Interdisciplinary Ethics: From Astro-Theology to Cosmo-Liberation Theology

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore Walker
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Metaphysical Realism ◽  
Reinhold Niebuhr

Here early modern “Astro-Theology” (William Derham 1715) is revised to produce a constructive postmodern astro-theology. This revisionary astro-theology includes a panentheistic theology and cosmology, plus a metaphysical realism essential to meeting the ethical challenge of realism (Reinhold Niebuhr 1932). Recognizing that Christian ethics is reality-based can be liberating. Hence, a revisionary astro-theology can be righty described as an astro-liberation theology, or better, as a cosmo-liberation theology.

JEAN BARBEYRAC, SUPEREROGATION, AND THE SEARCH FOR A SAFE RELIGION

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
GREG CONTI
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Moral Psychology ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Psychological Effects ◽  
Modern Natural ◽  
Natural Law Theory ◽  
Theological Controversy ◽  
The Many ◽  
Psychological Concern ◽  
Modern Thinking

Jean Barbeyrac was dismayed by the intrusion of theological controversy into the study of modern natural law theory. Yet the longest of the many annotations that he included in his own edition of Grotius was concerned with a theological matter. In this footnote, Barbeyrac attacked Grotius's understanding of Christian ethics as supererogatory; that is, as containing a distinction between the dictates of duty and the counsels of a higher holiness or perfection. The heart of his objection to this view was that it had pernicious psychological effects, that it fostered bigotry and immorality. He reiterated this psychological concern in his later work on the Christian Fathers. This objection to the real-world damages caused by the theory of supererogation was closely linked to his fear of skepticism and his quarrel with Bayle. Barbeyrac's rejection of supererogation also places him within an important strand of early modern thinking about the moral psychology of religion and about the ways in which religious belief could become an obstacle to moral behavior.

Justice between Fairness and Love? Christian Ethics in Dialogue with Rawls and Niebuhr

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-328
Author(s):  
Jenny Anne Wright
Keyword(s):  
John Rawls ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Reinhold Niebuhr ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Theological Perspective ◽  
Laws And Policies ◽  
Moral Superiority ◽  
Main Ideas

Abstract There are many different approaches to justice, both theological and secular. These different approaches and diverse theories need not be exclusive, but can play an important role in a dialogue on justice. Since justice is never completely just, it is imperative to always be critical of laws and policies while guarding against moral superiority and oppression. To this end, this article seeks to enter into a critical dialogue between John Rawls and Reinhold Niebuhr from a theological perspective. It critically examines their main ideas and focuses on the role of community, the importance of moral dialogue, the priority of the poor and the unique issues raised by globalization.

Economics and Theology after the Separation

2014 ◽  
pp. 134-150
Author(s):  
Ross B. Emmett
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Charles Taylor ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Reinhold Niebuhr ◽  
Economic Association ◽  
The Social ◽  
Richard Whately ◽  
The Impact

The date of the separation of economics from Christian theology is debated, as is its explanation. The process also differs in Britain and America. Richard Whately and Philip Wicksteed’s accounts of the basis of separation in nineteenth-century Britain are considered, and in America the twentieth-century accounts of the impact of the Social Gospel on the founding of the American Economic Association, and of Frank Knight and Reinhold Niebuhr. Knight is a particularly interesting case in that he considered economics to be inadequate on its own while vigorously rejecting the contribution of existing Christian ethics. Economic theory ignored theology, and theology also came to ignore economic theory. The connection between the separation and the wider secularization thesis is discussed, drawing on the work of Charles Taylor.

Gesellschaftlicher Ethikbedarf und theologisches »Angebot«

2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 172-181
Author(s):  
Kari-Wilhelm Dahm
Keyword(s):  
Rapid Change ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Ethical Challenge ◽  
Inadequate Response ◽  
Theological Ethics ◽  
Corporate World ◽  
Nazi Ideology ◽  
Corporate Action

Abstract The rapid change of values in the latter half of the 2Qth century required new ethical answers and considerations in all areas of society (family, corporate world, medicine, biotechnology, etc.). The need for a new »Christian Ethics« in Germany permeated all of society after the collapse of Nazi-ideology and valuesystems. The article shows how Protestant ethics in and around Germany have failed to adress this need. There are two main reasons for the inadequate response. First, the mainstream of Protestant ethics widely refused to offer specifically »Christian« contributions to the moral reconstruction of society, based on a fear that core of Christianity would yet again be utilized as a lable of legitimacy. Secondly, theological ethics were focused on the discourse of principle to an extent that the laboraus work of application was left more or less undone. Protestant ethics did not succeed in making ethical commitments and considerations relevant for specific questions and needs for example in the area of medicine and biotechnological research or in the realm of corporate action and interaction. The lack of applicability and immediate relevance calls for a discourse and collaboration that integrates the ethical disciplines with those members and institutions in society that are confronted with and confronting the ethical challenge

Kulturwirkungen konfessioneller Erziehungsmodelle im 16. und 17. Jahrhundert: Zum Forschungskontext des Themenschwerpunkts

2004 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 240-251
Author(s):  
Stefan Ehrenpreis
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
School System ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
General Level ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Research ◽  
Different Cultures

ABSTRACT Reformation and confessionalization are two important phases in the history of early modern education. In the Reformation period new educational concepts and curricula were introduced above all in higher education. In the age of confessionalization both Protestants and Catholics also sought to improve the lower school system. The discourse about education was dominated by classical concepts which were connected with general Christian ethics. New research perspectives include the different cultures of knowledge, of reading and of catechesis because these factors were as important for the general level of literacy as the public school system.

The Origins of the Furnace Motif: From Magico-Religious Ritual to Early Modern Tale of Makeability

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-110
Author(s):  
Wendy Wauters
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Art History ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
Transformative Power ◽  
Religious Ritual ◽  
Religious Rituals ◽  
Diachronic Analysis

AbstractThe article delves into the fiery furnace motif and its evocations of the healing and makeability of men. Building on previous research conducted in religious history, art history and anthropology, a diachronic analysis of the textual and visual traditions of this motif is made. At its base lies the idea that the natural phenomenon of fire has a transformative power. This belief is present in several magico-religious rituals and in the visual imprint within Christian iconographical tradition. Both manifestations exist in conjunction and their evolution is intertwined. Herein lie the roots of the early modern secular motif of the furnace as a place of metaphorical transformation. Society may not have been aware of these previous attitudes, but the urban context does provide a fertile breeding ground for motifs such as The Rejuvenation Furnace and the so-called Baker of Eeklo. From the point of view of Christian ethics, it is interesting that the concentration of the furnace motif can serve as a seismograph of fluctuations in morality.

The Kingdom of God, Hope and Christian Ethics

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-16
Author(s):  
David P. Gushee ◽  
Codi D. Norred
Keyword(s):  
Middle Class ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Moral Action ◽  
Gustavo Gutierrez ◽  
Narrative Frame ◽  
Progressive Evangelicals

This article interrogates the use of a Kingdom-of-God narrative frame, in the work both of progressive evangelicals Glen Stassen and David Gushee ( Kingdom Ethics) and in liberation theology, claiming that this narrative has often inspired hope and moral action but can be questioned on a variety of theological and methodological grounds. It considers startling recent claims by liberation ethicist Miguel De la Torre that all talk of a coming Kingdom of God is mythic, a middle-class illusion that undermines radical commitment to ethical praxis for justice. Engagement with two classic liberationist texts (by Gustavo Gutiérrez and James Cone) confirms both that liberation theology offers a somewhat radicalized Kingdom-of-God narrative and that De la Torre’s new claims represent a clear break with liberationism. The article concludes by briefly considering options in eschatology for those who have heretofore invested considerable hope in an immanentist, participative, certainly-coming Kingdom-of-God narrative to ground their Christian ethics.

Public Theology: Toward a Christian Definition

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-191
Author(s):  
Ian S. Markham
Keyword(s):  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Civil Religion ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Do So

Public theology is a phrase that has been used both descriptively (like Bellah's civil religion ) and prescriptively (so that public theology is an attempt to recommend policy prescriptions seen through the narrative of faith). After a survey of the evolution of the phrase, I concede that most contemporary theologians use the phrase in a prescriptive way. Many using public theology in a prescriptivist way do so out of a revisionist theological framework. This is problematic because the majority of Christians are much more traditional in their theology. Building on a distinction between “process” and “content” in Christian ethics, the article argues for a particularist account of public theology that is shaped by liberation theology and yet still committed to conversation in a pluralist society.

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