Christian Ethics and the Church - Paperback

by Philip Turner (Author)

This book introduces Christian ethics from a theological perspective. Philip Turner, widely recognized as a leading expert in the field, explores the intersection of moral theology and ecclesiology, arguing that the focus of Christian ethics should not be personal holiness or social reform but the common life of the church. A theology of moral thought and practice must take its cues from the notion that human beings, upon salvation, are redeemed and called into a life oriented around the community of the church. This book distills a senior scholar's life work and will be valued by students of Christian ethics, theology, and ecclesiology.

Back Jacket

Wise in format, thought, and counsel, and clear and charitable in expression, comprehensive in scope, Philip Turner's book brings a lifetime of scholarly reflection, churchly hands-on living, and missionary experience to this refreshing project on Christian ethics. His is an effort to reorient the ethical life away from self and toward the graces and challenges of Christian fellowship in communion. The reader is taken on a thoughtful journey of patient reconfiguration into Christ's body for the sake of the world.
--Christopher Seitz, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto

"H. Richard Niebuhr's theme of Christ transforming culture was enormously influential in Christian ethics during the last half of the twentieth century. Whatever its usefulness then, Philip Turner argues that in a culture where faith is increasingly pushed to the margins, the church's common life must now be the focus of Christian moral reflection. Turner develops this argument in detail and in prolonged conversation with the New Testament witness. His is not, however, an argument for withdrawal from the larger society; rather, he believes that only a church that has discovered its calling can understand its civic and political responsibilities. This is a deeply thoughtful book, the fruit of years of reflection and experience, and it deserves to be read by anyone who wants to think seriously about the shape of a life in Christ."
--Gilbert Meilaender, Valparaiso University

"From African missionary to professor to seminary dean and president, Philip Turner now presents his life's work in living into and giving voice to the distinctiveness of Christian ethics. Catholic in nature, evangelical in mission, Turner's sustained argument is that life in Christ is centered in what it means to be the church and what that means for being in the world. Chapters on alternative theological visions and on moral choices in the public sphere make this a rich argument about the Christian moral life and a text that can also serve well in an introductory course in Christian ethics."
--Timothy F. Sedgwick, Virginia Theological Seminary

Author Biography

Philip Turner (PhD, Princeton University), now retired, is an Episcopal priest and the author or editor of several books. He lives in Austin, Texas. He previously taught at the General Theological Seminary in New York and served as dean of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University.