Christian Ethics

This enlightening book steers readers through the challenges and moral issues, providing a clear and decisive history of the main figures and texts in Christian ethics.

• A short and lively history of Christian ethics, exploring how Christianity has always had to grapple with complex moral problems - from questions about the status of early Christians who renounced their religion under Roman torture, through to current debates about euthanasia
  
• Engages with the main texts and figures in Christian ethics, including Augustine, Benedict, Aquinas, Luther and Barth
  
• Considers questions such as human will, the proper form of Christian life, natural law, and whether human nature is at odds with Christian ethics
  
• Concludes with a thought-provoking chapter considering the role that Christian ethics can play in contemporary moral debates and ethical dilemmas

Preface viii

Introduction 1

1 Benedict and the Practice of the Christian Life 10

2 Augustine, God, and Human Nature: The Theory of the Christian Life 23

3 Thomas Aquinas: Natural Law and the Loss of Christian Ethics 42

4 Martin Luther: Against Ethics 56

5 Butler, Kant, and Kierkegaard: The Turn to the Subject 71

6 Nietzsche and the Genealogists: Suspecting the Subject 86

7 Karl Barth and John Paul II: The Rediscovery of Christian Ethics 99

8 History in the Present: Genetics, Philosophy, and Christian Life 114

Suggestions for Further Reading 137

Bibliography 141

Index 145

"One might expect such a history to begin with the Bible, but Banner starts with a small work from the early Church: the Rule of St. Benedict (550 C.E.), which he claims is the paradigmatic framework with which to understand Christian ethics. . . Although Banner states that he does not intend to defend Christianity, his positive opinion of it emerges (which is not of itself a short-coming)." (Philosophy in Review, August 2010)

"For a book so short, it is disproportionately powerful, and far from being an 'idiot's guide' it has its own distinctive voice and case to offer." (Regent's Reviews, April 2010)

"As the title of the present volume indicates, the aim of the book is to provide a brief history of Christian ethics. The author does this by engaging with key figures and their thought, including Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Martin Luther, which allows him to draw out the challenges to Christian ethics, which Nietzsche and other nineteenth-century thinkers as well as contemporary relativism have presented." (Journal of Contemporary Religion)

"This book is part of a series that aims to present 'brief, accessible, and lively accounts of key topics within theology and religion.' This history of Christian ethics succeeds in all three aims." (CHOICE, October 2009)

Michael Banner is a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, and has held chairs at the University of Edinburgh and King's college, London. He has also chaired an advisory panel on issues to do with the use of animals in scientific experiments, and is a board member of the Human Tissue Authority. He is the author of Christian Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems (1999) and The Justification of Science and the Rationality of Religious Belief (1990).

CHRISTIAN ETHICS
A Brief History

MICHAEL BANNER

From questions about whether or not Christians could serve in the Roman army through to current debates about genetic engineering, Christianity has always grappled with complex moral problems. Providing a clear and decisive history of the main figures and schools in Christian ethics, this book introduces readers to the principles which Christians have brought to the discussion of these and other issues.

The author tackles questions such as: What is it to live a Christian life? How is it possible, given weakness of the will? Should we follow the natural law? And are Christian ethics at odds with the findings of philosophy or science? Engaging with key figures including Augustine, Benedict, Aquinas, Luther, and John Paul II, he draws attention to the challenges which have been put to Christian ethics, especially by Nietzsche and other nineteenth-century thinkers, and by contemporary relativism. This concise, illuminating book concludes with a discussion of biotechnology, and the contribution that Christian ethics can make to contemporary moral debates.

"No history of ethics, and in particular, a history of Christian ethics can be purely 'history'. Rather it is as it should be an argument about how we need to think in order to act well as Christians. We are quite fortunate to have Michael Banner’s book because it is an incisive contribution to this project."
—Stanley Hauerwas, Duke University

"I have no hesitation in recommending Banner's Christian Ethics: A Brief History. I cannot imagine a book that would beat this for clarity of focus or attractiveness of style."
—Oliver O'Donovan, University of Edinburgh