A comprehensive and authoritative collection on Christian Ethics with contributions from a diverse range of leading figures in the field. Unlike existing titles, this handbook focuses on Christian Ethics in a global context and is a thoroughly up-to-date analysis of the field with coverage of cutting-edge topics. The Routledge Handbook of Christian Ethics is an outstanding reference source to key topics, problems and debates in the field.

In this original interpretation and critique of Paul Ramsey's ethical thought, D. Stephen Long traces the development of one of the mid-twentieth century's most important and controversial religious social thinkers. Long examines Ramsey's early liberal idealism as well as later influences on his work, including the just war doctrine, Reinhold Niebu

Divided into 3 parts, this handbook provides a wide-ranging survey and analysis of the Christian Church. The first section addresses the scriptural foundations of ecclesiology; the second section outlines the historical and confessional aspects of the topic; and the final part discusses a variety of contemporary and topical themes in ecclesiology. Compiled and written by leading scholars in the field, the T&T Clark Handbook of Ecclesiology covers a range of key topics in the context of their development and importance in each stream of historic Christianity and the confessional traditions. The contributors cover traditional matters such as creedal notes, but also tackle questions of ordination, orders of ministry, and sacraments. This handbook is extensive enough to provide a true overview of the field, but the essays are also concise enough to be read as reference selections.

In this original interpretation and critique of Paul Ramsey's ethical thought, D. Stephen Long traces the development of one of the mid-twentieth century's most important and controversial religious social thinkers. Long examines Ramsey's early liberal idealism as well as later influences on his work, including the just war doctrine, Reinhold Niebu

Series Information:
Radical Orthodoxy

What has theology to do with economics? They are both sciences of human action, but have traditionally been treated as very separate disciplines. Divine Economy is the first book to address the need for an active dialogue between the two.
D. Stephen Long traces three strategies which have been used to bring theology to bear on economic questions: the dominant twentieth-century tradition, of Weber's fact-value distinction; an emergent tradition based on Marxist social analysis; and a residual tradition that draws on an ancient understanding of a functional economy. He concludes that the latter approach shows the greatest promise because it refuses to subordinate theological knowledge to autonomous social-scientific research.
Divine Economy will be welcomed by those with an interest in how theology can inform economic debate.

What is the relationship between the command to love one's enemies and the use of violence and/or other coercive political means? This work examines this question by comparing and contrasting two important contemporary approaches to Christian ethics, neoAugustinian and the ecclesial or neoAnabaptist. It traces the complicated conversation that has taken place since John Howard Yoder took on Reinhold Niebuhr's interpretation of the Anabaptists in the 1940's. It consists of three parts. The first part traces the development of the Augustinian-Niebuhrian approach to ethics from Niebuhr through those who have advanced his work including Paul Ramsey, Timothy Jackson, Charles Mathewes, Eric Gregory, and Jennifer Herdt. It also examines the Augustinian ethics of Oliver O'Donovan, John Milbank and Nicholas Wolterstorff. Along with tracing the Augustinian approach and its trajectories through agapism, theology and the interpretation of Augustine, it identifies fifteen criticisms that this approach brings against the neoAnabaptists. The second part traces the origin of the ecclesial or neoAnabaptist approach, and then examines its relationship to, and criticism of, agapism, what theological doctrines are central and its interpretation of Augustine. Its purpose is primarily constructive by explaining the role that ecclesiology, Christology and eschatology have among the neoAnabaptists. The third part addresses the criticisms levied by Augustinians against the neoAnabaptists by drawing on the constructive theology in the second part. It intends to show where the Augustinian critics are correct, where they have missed key theological teachings, and where they misrepresent. It also assesses the summons to the nationalist project the Augustinians put to the neoAnabaptists. If this work is successful, this third part will not be defensive. It will instead illumine the reasons for the criticisms and suggest means by which the conversation that began between Yoder and Niebuhr can continue and possibly bear fruit for theological ethics in both its ecclesial and nationalist projects for generations to come.

How can we speak about God without assuming that God is nothing but our own speaking, nothing but our culture's effort to name what cannot be named? How can we deny that our speaking of God is always culturally located? To answer these questions, we need to pay close attention to what we mean by culture, and how we use this very complex term both in our everyday language and especially in the language of faith. Culture is an exceedingly complex term that nearly everyone uses, but no one is sure what it means. This work examines various uses of the term culture in theology today. D. Stephen Long is professor of theology at Marquette University. He has published a number of works, including 'Divine Economy: Theology and the Market', 'The Goodness of God: Theology, Church, and the Social Order', 'John Wesley's Moral Theology: The Quest for God and Goodness', and 'Calculated Future: Theology, Ethics and Economics'. "Modernity, Steve Long tells us with his patented acerbity, is a broken record that never stops repeating its supposed novelty. If broken records require sharp, swift smacks to be knocked out of their tiresome grooves, Long's palm-sized book delivers a salutary slap that gets us back on track - and out of confused modern conceptualities that pit theology against culture. An excellent, masterly introduction to its topic."- Rodney Clapp, author of 'A Peculiar People' and 'Border Crossings' "This work, as the title suggests, offers a bird's eye view of the state of play between theology and culture.It provides a valuable summary of the contribution of Richard Niebuhr to the subject, but also suggests there is a need to revise Niebuhr's classi cations in the wake of the rising in uence of the theology of Henri de Lubac common to both the Radical Orthodoxy and Communio Catholic scholars.From de Lubac's perspective, Christ transforms cultures, rather than standing aloof outside them.The dynamics of this transformation is now a pressing theological concern which ows over confessional boundaries." - Tracey Rowland, author of 'Culture and the Thomist Tradition: After Vatican II'.

Synopsis: Keeping Faith offers resources to help Christians reclaim the importance of doctrine and thereby know and love well God and God's creation. Although it gives particular attention to the Wesleyan and Methodist tradition, it is of necessity an ecumenical effort. Neither the Wesleyans nor the Methodists invented Christian doctrine. In fact, the Wesleyan tradition contributes little that is distinctive or unique. This is a good thing, for unlike other disciplines where originality and uniqueness matter greatly, Christian doctrine depends on others and not the genius of some individual. Chesterton once said that Christianity is the democracy of the dead. In other words, doctrine depends on the communion of the saints. They help us speak of God as we should. We need to hear their voice. For this reason, this work is an ecumenical commentary on the Confession of Faith and Articles of Religion found in the Wesleyan tradition that also draws on ancient and modern witnesses to God's glory. It is ecumenical because it brings these doctrines into conversation with the broader Christian tradition. Doctrine unites us in a "communion," which is greater than any single denomination and makes us what we otherwise cannot be: one, holy, catholic and apostolic. Endorsements: "This is a quite wonderful adventure into theology led by one of our most talented theologians. Stephen Long has a gift for reframing ancient truth and giving it contemporary clout. The dear old Articles of Religion have rarely been more lively and immediately relevant to contemporary church life than when presented by Steve Long--timeless Christian wisdom rendered direct and demanding " --William Willimon Bishop, United Methodist Church, North Alabama Conference "Many thanks to Professor Long for his gracious offering to the life of the church. In this book Long demystifies doctrine through commentary on one of the church's most significant documents, encouraging a love for learning our beliefs and a desire for God--in true Wesleyan spirit. The book is an invitation to congregations and individuals to know and love God and neighbor in the fullness in which God intended." --Dr. Laceye Warner Associate Dean for Academic Programs Associate Professor of the Practice of Evangelism and Methodist Studies Duke Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina Author Biography: D. Stephen Long is an ordained United Methodist elder in the Indiana Conference. He is also Professor of Systematic Theology at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI.

Christian ethics, writes theologian D. Stephen Long, is the pursuit of God's goodness by people "on the way" to a city not built by human hands. The cultivation of practical wisdom that comes from diverse sources, it draws on all that is good in God's creation and among the nations. In this Very Short Introduction, Long examines these diverse sources, discusses the relationship between Christian, modern, and postmodern ethics, and explores practical issues including sex, money, and power. The book also examines some of the failures of the Christian tradition, including the crusades, the conquest, slavery, inquisitions, and the Galileo affair. Placing them in the context of the theory and practice of ethics and their historical perspective, Long notes the challenges they raise for Christian ethics. He concludes with a discussion of their implications in the modern era, considering how this affects our lives in the present age. Long recognizes the inherent difficulties in bringing together "Christian" and "ethics" but argues that this is an important task for both the Christian faith and for ethics.
About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Although God as simple and Triune was widely accepted for over a millennium, simplicity has been widely critiqued and rejected by modern theology. The purported error is in conceiving God's unity prior to the Triune persons, an error begun by Augustine and crystallized in Aquinas. The Perfectly Simple Triune God challenges this critique and reading of Aquinas as a misunderstanding of his doctrine of God. By refusing to begin theology with God's oneness, who God is collapses into who God is for us, a loss of the biblical and dramatic character of God for us. D. Stephen Long posits that the two treatises were never independent, but inextricably related and entailing one another. Long provides a constructive rereading of Thomas Aquinas, tracing antecedents to Aquinas in the patristic tradition, and readings of him through to the Reformers, taking into account challenges to the classical tradition posed by modern and contemporary theology and philosophy to offer a robust articulation of divine Trinitarian agency for a contemporary age that adheres to broadly considered orthodox and ecumenical parameters.

Challenging recent rejections of Hans Urs von Balthasar's groundbreaking study of Karl Barth's theology, Stephen Long argues that these interpreters are myopically impatient with the nuances of Balthasar's reading of Barth and fail to appreciate the longstanding theological friendship that perdured. Even more, current readings threaten to repristinate the embattled divide hallmarking Protestant-Catholic relations prior to Vatican II. Long contends against these contemporary trajectories in a substantial defense of Balthasar's theological preoccupation with Barth's thought. This book offers one of the first full contextualizations of the friendship that developed between Balthasar and Barth, which lasted from the 1930s until Balthasar's death in the 1980s. Re-evaluating Balthasar's theological work on Barth, the present volume provides a critical new reading of not only Balthasar's original volume but a wider account of the systematic engagement Balthasar carried on throughout his career. Within this, a paradigm for fruitful, generous ecumenical dialogue emerges.

About the Contributor(s): Kimlyn J. Bender is Associate Professor of Theology at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University. He is the coeditor of Theology as Conversation: The Significance of Dialogue in Historical and Contemporary Theology (Eerdmans).

The book of Hebrews is a fascinating extended sermon which has nurtured and challenged the church for centuries. It stands in tension with our sensibilities but provides guidance for the church's life and for individual Christians. In this theological commentary, D. Stephen Long explores this captivating book. He finds Hebrews extremely relevant for today since it integrates doctrine, ethics, and politics while helping faithful Christians find their ways through troubled times. It invites us into a robust world beyond the assumptions of today's scientific worldviews. Hebrews also helps us understand how to read Scripture after the triumph of Jesus Christ. Long's expert theological guidance helps us understand Hebrews and hear its message for our contemporary world. The volumes in Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible from Westminster John Knox Press offer a fresh and invigorating approach to all the books of the Bible. Building on a wide range of sources from biblical studies, the history of theology, the church's liturgical and musical traditions, contemporary culture, and the Christian tradition, noted scholars focus less on traditional historical and literary angles in favor of a theologically focused commentary that considers the contemporary relevance of the texts. This series is an invaluable resource for those who want to probe beyond the backgrounds and words of biblical texts to their deep theological and ethical meanings for the church today.

Description: How is God sovereign with respect to creation? Does creation affect God? Does God suffer or change because of creation? If so, how is this related to Christology? Why have these questions been so controversial in evangelical theology, even costing some people their jobs? This book is a collection of lectures given to the Forum for Evangelical Theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. Six theologians answer the questions above from a variety of perspectives. They draw on resources including the church fathers, Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin, Jurgen Moltmann, process theology, and open theism. In the process of answering the question, does God suffer? each theologian also illustrates how responding to this subject requires an examination of other crucial evangelical issues, such as how we read Scripture and what it means to proclaim that God is love. Although the writers answer these questions in a variety of ways, the hope is that engaging in this conversation together can help evangelicals and all Christians to speak more faithfully of our sovereign God. Endorsements: ""Dante may have located the debate between divine sovereignty and human freedom in one of the circles of hell, but reading these sprightly and well-argued essays was, by contrast, a real pleasure. In an age where divine suffering is considered the 'new orthodoxy, ' it is most refreshing to hear what six theologians have to say about divine sovereignty. The main theistic positions--classical, open, process--all have able representatives as their champions, and the inclusion of responses allows the authors to do more than talk past one another. This book lives up to its title."" --Kevin J. Vanhoozer Research Professor of Systematic Theology Trinity Evangelical Divinity School About the Contributor(s): D. Stephen Long is Professor of Systematic Theology at Marquette University. His most recent publications include Theology and Culture (Cascade, 2007), Calculated Futures, John Wesley's Moral Theology: The Quest for God and Goodness, and Speaking of God: Theology, Language and Truth (forthcoming). George Kalantzis is Associate Professor of Theology at Wheaton College. His work has appeared in a number of theological and ecclesial journals, including Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses, Augustinianum, Studia Patristica, and St. Vladimir's Theological Quarterly. His recent books include Theodore of Mopsuestia: Commentary on the Gospel of John (Early Christian Studies 7) and the forthcoming coedited volume, If These Stones Could Speak: Texts and Contexts.

Stephen Long opens his erudite discussion of theology and ethics with the insistence that moral critique must emerge from a particular location, rather than from the fluid values of any "neutral" observer. Long sets out to put theology and ethics-as well as the church-in proper relation to one another. Ethics must be based in theology, not the other way around. Our "finite participation in the infinite make possible participation in a goodness beyond us." That goodness comes to us in the flesh of Jesus Christ, and the church is indispensable in drawing all people toward God's goodness. The church, a social ethic in itself, gives purpose and order to other social institutions, including family, government, and the market. "'The goodness of God'--such a simple phrase, such a profound (and maybe even distruptive) concept if we dare explore its implications. Not only does Steve Long lead us skilfully and smoothly through potentially difficult matters of theology and philosophy, he also brings home how our lives might be different if we really took the goodness of God to heart. "From matters of violence and economics to sexuality and family, Long takes his readers through a thicket of competing ideas, and leads them out the other side into greater clarity of vision, unity of purpose, and passion for God's good kingdom. Seminaries and Sunday schools alike will benefit from this scholarly but accessible volume." --Michael Budde, DePaul University D. Stephen Long is assistant professor of theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and codirector of the Center for Ethics and Values. He is the author of Divine Economy, a volume in Routledge's Radical Orthodoxy series.