Scm Study Guide to Christian Ethics

by Messer, Neil

• ISBN13: 9780334029953
• ISBN10: 0334029953
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-01-28
• Publisher: Scm Pr

Summary

This book is a wide-ranging introduction to Christian ethics that assumes no prior knowledge of the subject. It introduces a range of approaches to Christian moral reasoning and discusses numerous practical ethical issues. Throughout the book, ethical theory and practical ethics are integrated with one another, in order to show how each informs the other. Topics often neglected in Christian ethics are dealt with here, including Christian ethics and science and Christian ethics and pastoral care. Case studies and exercises give readers the opportunity to formulate their own responses to the moral issues discussed in the book, and to reflect on the sources of their own moral deliberation and action. Chapter bibliographies list print and web resources offering more detailed coverage of the topics introduced in the book. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Neil Messer is Lecturer in Christian Theology, and Director of the Centre for Contemporary and Pastoral Theology at the University of Wales, Lampeter.

Table of Contents

List of Ethical Theory Topics	p. ix
List of Practical Ethics Topics	p. x
Preface	p. xi
Introduction: Deciding How to Decide	p. 1
What is Christian Ethics?
What to Decide
How to Decide
The Person Who Decides, and What a Good Life Looks Like
What Makes It Christian Ethics?
Concluding Remarks
The Bible in Christian Ethics	p. 15
Case Studies: Divorce and Remarriage: Jim and Helen; Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research
What Is the Bible and Why Is It Important?
How Should the Bible be Used in Christian Ethics?
The Case Studies Revisited: Divorce and Remarriage: Jim and Helen; Human Cloning and Stem Cell Research
Natural Law	p. 40
Case Studies: Homosexuality: The Civil Partnership Act; The 'War on Terror'
The Roots of the Natural Law Tradition
Thomas Aquinas and Natural Law
Natural Law Since Thomas Aquinas
The Case Studies Revisited: Homosexuality; War; Just War Theory; Pacifism
Appendix: Rights
Duty, Consequences and Christian Ethics	p. 65
Case Study: Assisted Dying for the Terminally Ill?
Absolute Duties?
Kant's Theory of Ethics
Christian Deontology
Consequentialist Theories
Utilitarianism: Classical Utilitarianism; Contemporary Utilitarianism
Christians and Consequentialism
The Case Study Revisited: The Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia - Definitions and Distinctions; The Value of Human Life; Modern Challenges; Responses to the Challenges
Critical Voices: Science, Technology and Christian Ethics	p. 94
Case Studies: Human Genetics, Evolution and Ethics; Genetically Modified Crops
Science, Technology and Christian Ethics
Does Science Undermine Christian Belief?
Does Evolutionary Biology Explain Away Morality?
Should Science Make Us Revise Our Moral Judgements?
Should We Try to Redesign Ourselves?
Should We Try to Redesign Nature?
Critical Voices: The 'Recovery of Virtue'	p. 121
Case Studies: Healthcare Rationing and Justice - 'Child B' and 'Baby Ryan'; Drugs for Developing Countries
Healthcare, Justice and the Failure of the 'Enlightenment Project'
A Brief History of Virtue: Classical Roots; Early Christian Thought; The Middle Ages and After
Theologians Among the Virtues
The Case Studies Revisited: Healthcare Rationing and Justice
Critical Voices: Liberation Theologies and Christian Ethics	p. 141
Case Study: The Trade Justice Campaign
Starting with Experience
Latin American Liberation Theology: Distinctive Sources; A Distinctive Theological Method; A New Perspective; An Ultimate Standard
Black Theologies of Liberation
Other 'Theologies from Below'
The Case Study Revisited: Theology, Economics and Trade Justice
Critical Voices: Feminist Theologies and Christian Ethics	p. 165
Case Study: Abortion, Politics and the Churches
Feminist Theologies and Christian Ethics: The Liberal Paradigm; The Social Constructionist Paradigm; The Naturalist Paradigm
The Case Study Revisited: Abortion; The Moral Status, Interests and Rights of the Foetus; The Moral Status, Interests and Rights of the Mother
Christian Ethics: Pastoral and Public	p. 185
Introduction
Christian Ethics and Pastoral Care: Non-directive Pastoral Care; Pastoral Care as Practical Moral Thinking; Pastoral Care as Building Communities of Character; Pastoral Care as Liberation
Christian Ethics and Public Policy: Seeking the Moral Common Ground; Seeking Wisdom; Turning the World Upside Down; A City Set on a Hill; Theological Fragments; Middle Axioms; The View from Below
Conclusion	p. 207
Notes	p. 212
Index of Names and Subjects	p. 231
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