Based on an unfinished manuscript by the late philosopher Dallas Willard, this book makes the case that the 20th century saw a massive shift in Western beliefs and attitudes concerning the possibility of moral knowledge, such that knowledge of the moral life and of its conduct is no longer routinely available from the social institutions long thought to be responsible for it. In this sense, moral knowledge-as a publicly available resource for living-has disappeared. Via a detailed survey of main developments in ethical theory from the late 19th through the late 20th centuries, Willard explains philosophy's role in this shift. In pointing out the shortcomings of these developments, he shows that the shift was not the result of rational argument or discovery, but largely of arational social forces-in other words, there was no good reason for moral knowledge to have disappeared. The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge is a unique contribution to the literature on the history of ethics and social morality. Its review of historical work on moral knowledge covers a wide range of thinkers including T.H Green, G.E Moore, Charles L. Stevenson, John Rawls, and Alasdair MacIntyre. But, most importantly, it concludes with a novel proposal for how we might reclaim moral knowledge that is inspired by the phenomenological approach of Knud Logstrup and Emmanuel Levinas. Edited and eventually completed by three of Willard's former graduate students, this book marks the culmination of Willard's project to find a secure basis in knowledge for the moral life.

Imitating Christ in Magwi: An Anthropological Theology achieves two things. First, focusing on indigenous Roman Catholics in northern Uganda and South Sudan, it is a detailed ethnography of how a community sustains hope in the midst of one of the most brutal wars in recent memory - that between the Ugandan government and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army. Second, it puts out a call for theology itself to be a practice of imitating Christ. Such practice requires both living among people on the far margins of society and articulating a theology that foregrounds the daily, if extraordinary, lives of people. Todd D. Whitmore argues that ethnography is not merely an add-on to theological concepts, but rather a new way of doing theology, and includes what anthropologists call "thick description" of lives of faith. Whitmore's "anthropological theology" calls not upon abstract concepts but instead is consonant with the fact that God did indeed become human. Whitmore consequently finds that the belief that the spirit of Jesus Christ can enter into a person, through such devotions as the Adoration of the Eucharist, gave people the wherewithal to carry out striking works of mercy during the conflict, and, like Jesus of Nazareth, to risk their lives in the process.

In metaethics, there is a divide between those who believe that there exist moral facts independently of human interests and attitudes (i.e., moral realists) and those who don't (i.e., antirealists). In the last half century, the field of religious ethics has been inundated with various antirealist schools of moral thought. Though there is a wide spectrum of different positons within antirealism, a majority of antirealist religious ethicists tend to see moral belief as an historically dependent social construction. This has created an environment where doing religious ethics in any metaphysically substantial sense is often seen not only as out of fashion but also as philosophically implausible. However, there is a lack of clarity as to what antirealists exactly mean by "construction" and what arguments they would use to support their views. Religious Ethics and Constructivism brings together a diverse group of scholars who represent different philosophical and theological outlooks to discuss the merits of constructivism vis-a-vis religious ethics. The essays explore four different kinds of constructivism in metaethics: social (or Hegelian) constructivism, Kantian constructivism, Humean constructivism, and theological constructivism. The overall aim of these essays is to foster dialogue between religious ethicists and moral philosophers, and to open the field religious ethics to the insights that can be provided by contemporary metaethics.

A potentially difficult text for today's Christians, The Ethics of Sex gives a fascinating insight into the mindset of how a Christian thinker considered gender and sexuality when the definitions of both were becoming more and more fluid. Caught between the points of the harsh restrictions of the Third Reich, and the revolutionary approach popularised in the 1960s, Thielicke offers a modern reader the opportunity to understand more of this pivotal period in history. In The Ethics of Sex, Thielicke confronts hot-button issues, many of which are still controversial today, like abortion, homosexuality and artificial insemination. Here he forges a path for the Christian philosopher that is consistent with Christian values of compassion and understanding. While a complex text, The Ethics of Sex rewards both the scholar and the historian.

Reason, Revelation, and Devotion argues that immersion in religious reading traditions and their associated spiritual practices significantly shapes our emotions, desires, intuitions, and volitional commitments; these in turn affect our construction and assessments of arguments for religious conclusions. But far from distorting the reasoning process, these emotions and volitional and cognitive dispositions can be essential for sound reasoning on religious and other value-laden subject matters. And so western philosophy must rethink its traditional antagonism toward rhetoric. The book concludes with discussions of the implications of the earlier chapters for the relation between reason and revelation, and for the role that the concept of mystery should play in philosophy in general, and in the philosophy of religion and philosophical theology in particular.

Interest in political theology has surged in recent years, and this accessible volume provides a focused overview of the field. Many are asking serious questions about religious faith in secular societies, the origin and function of democratic polities, worldwide economic challenges, the shift of Christianity's center of gravity to the global south, and anxieties related to bold and even violent assertions of theologically determined political ideas. In fourteen original essays, authors examine Christian political theology in order to clarify the contemporary discourse and some of its most important themes and issues. These include up-to-date, critical engagements with historical figures like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant; discussions of how the Bible functions theopolitically; and introductions to key movements such as liberation theology, Catholic social teaching, and radical orthodoxy. An invaluable resource for students and scholars in theology, the Companion will also be beneficial to those in history, philosophy, and politics.

Interest in political theology has surged in recent years, and this accessible volume provides a focused overview of the field. Many are asking serious questions about religious faith in secular societies, the origin and function of democratic polities, worldwide economic challenges, the shift of Christianity's center of gravity to the global south, and anxieties related to bold and even violent assertions of theologically determined political ideas. In fourteen original essays, authors examine Christian political theology in order to clarify the contemporary discourse and some of its most important themes and issues. These include up-to-date, critical engagements with historical figures like Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Immanuel Kant; discussions of how the Bible functions theopolitically; and introductions to key movements such as liberation theology, Catholic social teaching, and radical orthodoxy. An invaluable resource for students and scholars in theology, the Companion will also be beneficial to those in history, philosophy, and politics.

Divided into four parts-Earth, Air, Fire, and Water-this book takes an elemental approach to the study of religion and ecology. It reflects recent theoretical and methodological developments in this field which seek to understand the ways that ideas and matter, minds and bodies exist together within an immanent frame of reference. The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Nature focuses on how these matters materialize in the world around us, thereby addressing key topics in this area of study. The editors provide an extensive introduction to the book, as well as useful introductions to each of its parts. The volume's international contributors are drawn from the USA, South Africa, Netherlands, Norway, Indonesia, and South Korea, and offer a variety of perspectives, voices, cultural settings, and geographical locales. This handbook shows that human concern and engagement with material existence is present in all sectors of the global community, regardless of religious tradition. It challenges the traditional methodological approach of comparative religion, and argues that globalization renders a comparative religious approach to the environment insufficient.

This introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the development of Catholic ethics in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), an event widely considered crucial to the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the modern world. Andrew Kim investigates Catholic responses to questions of moral theology in all four principal areas: Catholic social teaching, natural law, virtue ethics, and bioethics. In addition to discussing contemporary controversies surrounding abortion, contraception, labor rights, exploitation of the poor, and just war theory, he explores the historical sources of the Catholic worldview. Beginning with the moral vision revealed through the person of Jesus Christ and continuing with elaborations on this vision from figures such as Augustine and Aquinas, this volume elucidates the continuity of the Catholic moral tradition. Its balance of complexity and accessibility makes it an ideal resource for both students of theology and general readers.

This introduction provides a comprehensive overview of the development of Catholic ethics in the wake of the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), an event widely considered crucial to the reconciliation of the Catholic Church and the modern world. Andrew Kim investigates Catholic responses to questions of moral theology in all four principal areas: Catholic social teaching, natural law, virtue ethics, and bioethics. In addition to discussing contemporary controversies surrounding abortion, contraception, labor rights, exploitation of the poor, and just war theory, he explores the historical sources of the Catholic worldview. Beginning with the moral vision revealed through the person of Jesus Christ and continuing with elaborations on this vision from figures such as Augustine and Aquinas, this volume elucidates the continuity of the Catholic moral tradition. Its balance of complexity and accessibility makes it an ideal resource for both students of theology and general readers.

Recent decades have witnessed an enthusiastic retrieval of eudaimonism, according to which the virtuous life is the happy life. But the critique launched by Kant - that eudaimonism is egoistic and distorts the character of duty or obligation - has persisted. Should I develop the virtues because these are the traits I need in order to flourish? Is it facts about my own happiness that determine my obligations to others? In this book, Jennifer Herdt deftly sifts through these debates, showing why we should embrace 'ecstatic' or 'goodness-prior' eudaimonism while rejecting 'welfare-prior' forms of eudaimonism. Grasping the character of ecstatic eudaimonism, she argues, has major implications, overcoming the common assumption of a sharp break between pagan and Christian eudaimonism, as well as of a late medieval or Protestant repudiation of eudaimonism in favor of divine command theory. Agents cannot rightly respond to the goods they encounter unless they respond to them precisely as good, and not merely as a means to promoting their own welfare; in responding well, their agency is thereby necessarily perfected. In conversation with vital strands of contemporary moral philosophy, Herdt goes on to articulate the distinctive character of obligation as a feature of accountability relations among agents. Assuming Responsibility offers a fresh point of departure for theological and philosophical approaches to virtue ethics, moral agency, and the contested relationship between the good and the right.

Originally printed in 1904 as a limited edition of two hundred and fifty copies, this book contains a reprint of the 1716 edition of Sir Thomas Browne's Christian Morals. Brown offers a range of advice on subjects such as charity, true goodness and justice. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Browne's work or in eighteenth-century British philosophy.

First published in 1934 as the second edition of a 1930 original, this book contains the text of the Hulsean Lectures for 1929 on the teachings of Jesus and the apostles. Scott was the first non-clergyman to hold this lectureship, and in these lectures he charts the development and gradual evolution of the teachings of Jesus though their interpretation by later teachers. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Christian teaching.

Albert Schweitzer, philosopher, physician, Nobel Peace Laureate, theologian, and musician, developed a character-oriented ethics focused on self-realization, nature-centered spirituality, and moral idealism which anticipated the current renaissance of virtue ethics. Schweitzer's idea of 'reverence for life' underscores the contribution of moral ideals to self-realization, connects ethics to spirituality without religious dogma, and outlines a pioneering environmental ethics that bridges the gap between valuing life in its unity and valuing individual organisms. In this book Mike W. Martin interprets Schweitzer's 'reverence for life' as an umbrella virtue, drawing together all the more specific virtues, in particular: authenticity, love, compassion, gratitude, justice and peace loving, each of which Martin discusses in an individual chapter. Martin's treatment of his subject is sympathetic yet critical and for the first time clearly places Schweitzer's environmental ethics within the wider framework of his ethical theory.

Ethics in Crisis offers a constructive proposal for the shape of contemporary Christian ethics drawing on a new and persuasive interpretation of the ethics of Karl Barth. David Clough argues that Karl Barth's ethical thought remained defined by the theology of crisis that he set out in his 1922 commentary on Romans, and that his ethics must therefore be understood dialectically, caught in an unresolved tension between what theology must and cannot be. Showing that this understanding of Barth is a resource for contemporary constructive accounts of Christian ethics, Clough points to a way beyond the idolatry of ethical absolutism on the one hand, and the apostasy of ethical postmodernism on the other.

Planning and architecture have to be understood in relation to climate change and peak oil, and the concept of the common good is key to understanding how important this is. Leading on from his previous book, A Theology of the Built Environment, T. J. Gorringe provides a theoretical and political framework of the common good, applying this to the built environment. This framework is used to discuss and highlight issues regarding place, transport, food and farming, and as such, explains the relation of Christianity to the built world in which we live. Exploring new themes in the context of the concern about climate change and resource depletion, Gorringe provides an innovative account, covering a wide range of source matter and illustrating the connections in modern theology and ethics.

The marketplace is a remarkable social institution that has greatly extended our reach so shoppers in the West can now buy fresh-cut flowers, vegetables, and tropical fruits grown halfway across the globe even in the depths of winter. However, these expanded choices have also come with considerable moral responsibilities as our economic decisions can have far-reaching effects by either ennobling or debasing human lives. In this book, Albino Barrera examines our own moral responsibilities for the distant harms of our market transactions from a Christian viewpoint, identifying how the market's division of labour makes us unwitting collaborators in others' wrongdoing and in collective ills. His important account covers a range of different subjects, including law, economics, philosophy, and theology, in order to identify the injurious ripple effects of our market activities.

The most important words ever written are the Ten Commandments. These words changed the world when they were first presented at Mt. Sinai to Israelites, and they are changing it now. They are the foundation stones of Western Civilization. Given their staggering importance, you would think that all societies, and certainly our educational and religious institutions, would be intent on studying them closely. Sadly, this is not the case. Our schools ignore them and our churches and synagogues take them for granted. But here's a simple test: Who among us can even name all of the Ten Commandments? And even among those who can name them, how many can explain them in a way that makes sense to the modern eye and ear? If you are a person of faith, this book will strengthen it; if you are agnostic it will force you to rethink your doubts; if you're atheist, it will test your convictions. For people who have thought little about the Ten Commandments, as well as for those who have a sophisticated understanding of them, it will be a revelation. That's a lot to ask of a little book, but the only thing that's little here is the length. The ideas are very big.

WINNER, 2021 HTI BOOK PRIZE Resist! This exhortation animates a remarkable range of theological reflection on consumer culture in the United States. And for many theologians, the source and summit of Christian cultural resistance is the Eucharist. In Commodified Communion, Antonio Eduardo Alonso calls into question this dominant mode of theological reflection on contemporary consumerism. Reducing the work of theology to resistance and centering Christian hope in a Eucharist that might better support it, he argues, undermines our ability to talk about the activity of God within a consumer culture. By reframing the question in terms of God's activity in and in spite of consumer culture, this book offers a lived theological account of consumer culture that recognizes not only its deceptions but also traces of truth in its broken promises and fallen hopes.

This comprehensive anthology of primary documents and materials explores the evolution and study of Christian ethical principles. It may be used independently, or alongside the accompanying textbook, Introducing Christian Ethics, for a complete overview of the field. * Represents the entire canon of Christian ethics, including first-hand accounts from major figures in the theological and ecclesial tradition * Introduces foundational figures such as Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther; contemporary theorists including J rgen Moltmann, Stanley Hauerwas, and Wendell Berry; in addition to work by work by non-theoretical figures, such as Ghandi and Martin Luther King * Features useful introductory material that demonstrates the significance of each extract and how they relate to each other * May be used independently or together with the accompanying textbook, Introducing Christian Ethics; both books share the same structure and are cross-referenced for ease of use

Global realities of human inequality, poverty, violence and ecological destruction call for a twenty-first-century Christian response which links cross-cultural and interreligious cooperation for change to the Gospel. This book demonstrates why just action is necessarily a criterion of authentic Christian theology, and gives grounds for Christian hope that change in violent structures is really possible. Lisa Sowle Cahill argues that theology and biblical interpretation are already embedded in and indebted to ethical-political practices and choices. Within this ecumenical study, she explores the use of the historical Jesus in constructive theology; the merits of Word and Spirit Christologies; the importance of liberation and feminist theologies as well as theologies from the global south; and also the possibility of qualified moral universalism. The book will be of great interest to all students of theology, religious ethics and politics, and biblical studies.

The theory of natural law is controversial today because it presumes that there is a stable "human nature" that is subject to a "law." How do we know that "human nature" is stable and not ever-evolving? How can we expect "law" not to constrict human freedom and potential? Furthermore if there is a "law," there must be a lawgiver. Matthew Levering argues that natural-law theory makes sense only within a broader worldview, and that the Bible sketches both such a persuasive worldview and an account of natural law that offers an exciting portrait of the moral life.
To establish the relevance of biblical readings to the wider philosophical debate on natural law, this study offers an overview of modern natural-law theories from Cicero to Nietzsche, which reverse the biblical portrait by placing human beings at the center of the moral universe. Whereas the biblical portrait of natural law is other-directed, ordered to self-giving love, the modern accounts turn inward upon the self. Drawing on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, Levering employs theological and philosophical investigation to achieve a contemporary doctrine of natural law that accords with the biblical witness to a loving Creator who draws human beings to share in the divine life. This book provides both an introduction to natural law theory and a compelling challenge to rethink current biblical scholarship on the topic.

Volatile social dissonance in America's urban landscape is the backdrop as Valerie Miles-Tribble examines tensions in ecclesiology and public theology, focusing on theoethical dilemmas that complicate churches' public justice witness as prophetic change agents. She attributes churches' reticence to confront unjust disparities to conflicting views, for example, of Black Lives Matter protests as "mere politics," and disparities in leader and congregant preparation for public justice roles. As a practical theologian with experience in organizational leadership, Miles-Tribble applies adaptive change theory, public justice theory, and a womanist communitarian perspective, engaging Emilie Townes' construct of cultural evil as she presents a model of social reform activism re-envisioned as public discipleship. She contends that urban churches are urgently needed to embrace active prophetic roles and thus increase public justice witness. "Black Lives Matter times" compel churches to connect faith with public roles as spiritual catalysts of change.

Dr Kitson Clark, notes that although there were frequent references to 'Christian Principles' in Government, those who used the phrase often did so loosely or unscrupulously. Furthermore, those who heard it used often did so without thinking clearly of its meaning. Dr Clark's aim in this 1967 book, based upon lectures sponsored by the Divinity Faculty of Cambridge, is to elucidate the positive content of this phrase, as opposed to its use as a weapon of propaganda. To this end he reviews some of the most critical of problems: the contrast between liberal and totalitarian states; religious persecution, and the problem of freedom in relation to Christianity and to modern political theory and practice. The author gives his readers an insight into what lies behind the formal theories of politics; his discussion may stimulate them to enter, by taking thought for themselves, the Kingdom of Free Men.