Engaging Ethically in a Strange New World: A View from Down Under (Australian College of Theology Monograph)

Christians in Australia are facing serious ethical issues. Contentious topics, such as same-sex marriage, the assisted-dying bill, gender fluidity, and attempts to censor Jesus-talk in the schoolyard, present serious challenges and require us to think more deeply about how we are to live in a strange new world. This volume presents papers from the 2018 Paradosis Conference at Melbourne School of Theology and brings together a number of voices to explore doctrinal foundations and their practical outworkings in the fields of biblical studies, systematic and practical theology, Islamic studies, and medical ethics. Contributors examine questions of contemporary interest as they pertain to both the Christian community itself and to Christian engagement with wider society. Part 1 comprises papers examining ethics in the Old Testament wisdom books, decision-making according to an early church model, the theological history of ethics, and the pastoral implications of Jonathan Edwards's reflections on beauty. Part 2 investigates the ramifications for Christian social ethics of the paradox of Jesus's stringent moral commands and his inclusive lifestyle, Islam's approach to homosexuality, virtue ethics as an alternative narrative within the "assisted-dying" debate, and the role of docility as a virtue in teaching, pastoral theology, and mission.

Michael Brautigam studied psychology in Germany (University of Trier) and theology in Scotland (University of Edinburgh). He currently teaches both disciplines at Melbourne School of Theology (MST)/Eastern College Australia. Michael serves as Director of the Centre for Theology and Psychology at Melbourne School of Theology/Eastern College, Australia. He is the author of Union with Christ (2015), and co-editor of Engaging Ethically in a Strange New World (2019) and Proclaiming the Gospel--Engaging the World (2020).