Beyond the Biblical Impasse: Homosexuality Through the Lens of Theological Anthropology

Abstract: What does the Bible say about homosexuality? The argument developed in this article demonstrates that the five biblical texts often cited as “proof” that the Bible condemns homosexuality reflect a theological anthropology that is challenged within Scripture itself and that has been determined by the church to be contextual rather than binding in relation to other debated issues. By bringing the theological anthropology reflected in the five texts into conversation with contrasting biblical anthropologies, it becomes possible to re‐frame the contemporary conversation on homosexuality in terms of discerning which biblical theological anthropology will be considered authoritative for the church in the 21^st century.     

An Eastern Orthodox Theological Basis for Interplanetary Environmental Ethics

As a result of our technological advances in space exploration, human enterprise is no longer limited to the confines of planet Earth. Although several philosophical approaches to environmental ethics have already been advocated for human encounters with other planets such as Mars, it may be argued that various religious worldviews will significantly influence these suggested value systems. In this article, we present an Eastern Orthodox Christian interpretation of Creation and explore the theological meaning of the human vocation as Priests of Creation. An appropriate application of these two principles provides a theological basis for an interplanetary eco-praxis.     

Theological and Biblical Interpretations of Current Movements and Emerging Paradigms Within Bereavement Studies

Among the predominant themes in the last few years of bereavement studies have been those around disenfranchised grief, masculine grief, spirituality and grief, and the movement from medical/hierarchical models of grief work/counseling to a more non-hierarchical model that emerges internally, inherently, and intrinsically within the bereaved. In the latter model the grief counselor becomes a facilitator or, as Alan Wolfelt noted at the Chicago ADEC conference, a companioning presence. The intent of this article is to take this conversation into the realm of theology, and/or biblical theology. The following offers theological analysis of what is already good clinical theory. Integrating theories from anthropology and theology, this article will explore the concepts of voice, etic and emic theory, and incarnational theology as they relate to emerging patterns in bereavement studies. It will also relate a model of the Kingdom of God to disenfranchised grief, as well as offer support for the theory of masculine grief from biblical sources and complementary fields of study.     

Labor as the Basis for Intellectual Property Rights

In debates about the moral foundations of intellectual property, one very popular strand concerns the role of labor as a moral basis for intellectual property rights. This idea has a great deal of intuitive plausibility; but is there a way to make it philosophically precise? That is, does labor provide strong reasons to grant intellectual property rights to intellectual laborers? In this paper, I argue that the answer to that question is “yes”. I offer a new view, different from existing labor theories of intellectual property, which I call the productive capacities view. This view gives us a way to make sense of the idea of labor as the basis for intellectual property rights, as well as a tool for critically evaluating existing intellectual property institutions.     

The Elusiveness,Loss and Cruciality of Recovered Holiness: Some Biblical and Theological Observations

Abstract: While holiness is one of the motifs in theological discourse that can legitimately be said to entwine many others, the coinage it receives for such honour is being largely exiled from discussion. Thus, any contribution that could be made by considering Jesus Christ as the defining revelation of holiness is sidelined. Beginning with some biblical observations, and enlisting some help from Scottish Congregationalist P.T. Forsyth, this article seeks to encourage a reclaiming of holiness vocabulary as a distinctly christological reality and gift that finds expression first in the unique incarnate life and death of the Son, and then in the life and mission of the community created and sustained by that same Son.     

体现着人权诉求的消费者权益

对于传统的中国人来讲,义务与责任几乎是伦理、道德的同义词,因此,谈到消费伦理,在过去人们马上会想到勤俭节约的美德.而今天,随着公民意识的觉醒,消费者勇于维权的表现已经成为改革开放以来中国价值观念变革的一道重要景观.现在再谈及消费伦理,自然会将消费者的权益维护作为整个消费伦理阐释框架的基石与出发点.而这一消费伦理研究视角的明显变换,实际上折射出了正在迅速发生着的中国社会道德思维结构从以义务为本位到以权利为本位的巨大转型.     

Human Rights and Human Dignity

Why should all human beings have certain rights simply by virtue of being human? One justification is an appeal to religious authority. However, in increasingly secular societies this approach has its limits. An alternative answer is that human rights are justified through human dignity. This paper argues that human rights and human dignity are better separated for three reasons. First, the justification paradox: the concept of human dignity does not solve the justification problem for human rights but rather aggravates it in secular societies. Second, the Kantian cul-de-sac: if human rights were based on Kant’s concept of dignity rather than theist grounds, such rights would lose their universal validity. Third, hazard by association: human dignity is nowadays more controversial than the concept of human rights, especially given unresolved tensions between aspirational dignity and inviolable dignity. In conclusion, proponents of universal human rights will fare better with alternative frameworks to justify human rights rather than relying on the concept of dignity.     

Human Dignity—A Theological and Confucian Discussion

Abstract :  There is no doubt in the Christian tradition that humans are created in the image of God, which establishes the fundamental difference between humans and animals. However, problems concerning differences between humans have become more serious in theological discussions today with regard to human dignity. While theologians of the West argue for recognition of and respect for human dignity for every individual human being through legislation in the political system, one must not overlook the fact that in China, the emphasis of Confucian anthropology on the cultivation of moral personality is of vital importance for the practice and domination of politicians.     

The Civil Rights Movement as Theological Drama—Interpretation and Application

In this essay, Charles Marsh sketches a theological interpretation of the American civil rights movement. Marsh argues that interpretation must begin by reconsidering the theological legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., taking into account his deep, though largely overlooked, confessional convictions as well as his sympathy with the theology of Karl Barth, whose influence on King has been ignored. Marsh further argues that a theological interpretation of the civil rights movement should not be a matter of writing religious genealogies of moral actions, of civic piety or of representations of human goodness, but of understanding the detail of theological convictions in their lives particularity. Marsh thinks it is altogether appropriate for theologians to retell the story of the American civil rights movement as the story of the church.     

Religion and the Human Rights Idea

Three recent books focus, in different ways, on the idea of human rights and its relation to religion and religious ethics. All three books discussed here address criticisms of the human rights idea and seek to establish the relationship of religion and human rights with regard to the field of policy. The present discussion begins with an overview that places these three books in the larger context of the development of the human rights idea and its historical relationship with religion. It then turns to Little's book, next to the collection of essays edited by Twiss, Simion, and Petersen, which is described internally as a Festschrift for Little, and then to Hogan's book, and in the final section it explores comparisons among the books.