Kingdom Ethics : Following Jesus in Contemporary Context

"The most basic question of ethics is not, How should we live? but rather, To whom do we belong? This important book tackles both of these questions in the light of discipleship-based biblical faith. Both David Gushee and Glen Stassen are activists as well as theorists, and this book reflects their passion for following Jesus even when it means swimming against the stream. Not all will agree with every solution proposed here, but no one can ignore this contribution to the evangelical conversation."--Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and executive editor of Christianity Today "When two of today's leading evangelical Baptist ethicists team up, we would naturally expect a book that views the Christian ethic as our response to Jesus' call to discipleship... Drawing from the narrative approach and the focus on virtue or character ethics indicative of contemporary moral thinking, Stassen and Gushee engage with a wide range of formidable ethical questions, doing so, however, with Jesus' ethical teaching in the Sermon on the Mount always close at hand."--Stanley J. Grenz, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Baylor University and Truett Seminary "This is an important book for our times, when many Christians are once again looking to Jesus as someone who has something of unique significance to say about human life. For more than a century he has been regarded as someone to be right about, in one way or another. But his detailed teachings have for long not been taken seriously, within the church or out. They have been regarded as simply nothing essential to faith or to life. But he became the force he has been in the world precisely because those who initially took him seriously understood that who he is was a conclusive reason for regarding his specific teachings as the key to turning their concrete existence into a life in the kingdom of God--the only life suited to the human soul. The relevance of faith in him for the world of today and tomorrow will depend on those identified as his people reclaiming that same understanding of what it means for him to be Savior and Lord."--Dallas Willard "Kingdom Ethics is distinctive in the way that it takes biblical perspectives seriously. Rather than letting contemporary issues and agendas limit the number of biblical texts that are considered relevant for ethics, it allows the Bible itself to define what matters most in contemporary life. While it doesn't shy away from arguing that particular actions or practices should be made illegal, it is far more interested in helping us understand why people should not desire them in the first place. Even better, it constantly encourages the reader to keep in view the kingdom vision that majors in constructive alternatives rather than mere ethical condemnations. All who are serious about glorifying God by the life they live will benefit greatly from reading this book."--John F. Kilner, Ph.D., President, The Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity "Kingdom Ethics is a profound call to Christian discipleship based on probing, incisive and illuminating reflection on the Sermon on the Mount. This is a very important book--a major contribution that provides a radically unique, compelling way of doing Christian ethics grounded in the teachings and practices of Jesus--and deserves to be used across denominational and cultural boundaries. I particularly hope that it will get serious attention from Asian American congregations as they seek to become faithful and prophetic communities of sojourners in the North American context."--Joon-Sik Park, E. Stanley Jones Associate Professor of World Evangelism, Methodist Theological School in Ohio "Groundbreaking, current, biblical, simply superb."--Ronald J. Sider, President, Evangelicals for Social Action, Professor of Theology and Culture, Eastern Seminary "Kingdom Ethics is a wonderful contribution to the community of Jesus' disciples. Guided by the dominant theme in Jesus' proclamation, the authors teach us that the issue is not the relevance of the kingdom of God to us but our obedient participation in its continuing activity. They accomplish this with accessible scholarship, perceptive cultural criticism and practical wisdom. Moreover, they manage the nearly impossible feat of introducing students to the range of issues in Christian ethics without losing the kingdom as the key to following Jesus. Kingdom Ethics should become an indispensable resource for discipleship in congregations, colleges and seminaries."--Jonathan R. Wilson, Professor of Religious Studies, Westmont College "Stassen and Gushee provide an exceptional guide through the thickets of the vexing ethical dilemmas thrust on us by our contemporary age. Their work is informed by solid biblical scholarship, up-to-date scientific insights and astute analyses grounded in the teaching of Scripture. Creative, comprehensive and lively, it is certain to give readers a more profound understanding of Christian ethics and ethical reasoning. "--David E. Garland, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary "Stassen and Gushee provide a book on Christian ethics that is both 'deep and wide.' It is deep in its focused attention on Jesus as the defining reality and continuing source for Christian living. It is wide in two ways. It is wide in its focus on both the teachings and practices of Christ. Second, the majority of the book is given to a creative search for how the life of faith, informed and inspired by the life of Christ, can find expression across the spectrum of contemporary moral challenges and conundrums. From bioethics to gender role, politics to worship, and more, this book will inspire and inform those who take being Christian seriously."--Daniel B. McGee, Professor of Christian Ethics, Department of Religion, Baylor University "Kingdom Ethics promises to become a cherished resource for a diverse audience of modern readers who hunger for the recovery of the ethics of Jesus for our times. Because of its balanced approach to theory and application, this book works equally well as a textbook for teaching and as a guidebook for living."--Cheryl J. Sanders, Professor of Christian Ethics, Howard University School of Divinity, Senior Pastor, Third Street Church of God, Washington, D.C. "With Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, Stassen and Gushee invite us to confront anew the radical nature of Jesus' teachings as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount--teachings that often rub modern sensibilities the wrong way--yet teachings that are indispensable for Christian moral consciousness. The book challenges us to consider the Christian ethical life as one oriented to this message of the kingdom--a way of life characterized by prayer, passion and fidelity to specific practices consistent with the will of God, or as they put it, 'holistic character ethics.' Readers will find the discussion of such practices in their view of the Christian moral life to be informed, energetic and engaging."--Samuel K. Roberts, E. Hervey Evans Professor of Theology and Ethics, Union Theological Seminary-Presbyterian School of Christian Education, Richmond, Virginia "Gushee and Stassen make a compelling case for how the way of Jesus and his teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (in continuity with the prophet Isaiah) are normative for Christian life and practice. The general reader will appreciate the concrete, practical relevance and breadth of inquiry on issues like war and peace, sexuality, marriage and divorce, gender roles, race, economics, and the care of creation. The book will become a benchmark for the guild of scholars in Christian social ethics for the way it creatively engages the diversity of methodologies and perspective in our discipline with the question of what we do with Jesus."--Duane K. Friesen, Professor of Bible and Religion, Bethel College (KS) "Kingdom Ethics is an excellent demonstration of how helpful it is to orient Christian moral reflection around Jesus' teachings and emphases. The authors' sustained engagement with the structure and substance of the Sermon on the Mount allows its grace-based guidance to speak powerfully to contemporary questions and concerns. Working adeptly with the Scriptures, Christian tradition and contemporary data, Stassen and Gushee have crafted an exceptional book. The chapters shine with insight and clarity. Complex issues are handled with careful analysis and pastoral sensitivity; the result is an ethics text that is courageous, thought-provoking and life-giving."--Christine D. Pohl, Professor of Social Ethics, Asbury Theological Seminary "This book is one I return to again and again. Stassen and Gushee have provided a clear and fruitful biblical framework for each contemporary issue. The exploration of various points of view is insightful and always gives me perspective sometimes troubling, sometimes confirming. Kingdom Ethics is like a set of biblical and ethical spectacles to see through the fog of media and ideological distractions."--Suzii Paynter, executive coordinator of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Christianity Today, January-February 2015" "Working out of a self-confessed blend of baptistic traditions, but including interpretive secondary materials from a broad range of different church traditions and scholarly perspectives, Glen Stassen and David Gushee creatively construct a Christian ethics modeled on an ethics of virtue. This model of virtue ethics is firmly grounded in the centrality of Jesus' proclamation of God's reign and its correlate moral teachings gathered in the Sermon on the Mount. The result is a rendition of Christian ethics that is focused on the cultivation of a person's virtuous character-in-community, and that is ecumenical in tone, experiential in nature, and salient in granting ethical insights, perspectives and guidance on contemporary moral issues. This book merits widespread use as a textbook for courses in Christian ethics in universities, colleges and seminaries, as well as a study guide for church-based educational programs desiring to engage class members in an informed and serious discussion of Christian moral life."--Murray W. Dempster, President and Professor of Social Ethics, Vanguard University, Costa Mesa, California "Many Christians in America have accommodated themselves to the values of a secular culture, either acquiescing to a materialist/consumerist ethos (on the ideological right) or a relativist 'I'm OK, you're OK' ethos (on the ideological left). Kingdom Ethics is a clarion call to the church to be the body of Christ on earth, to live incarnationally and be as unique today as Jesus was in his day. Stassen and Gushee have reclaimed the centrality of Jesus and his teachings for the distinctiveness of the Christian and the church in the modern world. They have written an exciting book that clearly and concretely demonstrates the Christian ethos is not some kind of quixotic idealism but is truly a radical but practical way of living. At a time when Christians everywhere are asking 'What would Jesus do?' Stassen and Gushee have provided searching answers to the moral questions of the day. Kingdom Ethics is an outstanding contribution to the field that should be read by every serious Christian."--Dr. Carlos R. Piar, Professor of Religious Studies, California State University Long Beach "Kingdom Ethics reaffirms and deepens the challenge raised a generation ago by John Howard Yoder to bring Jesus back into Christian ethics. This is an impressive book, scholarly yet accessible, wide-ranging yet consistently returning to the moral and theological vision of Jesus for guidance. There is much to learn from its careful construction of a kingdom-based character ethics, its clear-sighted approach to the methodology of Christian ethics and its intelligent examination of contemporary ethical issues. If ever there was a time the Christian community needed to recover the moral meaning of following Jesus, this is it, and Kingdom Ethics will go a long way in helping us do so."--Christopher D. Marshall, Tyndale Graduate School of Theology, Auckland, New Zealand "An invaluable teaching and preaching resource to help the church improve its disciple-making efforts."--Light Life, July/August 2010