Christian Ethics

Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader

“The selection of readings is excellent and I’d happily have my students devour them.”
Esther Reed, University of Exeter

“Clear, sharply focused, and precisely what is needed. This book is enlightening and potentially transformative. It presents Christian ethics as an exciting theological enterprise and offers a rich, deep, and accessible way of practising ethics.”
John Swinton, University of Aberdeen

“Wells and Quash have put together a wonderfully comprehensive survey of Christian ethics while at the same time offering a distinctive and fresh perspective... With the array of primary texts and judicious and very well-informed commentary that the two volumes represent, they have succeeded in constructing an extremely valuable resource for teachers and students of Christian ethics.”
Michael S. Northcott, University of Edinburgh (of Introducing Christian Ethics and Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader)

Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader provides a comprehensive anthology of primary documents and materials relating to the emergence and study of key approaches to Christian ethics.

The volume seeks to encompass the entire canon of Christian ethics, including first-hand accounts from major figures in the theological and ecclesial tradition. Readers are introduced to foundational figures such as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, and Barth, as well as contemporary voices including Rosemary Radford Ruether, James Cone, Jürgen Moltmann, Stanley Hauerwas, Oliver O’Donovan, Wendell Berry, and many others. Other notable figures not usually associated with the study of formal theoretical ethics, such as Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., are also represented.

The significance of each extract is summarised through useful introductory sections, placing the author or text in the context of broader developments in Christian ethical theory. Whether used independently or alongside the accompanying textbook, Introducing Christian Ethics, this engaging and informative volume offers students a window into the fascinating evolution of Christian ethical thought.