paths of oppositional political action. This is ethical theology at its best: deeply informed by theological tradition, immersed in contemporary political-technological problematics in radically oppositional ways, and yet fiercely hopeful of a good outcome for animals-human and non-human-and other life in history. Dr Peter Manley Scott is Senior Lecturer in Christian Social Thought and Director of the Lincoln Theological Institute at the University of Manchester, UK.

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.

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.

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

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.

Socrates famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. In keeping with this dictum, taking ethics seriously means engaging with the real world where the human sense of right and wrong is daily tested. At their best, all faith traditions are challenged by such testing; and if faith-inspired ethics are thought to goven the whole of life, their guiding values need constantly to be interpreted by the believer to achieve a practical result. In the Muslim tradition, this is what the Qur'an really amounts to: a call to strive for belief with a social conscience. For fourteen centuries Muslim scholars have grappled with the implications of that call in matters of law, social practice and theology. And in our own time, the quests for civil society and the rule of law have much to do with the response given to these ethical questions. 'A Companion to Muslim Ethics' explores Islam's core conception of the good, shared with other great traditions. Leading experts examine issues such as gender equality, nonviolence, dispute resolution, the environment, health and finance. The volume will appeal to all those interested in how reason, faith and circumstance shape difficult moral choices in an increasingly globalised world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King, Jr. are here reassessed for a new context and a new generation. Both combined activism, ministry, and theology. Both took on public roles in opposition to prevailing powers of their time. Both professed a kind of Christian realism and ended as martyrs to their respective causes. Here many of the leaders in Christian social thought revisit the insights, causes, and strategies that Bonhoeffer and King employed for a new generation and its concerns: race, reconciliation, nonviolence, political violence, Christian theological identity, and ministry.

"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.

The Call to Care: Charity in Ancient Christianity asks and answers pointed questions about charity, using ancient Christian literature immediately after the New Testament until the early 4th century. How important is charity to the Christian faith? What are the limits to Christian charity? Should poor Christians be treated differently than poor unbelievers? How should wealthy Christians view themselves, and how should they be viewed by others? These questions were popular in the ancient world, and the ancient Christian church voiced a unified answer to each. In the end, the reader will find those answers to be just as relevant today as they were centuries ago.