Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context | Glen H. Stassen, David P. Gushee

Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context | Glen H. Stassen, David P. Gushee | Unbelievable, simply unbelievable

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Kingdom Ethics: Fo...

	Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context Glen H. Stassen, David P. Gushee InterVarsity Press, 2003 - 496 pages average customer review:based on 4 reviews view larger image
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One of Christianity Today's 2003 Books of the Year!In this masterful and innovative book Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee join profound ethical reflection with faith in Jesus Christ, a life of discipleship and the hope of the present and coming kingdom of God. The result is a challenging, comprehensive treatment of Christian ethics centered on the life and teachings of Jesus.Drawing on detailed studies of the Sermon on the Mount, Stassen and Gushee shed light on the whole of biblical ethical teaching as it relates to a wide range of issues, including peacemaking, just war, nonviolence, sexuality and gender roles, marriage and divorce, race, economics, care of creation, prayer and politics.Their work yields neither an impossible idealism, nor an abstract ethical system, nor a generic religious legalism. Rather Stassen and Gushee set forth a holistic ethic that motivates us and provides us with a practical basis for living under the lordship of Jesus Christ.

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From the WESTERN RECORDER

"The church confesses that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah...God incarnate...the Savior...Lord of the Church and of the world...center not only of the Christian faith, but also...of the universe itself... Here is the problem. Christian churches across the theological and confessional spectrum...are often guilty of evading Jesus, the cornerstone and center of the Christian faith."
With those words, Glen Stassen, professor of Christian Ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, and David Gushee, professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University challenge us to reflect on and reform the way we live as disciples of Jesus Christ. Kingdom Ethics is not a light, how-to approach to making moral decisions. It is a serious look at how the church in general, and Christians specifically, have ignored significant parts of the Gospel in our leap from Jesus' birth to his death and resurrection. Beyond diagnosis of that problem, Stassen and Gushee invite us to reflect on the way we make and discuss moral decisions and to examine a pattern that follows Jesus' moral discourse.
The first third of the book deals with a method and approach to Christian ethics based within Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God. More specifically, they ask us to focus on the Sermon on the Mount for both content and pattern of Christian moral reflection. The last two-thirds of the book applies this method to contemporary issues.
I found their critique of contemporary Christian moral reasoning insightful and sadly true. Yet, Stassen and Gushee not only show us how we got to a place where we ignore our primary source for living, but they offer us a way out. Kingdom Ethics is not an easy read; not because the authors have written badly, but because they challenge us to use our minds and do the hard work of Biblical and contextual interpretation. Nevertheless, no one who takes seriously the task of Christian spiritual formation should bypass this book.

From: "The Faithful Reader" -- A book review column in the WESTERN RECORDER, statewide newspublication of The Kentucky Baptist Convention

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Unbelievable, simply unbelievable

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. This book is incredible. Words can't describe the greatness of this work of art. Gushee and Stassen really come together on this one. Please, go out now and buy it.

Pragmatic advice for a troubled world

I am a practicing Christian and I was introduced to this book as part of a Sunday School class a few years ago, and it is the ONLY Sunday School reference that I have ever gone back to consistently. Having said that, I primarily refer to the sections addressing contemporary issues (there is a chapter on abortion, just war theory, euthanasia, environmentalism, etc. -- it runs the gamut of important, politically charged topics). While I don't agree with their conclusions in every case, I believe the authors have done an OUTSTANDING job of aproaching each of the topics from multiple perspectives, complete with both Biblical and secular evidence supporting their case. As an example, I would offer up their point on abortion. The bottom line is that the authors feel that FAR MORE emphasis should be placed on preventing the causes of unwanted pregnancies (WWJD), as opposed to investing so much (wasted) energy participating in (what I believe to be) very un-Christianlike and counter-productive attacks against the pro-abortion crowd. I wish every policy-maker read, and seriously contemplated the points that these authors have attempted to make in this book. The only warning I would make is that this is really a scholarly (i.e. seminary) text. That is why the first 1/3 of it is a little tough to get through at times. But even if you bought it for the policy-related issues, it is money very well spent.

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