Mark Douglas

Christian Ethics

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“The language of ‘covenant’ floats through the universe of contemporary Christian ethics like the element helium floats through the physical one: it is abundant, lofty, necessary for telling a coherent origin story, and yet surprisingly inert. Contemporary discussions about covenants are, after all, far more likely to attend to their significance in the history of Christian ethics than to make covenant language do much work in the present. In Christian Ethics: A New Covenant Model, though, Hak Joon Lee performs an impressive alchemical feat: he transforms reasons to attend to the significance of covenants in the history of Christian ethics into arguments for their applicability in contemporary Christian social ethics. Building from his telling of a biblically and historically informed theo-drama in which covenants are central to the movement from liberation to restoration, Lee fashions a Jesus-centered ‘new covenant ethic’ that can catalyze social imaginations capable of addressing matters as varied as economic inequality, war, marriage, racism, and the environment. In doing so, he reminds us that covenant language has been significant because it is still potent.”

Considering Compassion

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Considering Compassion is more than just an eye-catching title; it’s a vital next step in thinking through the intersections of contemporary advocacy for compassion and pressing questions about life in an interconnected world. Wisely blending disciplines and helpfully exploring the implications of varied perspectives, this book—made all the more valuable by its mix of writers from the Global North and the Global South—makes good on its title’s promise.”

Restorative Readings

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“In Restorative Readings, Julie Claassens, Bruce Birch, and a wise group of scholars from South Africa and the United States remind us that even if the language of human dignity isn't explicit in Scripture, thoughtful exegesis of biblical texts can still found, form, and fund attention to human dignity in a world all too likely to sag under the weight of violent ideologies, market logic, and tepid politics. We rise even as we read.”

Waiting for a Glacier to Move

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Many books consider the church's social witness. This is good; social witness is vital to discipleship. Several books analyze that witness theologically. This is important; the church's theology makes social witness coherent. Few books examine the practices of social witness. This is regretful; understanding social witness practices is vital to their health. This book explores those practices theologically. This makes it invaluable. Jennifer Ayres has done a great service to the church--and, therein, to society--with this book, and I am deeply grateful for it.”