Description
"This work will serve well as a textbook for college- and seminary-level ethics courses and as a trustworthy guide for pastors, lay leaders, and all ministry professionals who desire to apply faithfully the texts of Scripture to many of today's crucial ethical issues. I highly recommend this superb volume."--Robert V. Rakestraw, Bethel Seminary
Situational ethics, made popular in the 1960s, teaches that "all we need is love." Loving is how we should be, but it does not tell us what to do. A biblical ethic can provide guidance and begins with the light of Scripture. But how applicable is the Bible's moral standard to the complex issues we face today, such as stem cell research, euthanasia, racism, gambling, and environmental care? And how does a person use Scripture in making or evaluating ethical decisions?
Trusted Bible scholar and teacher Walter Kaiser answers these questions by connecting eighteen tough ethical issues to eighteen key teaching Scriptures, including, for example, poverty with Isaiah 58, genetic engineering with Genesis 1:26-30 and 2:15-25, substance abuse with Proverbs 23:29-35, cohabitation with 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, and war with Deuteronomy 20:1-20 and Romans 13:1-7. Through authoritative teaching from Scripture, suggested expositional outlines, and insights from years of teaching this material at Gordon-Conwell and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Kaiser demonstrates how to connect Scripture to ethical issues and train congregations to think biblically about ethics. The result is a vital text for teaching pastors, a stimulating resource and guide for preaching, and a foundation for developing Bible studies.