This chapter examines the role of the Bible in the works of Soren Kierkegaard, explaining that Kierkegaard was so heavily indebted to the Bible that some critics considered him to be an expositor of Scripture. He used the Bible to obtain ideas for cultural criticism and literary images and tropes. The chapter argues that Kierkegaard cannot be ignored as a substantial participant within and contributor to the history of biblical interpretation, contending that he is personally and authorially inculturated in the (...) world of the Bible. (shrink)

In his posthumously published Journals and Papers,, Kierkegaard boldly claimed, "Oh, once I am dead, Fear and Trembling alone will be enough for an imperishable name as an author. Then it will be read, translated into foreign languages as well. The reader will almost shrink from the frightful pathos in the book." Certainly, Fear and Trembling has been translated into foreign languages, and its fame has ensured Kierkegaard's place in the pantheon of Western philosophy. Today, however, most shrink from the (...) book not because of its frightful pathos but because of its fearsome impenetrability. In this first volume of a Reading Kierkegaard miniseries, Martens carefully unfolds the form and content of Kierkegaard's celebrated pseudonymous text, guiding and inviting the reader to embrace the challenge of wrestling with it to the end. Throughout, Martens demonstrates that Fear and Trembling is not merely a book that contains frightful pathos; it is also an entree into Kierkegaard's vibrant and polyphonic corpus that is nearly as restless as the faith it commends. (Publisher). (shrink)

This essay challenges the prevailing presumptions concerning the antithetical relationship between nonviolence and natural law. In conversation with the representative natural law positions offered by J. Daryl Charles and Jean Porter, I turn to the framing of the relationship between the new law and the natural law in Aquinas's "Treatise on Law" and appeal to the writings of John Howard Yoder and Stanley Hauerwas in order to argue that nonviolence can and should affirm natural law in some form if it (...) intends to claim to represent "the grain of the universe.". (shrink)

This volume draws together leading theologians and Christian ethicists from across the globe to critically engage with and reflect upon Gerald McKenny, widely acknowledged as one of the most original and important Christian ethicists working today. The essays highlight the significance of McKenny's interventions with a range of important debates in contemporary theological ethics, ranging from analyses of the Protestant conception of grace to bioethics and medicine. The Ethics of Grace is the first volume to facilitate critical engagements with a (...) number of key themes in McKenny's work, not in the least his interpretation of Karl Barth. Among the contributions, Jennifer Herdt discusses McKenny's Barthian interest in the relationship between nature and grace; Angela Carpenter uses his Barthian understanding of grace and human action as a framework to discuss Jonathan Edwards; Stanley Hauerwas pushes McKenny's theology beyond Barth. Economic, political, and technological themes are also discussed in depth, for instance in Robert Song's chapter on the phenomenology of biotechnological enhancement. Reaching far beyond the work of Gerald McKenny, this multifaceted volume is a high-level resource for students and scholars of theological and philosophical ethics. (shrink)

In the North American context, one trend in introductory Protestant Christian ethics texts is clear: the desire to draw the focus away from moral pronouncements about contemporary ‘issues’ in order to concentrate on what it means to be truly human, that is, to see the world as followers of Christ made in the image of God and to employ forms of moral reasoning appropriate to this vision. The article illuminates the particular emphases displayed in contemporary Protestant ethics texts published in (...) the United States over the past decade as each contributes to this agenda of renewal. In conclusion, I argue that the trend toward eschewing ‘applied’ ends is laudable and yet ambiguous. I suggest this trend may also be tied to the relative gender and racial uniformity of the authors, because what is frequently absent in this collection are the social and political concerns commonly voiced by more marginalized voices. (shrink)

In the North American context, one trend in introductory Protestant Christian ethics texts is clear: the desire to draw the focus away from moral pronouncements about contemporary ‘issues’ in order to concentrate on what it means to be truly human, that is, to see the world as followers of Christ made in the image of God and to employ forms of moral reasoning appropriate to this vision. The article illuminates the particular emphases displayed in contemporary Protestant ethics texts published in (...) the United States over the past decade as each contributes to this agenda of renewal. In conclusion, I argue that the trend toward eschewing ‘applied’ ends is laudable and yet ambiguous. I suggest this trend may also be tied to the relative gender and racial uniformity of the authors, because what is frequently absent in this collection are the social and political concerns commonly voiced by more marginalized voices. (shrink)