Showing titles in Ethics

Our churches are full of injustice. Our Christian homes suffer with injustice. Our media thrives on injustice. Our nation has been damaged by injustice. Micah 6:8 says, …and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? The Bible answers every problem we face. We know that justice is the great attribute of God, and we are to be like Jesus. Justice should be of utmost priority to God’s people as we strive to balance the scales of justice in every area of life. Justice is not only the equaling of punishment to the transgression ...

Religious traditions in the United States are characterized by ongoing tension between assimilation to the broader culture and defiant rejection of cultural incursions. However, legal theorist and Catholic theologian Cathleen Kaveny contends there is a third possibility - a culture of engagement - that accommodates and respects tradition. It also recognizes the need to interact with culture to remain relevant and to offer critiques of social, political, legal, and economic practices.

"I was 22 years old, a hard-on with a pulse: wretched vice-ridden, too much to burn and not enough minutes in a hour to do so. 1995 was a full 365-day year of drinking, fucking, lying, raging and exploration for me - not a dull one in the bunch. It was a time of self-shit: self-importance, self-absorption, self-indulgence and selfishness. I was the only person in the known galaxy and I wanted what the fuck I wanted sooner rather than later." The action begins in Iowa, where Corey Taylor committs each of the Seven Deadly Sins.

All Christians read the Bible differently, pray differently, value their traditions differently, and give different weight to individual and corporate judgment. These differences are the basis of conflict. The question Christian ethics must answer, then, is, "What does the good life look like in the context of conflict?"

Widely respected pastor and ethicist Robin Lovin offers sage counsel in this helpful book, arguing that to resist the trend of polarization in our church we must rediscover how the gospel teaches us to understand ourselves, our neighbors, and the purpose of politics. With questions for discussion and reflection aligned with the content of each chapter, What Do We Do When Nobody Is Listening? provides an accessible road map for navigating out of the morass of polarization into a brighter future of church unity, during election seasons and beyond.

In Conduct Gospel-Centered Funerals, pastors Brian Croft and Phil A. Newton offer listeners a concise guide to planning and preparing a funeral service that highlights the life-giving hope of Christ through the gospel. The Practical Shepherding series provides pastors and ministry leaders with practical help for pastoral ministry in a local church.

Many conservatives are ready to give up fighting against the legalization of marijuana. “Hasn’t the war on drugs been a failure?” they ask. Libertarians turn this surrender into a virtue: “People should be free to do what they want, as long as they’re not hurting anyone.” But as Christians, we must be ready to swim against the tide, even when it’s no longer cool. Liberty for potheads means tyranny for everyone, including the smokers enslaved by the drug.

So Help Me God relates the compelling story of Chief Justice Roy Moore, including his controversial Ten Commandments displays, his refusal to obey an unlawful order of a federal court, and why the critical legal and political question of our time is, 'Can the state acknowledge God?'

When sin is disguised as virtue, the path to cultivating righteousness becomes impossible. Such is the challenge Christians face in the modern age. Not long ago, most people would agree that the seven deadly sins are in fact deadly. But ask them today, and you’ll hear a different answer. Today, “anger” is often considered an admirable emotion, “lust” the only expression of love, and “greed” the unassailable right to “get what’s yours”. The world can rebrand sin all it wants and declare the death of truth, but it has no power against the truth of the Scripture.

Pastor Runyan finishes his series on Deuteronomy 1-4, in preparation for tackling the commandments, which begin in earnest in Deuteronomy 5. In Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Moses mentions the fact that Israel designated three cities on the other side of the Jordan as Cities of Refuge. This is a curious topic in the Law of God, often generating as many questions as answers. In this sermon, Pastor Runyan explains how the Cities of Refuge were meant to work in real life. He highlights principles of justice which we would all do well to remember even in our modern day. Then he explores the strong ...

Charles Curran, in his newest book, The Development of Moral Theology: Five Strands, brings a unique historical and critical analysis to the five strands that differentiate Catholic moral theology from other approaches to Christian ethics - sin and the manuals of moral theology, the teaching of Thomas Aquinas and later Thomists, natural law, the role of authoritative church teaching in moral areas, and Vatican II. Significant changes have occurred over the course of these historical developments.

Christians often seem to have a weirdly uncomfortable relationship with the thought of obeying God's commandments. They're scared of getting gummed up in "works righteousness" or legalism. This needs to stop. The Gospel will be adorned, not harmed in some way, by Christians who do God's will. Jesus obeyed God completely. Either we're supposed to be like Him, or we're not. This sermon takes the encouraging words of Moses, given to Israel on the verge of crossing into Canaan, and draws out several powerful blessings that God attaches to the covenant faithfulness of His people.

We’re not good at living with tension. It’s uncomfortable. It feels unsafe. The moment a friend, spouse, business, or political movement disagrees with us, we flee to the safety of like-minded thinkers, and dehumanize and attack anyone who thinks differently. No one wins. And if someone dares question our particular stance, we demonize them. This is killing us - families, friendships, civility, and discourse. It kills our chance to hear and be heard. We must step out of our bunkers and step into no-man’s-land....

This treatise is the third installment in the Theological Threads series. It investigates the Wind River Shoshoni Indians' concept and development of their understanding of the supernatural. Specifically, it is an in depth investigation of their pre-Columbus understanding of God, his attributes, and the creation of the world.

In the Bible, what was the basis of the ancient people of God enjoying all the gracious promises that He gave to Abraham? Was it merely a matter of physical ancestry, or has it been (even from the book of Genesis) a matter of ethical/judicial action? Does a little Abrahamic blood in your veins buy you some sort of favor from God, even in spite of a persistent lack of faith? As we look at Deuteronomy 4:23-31, these questions are immensely relevant in our day. What does the Bible say about Israel's war for the land? This is not a sermon about politics, though it does carry some obvious, ...

The problem isn't sex. God designed sex, and sex is good. Sex is a powerful union that brings men and women together. But when sex is distorted by sin, the misuse of our sexuality can alienate us from one another, causing immense harm and pain. Enter pornography - the most prevalent distortion of sexual sin in America. Pornography is not only a problem in terms of personal morality but a social epidemic that is making the possibility of sexually fulfilled marriages harder to achieve.

In the face of rapid medical advances in our world, bioethics is a serious concern for many in our society - Christians and non-Christians alike. Here, Gilbert Meilaender, professor of theological ethics at Valparaiso University in Indiana, contends that it is imperative for Christians to think consciously about bioethical issues as Christians if they are not to risk losing their Christian identity.

What if Jesus was serious about loving our enemies? For too long, those who carry the name "Christian" have ignored the Christlike path of enemy-love and creative nonviolence. For many of us, the Second Amendment has become more important than the Sermon on the Mount. It's time we begin to walk the path of peace marked out for us by the Prince of Peace and learn to study war no more.

Being pro-life means that not only do we see abortion as a murder, but we also see our apathy against injustice toward outside of the womb as a coconspirator in the fight for life. It means that we fight for racial equality. It means that we love - the woman walking into the abortion clinic - passionately with the love of Christ, and it means we embrace life no matter what label may be attached to a person's identity.

A popular survey of how we can think Christianly, see clearly, and respond as Christ would to contemporary ethical issues such as crime, rehabilitation, consumerism, war, euthanasia, same sex relationships, and other complex issues that confront us in the 21st century....