This critical study of Karl Barth's Christian theological ethics discusses Barth's controversial and characteristically misunderstood ethics of divine command. The surprising relation of his 'divine command ethics' to contemporary 'narrative theology' and 'virtue ethics' and specific moral themes concerning bonds between parents and children, the nature of truth telling, and the meaning of Christian love of God and neighbor are all discussed. This book reveals Barth's richness, depth, and insight, and places his work in constructive connection with salient themes in both Catholic and Protestant ethics. Attentive to the fullness of Barth's Christological vision and to the purposes and limits of his reflections on the Christian life in pursuit of the good, William Werpehowski also advances conversations in Christian ethics about the nature of practical deliberation and decision, the orientation and dispositions that embody moral faithfulness, and the question and features of 'natural morality.'

The scope of interest and reflection on virtue and the virtues is as wide and deep as the questions we can ask about what makes a moral agent's life decent, or noble, or holy rather than cruel, or base, or sinful; or about the conditions of human character and circumstance that make for good relations between family members, friends, workers, fellow citizens, and strangers, and the sorts of conditions that do not. Clearly these questions will inevitably be directed to more finely grained features of everyday life in particular contexts. Virtue and the Moral Life: Theological and Philosophical Perspectives takes up these questions. In its ten timely and original chapters, it considers the specific importance of virtue ethics, its public significance for shaping a society's common good, the value of civic integrity, warfare and returning soldiers' sense of enlarged moral responsibility, the care for and agency of children in contemporary secular consumer society, and other questions involving moral failure, humility, and forgiveness.

The scope of interest and reflection on virtue and the virtues is as wide and deep as the questions we can ask about what makes a moral agent's life decent, or noble, or holy rather than cruel, or base, or sinful; or about the conditions of human character and circumstance that make for good relations between family members, friends, workers, fellow citizens, and strangers, and the sorts of conditions that do not. Clearly these questions will inevitably be directed to more finely grained features of everyday life in particular contexts. Virtue and the Moral Life: Theological and Philosophical Perspectives takes up these questions. In its ten timely and original chapters, it considers the specific importance of virtue ethics, its public significance for shaping a society's common good, the value of civic integrity, warfare and returning soldiers' sense of enlarged moral responsibility, the care for and agency of children in contemporary secular consumer society, and other questions involving moral failure, humility, and forgiveness.

This critical study of Karl Barth's Christian theological ethics discusses Barth's controversial and characteristically misunderstood ethics of divine command. The surprising relation of his 'divine command ethics' to contemporary 'narrative theology' and 'virtue ethics' and specific moral themes concerning bonds between parents and children, the nature of truth telling, and the meaning of Christian love of God and neighbor are all discussed. This book reveals Barth's richness, depth, and insight, and places his work in constructive connection with salient themes in both Catholic and Protestant ethics. Attentive to the fullness of Barth's Christological vision and to the purposes and limits of his reflections on the Christian life in pursuit of the good, William Werpehowski also advances conversations in Christian ethics about the nature of practical deliberation and decision, the orientation and dispositions that embody moral faithfulness, and the question and features of 'natural morality.' This critical study of Karl Barth's Christian theological ethics discusses Barth's controversial and characteristically misunderstood ethics of divine command. The surprising relation of his 'divine command ethics' to contemporary 'narrative theology' and 'virtue ethics' and specific moral themes concerning bonds between parents and children, the nature of truth telling, and the meaning of Christian love of God and neighbor are all discussed. This book reveals Barth's richness, depth, and insight, and places his work in constructive connection with salient themes in both Catholic and Protestant ethics. Attentive to the fullness of Barth's Christological vision and to the purposes and limits of his reflections on the Christian life in pursuit of the good, William Werpehowski also advances conversations in Christian ethics about the nature of practical deliberation and decision, the orientation and dispositions that embody moral faithfulness, and the question and features of 'natural morality.'

Paul Ramsey was one of the most important ethicists of the twentieth century. From the publication of his classic Basic Christian Ethics in 1950 until his death in 1988, his writings decisively shaped moral discourse and reflection in the areas of theology, law, politics, and medicine. This collection of Ramsey's most important essays on Christian, political, and medical ethics displays the scope and depth of his vision, highlighting both the character of his theological commitments and the continuing significance of his work for the pressing moral problems of our day. Selections deal with such issues as race relations, sexuality and marriage, war, the meaning of Christian love, abortion, and medical care for the sick and dying. A general introduction by William Werpehowski and Stephen D. Crocco evaluates Ramsey's career and accomplishments and reviews contemporary criticism of his output and legacy. Shorter introductions to each selection point out crucial themes and lines of development in Ramsey's thought.

The Oxford Handbooks series is a major new initiative in academic publishing. Each volume offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned essays from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates.
The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics offers the most authoritative and compelling guide to the discipline. Thirty of the world's most distinguished specialists provide new essays in order to offer a survey of and analysis of the subject. Ethics is first placed firmly within the Christian theological tradition, from which thought and action can never be neatly separated. Four sections then explore the sources of Christian moral knowledge (scripture, divine commands, church tradition, reason and natural law, experience); the structure of the Christian life (vocation, virtue, rules, responsibility, death); the spirit of the Christian life (faith, hope, love); and the spheres of the Christian life (government, family, economy, culture, church). The final section of the Handbook contains essays discussing and evaluating certain scholarly works that have in the past influentially offered (different) visions of how best to structure the field of theological ethics. Unlike any other book now available, the Handbook's unrivalled breadth and depth make it the definitive reference work for all students and academics who want to explore more fully essential topics in Christian ethics.

The Oxford Handbooks series is a major new initiative in academic publishing. Each volume offers an authoritative and up-to-date survey of original research in a particular subject area. Specially commissioned essays from leading figures in the discipline give critical examinations of the progress and direction of debates.
The Oxford Handbook of Theological Ethics offers the most authoritative and compelling guide to the discipline. Thirty of the world's most distinguished specialists provide new essays in order to offer a survey of and analysis of the subject. Ethics is first placed firmly within the Christian theological tradition, from which thought and action can never be neatly separated. Four sections then explore the sources of Christian moral knowledge (scripture, divine commands, church tradition, reason and natural law, experience); the structure of the Christian life (vocation, virtue, rules, responsibility, death); the spirit of the Christian life (faith, hope, love); and the spheres of the Christian life (government, family, economy, culture, church). The final section of the Handbook contains essays discussing and evaluating certain scholarly works that have in the past influentially offered (different) visions of how best to structure the field of theological ethics. Unlike any other book now available, the Handbook's unrivalled breadth and depth make it the definitive reference work for all students and academics who want to explore more fully essential topics in Christian ethics.