Christian Ethics

"No history of ethics, and in particular, a history of Christian ethics can be purely 'history'. Rather it is as it should be an argument about how we need to think in order to act well as Christians. We are quite fortunate to have Michael Banners book because it is an incisive contribution to this project.

Auteur

Michael Banner is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and has held chairs at the University of Edinburgh and King's college, London. He has also chaired an advisory panel on issues to do with the use of animals in scientific experiments, and is a board member of the Human Tissue Authority. He is the author of Christian Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems (1999) and The Justification of Science and the Rationality of Religious Belief (1990).

Texte du rabat

CHRISTIAN ETHICS
A Brief History MICHAEL BANNER From questions about whether or not Christians could serve in the Roman army through to current debates about genetic engineering, Christianity has always grappled with complex moral problems. Providing a clear and decisive history of the main figures and schools in Christian ethics, this book introduces readers to the principles which Christians have brought to the discussion of these and other issues. The author tackles questions such as: What is it to live a Christian life? How is it possible, given weakness of the will? Should we follow the natural law? And are Christian ethics at odds with the findings of philosophy or science? Engaging with key figures including Augustine, Benedict, Aquinas, Luther, and John Paul II, he draws attention to the challenges which have been put to Christian ethics, especially by Nietzsche and other nineteenth-century thinkers, and by contemporary relativism. This concise, illuminating book concludes with a discussion of biotechnology, and the contribution that Christian ethics can make to contemporary moral debates.

Contenu
Preface.Introduction.1. Benedict and the Practice of Christian Life.2. Augustine, God and Human Nature: The Theory of the Christian Life.3. Thomas Aquinas: The Natural Law and the Loss of christian Ethics.4. Martin Luther: Against Ethics.5. Butler, Kant and Kierkegaard: The Turn tot he Subject.6. Nietzsche and the Genealogists: Suspecting the Subject.7. Barth and John Paul II: The Rediscovery of Christian Ethics.8. History in the Present: Genetics, Ethics and Christian Life.Bibliography