We have a need today to free up the Church in its
ability think through and debate its ethical responses
to contemporary issues. How do we think about and
respond to the issues of crime, punishment and
rehabilitation, consumerism - money, banks, economics
and bonuses, war and peace making, euthanasia and
assisted dying, same sex relationships. etc.'We can only
act within the world we can envision.... We do not come
to see merely by looking, but must develop disciplined
skills through initiation into that community that
attempts to live faithfully to the story of God...by
learning to be faithful disciples, we are more able to
see the world as it is.' Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable
Kingdom. Ethics provide the cultural and moral framework
in which we live our whole lives. Our ethics are like
the air we breathe, and though for the most part they go
unnoticed, our lives and communities depend on them. But
Christian ethics are distinctive. They are not just
anyone's ethics. Indeed, if the Christian vision is not
distinct from other moral frameworks, then what is so
special about Christ and our story? For many, Jesus has
simply become nothing more than a 'personal' and
'private' motivator to the same common ideals, which are
shared by all. So, how do we live distinctively in a
time of uncertainty? How do we see the world through the
eyes of Christ? What tools do we need for the complex
choices that confront us, in order to live well; to live
Christ centred lives in the 21st century? This book
provides this kind of help in a clearly, written
accessible style with discussion questions making this
useful for small-group use. |
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