Enviromental Ethics And Christian Humanism - 96 edition

Summary: The international political and economic scene has changed dramatically in recent years. As we approach a new millennium, we face a world that is increasingly interdependent and globalist in perspective. What are the implications of these changes for Christian social ethics? Does Christian ethics have anything useful or relevant to say in the face of these changes? The Abingdon Press Studies in Christian Ethics and Economic Life series is intended to address such questions by prov ...show moreiding teaching resources for upper-level college and seminary courses in Christian ethics that focus on the analysis and reconstruction of basic ethical perspectives and principles in our post-Marxist, highly technological, and increasingly interdependent global civilization.''This is a lively and challenging book that strikes to the heart of current debates in environmental ethics. In the lead essay of the volume, Thomas Sieger Derr offers a bold challenge to current biocentric ethics from the perspective of Christian humanism. He rightly identifies that the basic question facing environmental ethics is, ironically enough, the status of the human within the ecosystem and our rule as valuers. Derr seeks to expose the shortcomings of other positions, especially the too easy dismissal of Christianity as the cause of our environmental woes, and to marshal a cogent and livable alternative consistent with Christian faith. The volume includes two spirited rebuttals to Derr's essay. Noted environmental ethicist James A. Nash contests Derr's account of biocentric thought and also his construal of a Christian ecological ethics. Richard John Neuhaus focuses on claims about Christ as central for any distinctly Christian response to the environmental crisis. Taken together, these sharp and engaging essays address the most central issues facing environmental ethics: conflicting ideas about the moral status of the human, debates within moral theory about the n ...show less