This reissue of a twentieth-century classic by H. Richard Niebuhr emphasizes an understanding of God's revelation that takes seriously both the Bible itself and modern ideas about the nature of history. The book argues that God's revelation is "confessional history." The source and setting of basic Christian convictions lie within a historical framework. By his focus on revelation as personal experience, Niebuhr served as the igniting force for views of future theological movements that are still prevalent more than forty years after his death. First published in 1941, this masterful work...

In this contemporary classic originally published in 1963, Paul Lehmann answers the central question posed time and again to Christians throughout the ages: what am I as a believer in Jesus Christ and a member of his church to do? Lehmann argues that while principles for moral action can be rules of thumb, there are no absolute moral norms beyond the general norm of love. Lehmann contends that Christians are to act in every situation in ways that are consistent with God's humanizing purposes, but what that means changes from context to context and requires strong, faith-shaped...

James M. Gustafson has been a leading and formative figure in the field of Christian ethics over the past fifty years. His many contributions to theological ethics have helped to define and shape ethical thinking by Christians who reflect on great moral issues. Gustafson's work must be dealt with by all students in this discipline, and his perceptive insights have given clarity and guidance to the process of moral discernment. The essays collected here are ones that have had a significant impact on discussions and debates over recent decades.

The Library of Theological Ethics series...

In this book, originally published in 1968, James M. Gustafson asks the fundamental question, what is the significance of Jesus for the moral life? His answer is in the form of an ethical map, showing the ways in which theological affirmations about Christ relate to moral life in the writings of a number of important Christian thinkers. Gustafson has written a new preface for this edition.

The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically and ethically. It presents a selection of important and otherwise unavailable texts in easily accessible...

When first published in 1961, Treasure in Earthen Vessels was hailed by H. Richard Niebuhr as "the first real sociology of the church." In this landmark work, James M. Gustafson examines the church as a human institution that must, and does, participate in the social structure of all human communities. His penetrating analysis remains an important contribution to the dialogue between the theological and social-scientific disciplines. Gustafson has written a new preface for this volume.

The Library of Theological Ethics series focuses on what it means to think theologically...

This addition to Westminster John Knox Press's Library of Theological Ethics series brings one of Reinhold Niebuhr's classic works back into print. This 1935 book answered some of the theological questions raised by Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932) and articulated for the first time Niebuhr's theological position on many issues. The introduction by ethicist Edmund N. Santurri sets the work into historical and theological context and also assesses the viability of some of Niebuhr's positions for theology and ethics today.