Love Your Neighbor

by Norman L. Geisler

Love Your Neighbor is a concise introduction to Christian ethics. It begins with a look at the biblical basis for morality, defines and describes various philosophical approaches to the subject of ethics, then connects biblical morality with the idea of absolute truth in philosophy. The book then moves from its philosophical basis to a practical application of Christian ethics, considering a wide range of social, biomedical, and personal issues. It does not take a partisan or denominational approach to these issues, but squarely faces them with an open mind and open Bible. The book is based on sound biblical and philosophical reasoning and does not tell readers what to think but encourages them to think biblically and critically through these issues.

Genres: Christian, Philosophy

Paperback

First published July 9, 2007

About the author

Norman L. Geisler (PhD, Loyola University of Chicago) taught at top evangelical colleges and seminaries for over fifty years and was a distinguished professor of apologetics and theology at Veritas Evangelical Seminary in Murrieta, California. He was the author of nearly eighty books, including the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics and Christian Ethics. He and his wife lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Caleb Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for school, but gotta say it got better as I read it. I really had a hard time with the begining chapter on how the author dealt with the law. He based the law as if part of it still remains today. I just find it hard to come up with these categories that God never made. I think this causes unbelievers to see us as unitelligent because the Bible clearly talks about how we are no longer under law. A better way is for us to understand the New Testament verse that agree that we should not sin. I did take away a couple notes though. For instance,

"There was only one Old Testament Law. Nowhere in either Testament is there a clear distinction made among the three aspects of the Law. These are simply observations made by people who study the Bible. The entire system of Law was abolished when Christ fufilled the Law by His life, death, and resurrection."

I think the main part is what we must remember,
"But part of the system is based on God's unchanging moral, nature, and therefor transcends any system"

That's a lot of what this book is about, morals and issues that we deal with in this day and age. Such issues as; lying, stealing, homosexual sin, marraige, divorse, cloning, abortion, and much more. I got a lot of information out of this book, but it is not a book i'm just going to hand out to people. I think the best part is how the author dealt with each issue and the arguments against each issue.

[Mayson Foreman · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD! My roommate and I read through it out loud together and paused to discuss the content. It really challenged my thinking and my way of approaching the gray areas that scripture isn’t clear on by applying the principles the Bible IS clear on. Biblical ethics is a challenging topic what ESSENTIAL and this book helped me to formulate my own foundation and understanding as to how to go about tough decision making

[Timothyemmalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It may have more to do with how much things have changed in the last 15 years than anything in the book itself, but many of the emphases seen almost quaint. I suppose it's a good introduction to thinking Christianly about ethics, but it also felt simplistic at points.

[Adam T. Calvert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great little book on ethics from a Christian worldview. I'd recommend it to all young adults (high school and up), especially those who want to be more informed on social/political issues and how to evaluate them.

Geisler and Snuffer do a great job of presenting opposing views and the reasoning behind them, while themselves maintaining a Christian perspective and showing why it is a better view.

Chapters 1-8 were pretty decent on how to determine morality. I was not really convinced on how they separated God's infinite attributes from his moral attributes. But other than that, this was a great foundation on which to build the rest of the book, familiarizing the reader with the nature of ethics and the current ethical systems of today.

Chapters 9-26 take the issues head on, covering the "simple" things like lying, cheating, and stealing, to all the other (and more controversial) topics, such as civil disobedience, economic injustice, homosexual sin, heterosexual sin, pornography, marriage and divorce, ecological issues, ethics and politics, abortion, euthanasia, cloning, stem cell research and "other biomedical issues," capital punishment, war, and substance abuse.

Appendix A on Christian Liberty was a little bit of a let down. There was no chapter that concluded the book, and in the appendix I did not agree with Snuffer's division of "nonessential doctrines."

Appendix B would be very useful for teachers using this book to lead small groups or student classes.

For a small book (158 pages, 8 1/2" by 5 1/2"), this work does a great job of introducing the importance of ethics and its role in society to the Christian who wants to know more about how to live in this age. It gave clear, concise presentations and helped me to think more broadly and more accurately about the issues of today. It not only sharpened my understanding of the Christian worldview but also helped me better understand the opposing worldviews and how they attempt to justify their actions.

A very great read!

It made me want to get Geisler's bigger work, Christian Ethics: Options and Issues. I look forward to reading that in the future.