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D. Stephen Long

Teoksen Christian Ethics: A Very Short Introduction tekijä

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Tietoja tekijästä

D. Stephen Long is the Cary M. Maguire University Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University.

Tekijän teokset

The Sovereignty of God Debate (2009) — Toimittaja — 16 kappaletta

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A high-level discussion of theology and ethics arguing for the subordination of ethics to theology (Part I) and then, more accesibly, relating this to the church and other social formations (family, the market, political community).
 
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ajgoddard | Jun 5, 2020 |
A clear and accessible guide to the subject, assuming little or no prior Christian and theological knowledge.
 
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ajgoddard | 1 muu arvostelu | Jun 4, 2020 |
Christian ethics, for some, is an oxymoron. "For some modern persons, the term 'Christian' conjures up images of past immoral activities: crusades, the Inquisition, the conquest of the Americas, religious wars, the Galileo affair, defences of slavery and patriarchy" (1). D. Stephen Long argues otherwise. In this very short introduction (135 small pages), Long covers the history of Christian ethics from its pre-Christian roots through two millennia and into the postmodern era.

Long understands Christian ethics in terms of Abraham's call in Genesis 12. Abraham was called to be different from the world for the sake of the world. Christians are different from the world in that "the community of faith ... seeks to embody the life to which God calls" (70). The second part—for the sake of the world—is the more controversial element which has led to all sorts of difficulty. Indeed, "[t]he failure to fulfil this mission was a central cause in Christ's crucifixion" (70).

There are a number of black marks on Christianity's ethical history. Still, Long's brief historical survey demonstrates that the issues were not as black-and-white as some suspect. Indeed, it was mainly Christians who, against fellow Christians, recognized the injustices listed in the first paragraph and sought to change them.

Long completes his short introduction with an application of Christian ethics to some of the major issues of our day, categorized by money, sex, and power.

"So what is Christian ethics? It is the pursuit of God's goodness by people 'on the way' to a city not built by human hands. It is not a precise science but the cultivation of practical wisdom that comes from diverse sources" (121).

Christian ethics is a call to develop the sort of wisdom needed to navigate postmodern waters in a Christlike way.
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StephenBarkley | 1 muu arvostelu | Aug 21, 2017 |
Theology and Culture: A Guide to the Discussion, D. Stephen Long (Eugene: Cascade
Books, 2008). 114pp.
Reviewed by Jake Wilson

As the pastor of two local churches, I am constantly told that our church must be culturally relevant if we
are to reach more people. Every week I get junk mail offering the latest workshop on connecting with
'Gen-X' or planting a church in a coffee house. It would appear that if the Gospel is to be proclaimed we
must be tuned in to the latest cultural trend. But why all the push to be culturally relevant? Or perhaps a
better question: what kind of assumptions are at work when we seek to relate the Christian faith and
culture? And for that matter, why is that we invoke the word culture anyway? Isn't theology complicated
enough without tying it to the language of culture? In this short work, Steve Long offers us a guide to
understanding these questions and many more.

Long is careful to name that the book is indeed a guide, seeking not so much to offer definitive answers
as to lead us through the complexities of our modern preoccupation with culture. This preoccupation
brings with it both promise and peril, which Long explores in the first lesson. The next several lessons
work toward defining culture, its many uses in various disciplines, as well as its relationship to both nature and language. These are dense chapters as the material is complicated and doesn't lend itself well to one or two page descriptions. Here we are forced to remember that Long offers not an in-depth
explanation but rather ''A Guide to the Discussion'.

The second half of the book begins to focus in on specific theologians and their engagement with culture.
Long leads the reader through a who's who list including: Ernest Troeltsch, H. Richard Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, George Lindbeck, James McClendon, Katherine Tanner, Sara Coakley, and John Milbank among others. As the as the list indicates, this is certainly terrain that calls for a skilled guide. It is this second half of the book that really shines as Long helps the reader to see the development of our
preoccupation with culture, as well as six contemporary approaches to engaging theology and culture.

In the end, Long's guide shows that the relationship between theology and culture is a question of
Christology. Every question of the relationship between theology and culture is a question of how we will
relate Christ’s two natures: the human and the Divine. Following the example of the Christological
definition set forth at Chalcedon, ultimately, these are questions which call for engagement and
discernment, not airtight explanations. Steve Long's ''Theology and Culture" is an essential guide to this
discernment process.
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wilsojd2 | Feb 4, 2010 |

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