Christian Social Ethics

Rowan Williams as Hegelian Political Theologian: Resacralising Secular Politics

by Carys Moseley

Published in Heythrop Journal 53(3), May 2012: 362-381.

Review of Bruce G. EPPERLY. "Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed"

by Hans Gustafson

Reflections on Knowledge, Criticism, and the Intellectual

by Jason Craige Harris

Major Paper - Transcendence in Barth and Bonhoeffer

by Dean Marco Funk

William Lloyd Garrison and the United States Constitution: The Political Evolution of an American Radical

by Ronald Osborn

Journal of Law and Religion, Vol.24, No.1, 2009: 65-88

In this article I trace the development of William Lloyd Garrison's radical abolitionism, his politics of disunion,... more In this article I trace the development of William Lloyd Garrison's radical abolitionism, his politics of disunion, and his evolving critique of the United States Constitution. Flawed and problematic as Garrison's politics were, I argue, his Christian anarchist critique of the Constitution was based upon a realistic reading of the document as an inherently pro-slavery document. His case for disunion was also based upon a plausible political calculation of what might be done to end slavery without bloody civil war. Garrison did more to force the slavery issue into public debate and to galvanize the nation around the slavery issue than any other individual. There are ways to work to advance the Good Society, he demonstrated in the process, that do not involve compromises with massive injustice or sacrifice of nonviolent principles.

Obama's Niebuhrian Moment

by Ronald Osborn

First Things (online edition), January 11 and 12, 2010

Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech can be read as a concise restatement of Reinhold Niebuhr’s... more Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech can be read as a concise restatement of Reinhold Niebuhr’s political ethics as a guide to U.S. foreign policy for the twenty-first century. The major themes in Niebuhr’s thinking found powerful resonance in the speech, in which an American president in a new century reasserted, as the doctrinal basis of his foreign policy, the cherished political theology of America’s two major parties for most of the past century. Niebuhr's “Christian Realism” touched deep chords in the self-understandings of many Americans and gave his pronouncements on foreign policy an orthodox-sounding varnish. But what he provided America’s political elites from the 1940s on—and the Truman and Kennedy administrations in particular—was valuable ideological legitimization for more pragmatic policies in the context of Cold War power rivalries. By contrast to both Niebuhr and Obama, Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize address offers a radically different politics in the form of what I refer to as "prophetic realism."

The 'War' Against Climate Change and Christian Eco-Justice: Ethical Implications of Martial Rhetoric

by Kevin J. O'Brien

Forthcoming in Worldviews: Religions, Culture, and Ecology

Some climate activists and media writers analyzing responses to climate change appeal to martial language, emphasizing... more Some climate activists and media writers analyzing responses to climate change appeal to martial language, emphasizing the seriousness of the problem by calling for a “war” against climate change. Drawing on a Christian ethic of eco-justice, this paper analyzes the implications of such rhetoric, measuring it against the norms of participation, solidarity, sufficiency, and sustainability. These norms reveal that martial rhetoric runs the risk of inspiring authoritarian, divisive solutions that distract from the genuine conflicts caused by climate change and the long-term changes required in response. While climate change is an urgent problem, a Christian ethics of eco-justice should encourage action on this issue with metaphors that are more empowering and inclusive than war.

La Causa and Environmental Justice: César Chávez as a Resource for 21st Century Christian Ecological Ethics

by Kevin J. O'Brien

Forthcoming in The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics

Christian ecological ethicists are increasingly recognizing that moral response to contemporary problems like mass... more Christian ecological ethicists are increasingly recognizing that moral response to contemporary problems like mass extinction and climate change must incorporate and build upon established movements for social justice. This essay contributes to that work by learning from the 20th century union organizer César Chávez and his advocacy for justice and environmental health among farm workers. I argue that understanding key themes of Chávez’s morality in his context, particularly the universality of human dignity and the importance of personal and collective sacrifice, can contribute to a Christian ecological ethics with a program for social change and justice.

Thinking Globally and Thinking Locally: Ecology, Subsidiarity, and a Multiscalar Environmentalism

by Kevin J. O'Brien

The Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture 2.2 (2008)

Environmentalism is a movement concerned with both the entirety of planet Earth and the very particular local places... more Environmentalism is a movement concerned with both the entirety of planet Earth and the very particular local places and systems of which it is comprised.  This article attempts to connect a set of academic perspectives with which to understand and reflect on such scalar issues, tracking differences between the diverse scales and levels of moral attention to environmental problems.  The work of ecological researchers and theorists offers a vocabulary for this task, and the writings of environmental philosopher Bryan Norton provide tools for applying such a vocabulary to moral concerns.  Another important contribution comes from the Catholic principle of subsidiarity, which stresses the continuing importance of individual persons and local systems in a vast and globalizing world.  Drawing on these diverse sources, this article advocates a multiscalar perspective on environmental problems, seeking to acknowledge and discern the ways different issues must be understood and approached at different scales.

“The Liturgy as a Basis for Catholic Identity, Just War Theory, and the Presumption against War.” In Catholic Identity and the Laity, College Theology Society Annual Vol. 54, ed. Tim Muldoon. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2009, pp. 134-151.

by Tobias Winright

Drawing on the work of Virgil Michel OSB, I argue that the liturgy as a basis for Catholic thinking about just war... more Drawing on the work of Virgil Michel OSB, I argue that the liturgy as a basis for Catholic thinking about just war establishes a strong presumption against war (contrary to George Weigel's claims).

“Gather Us In and Make Us Channels of Your Peace: Undertaking an Evaluation of War with an Entirely New Attitude.” In Gathered for the Journey: Moral Theology in Catholic Perspective, eds. M. Therese Lysaught and David Matzko McCarthy. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing/SCM Press, 2007, pp. 281-306.

by Tobias Winright

Published in Gathered for the Journey: Moral Theology in Catholic Perspective, eds. M. Therese Lysaught and David Matzko McCarthy. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing/SCM Press, 2007, pp. 281-306. This book received 3rd Place award in the Theology Category from the 2008 Catholic Press Association Awards.

Begins with the liturgy as locus where Christians, whether pacifists or just war proponents, are formed and informed... more Begins with the liturgy as locus where Christians, whether pacifists or just war proponents, are formed and informed morally concerning war and peace.

‘Sharing Peace: Class, Hierarchy & Christian Social Order,’ in eds, Stanley Hauerwas & Sam Wells, rev edn, Blackwells Companion to Christian Ethics (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011)

by Luke Bretherton