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Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context
A Christianity Today 2004 Book of the Year
In this masterful and innovative book Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee join profound ethical reflection with faith in Jesus Christ, a life of discipleship and the hope of the present and coming kingdom of God. The result is a challenging, comprehensive treatment of Christian ethics centered on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Drawing on detailed studies of the Sermon on the Mount, Stassen and Gushee shed light on the whole of biblical ethical teaching as it relates to a wide range of issues, including peacemaking, just war, nonviolence, sexuality and gender roles, marriage and divorce, race, economics, care of creation, prayer and politics.
Their work yields neither an impossible idealism, nor an abstract ethical system, nor a generic religious legalism. Rather Stassen and Gushee set forth a holistic ethic that motivates us and provides us with a practical basis for living under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
In this masterful and innovative book Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee join profound ethical reflection with faith in Jesus Christ, a life of discipleship and the hope of the present and coming kingdom of God. The result is a challenging, comprehensive treatment of Christian ethics centered on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Drawing on detailed studies of the Sermon on the Mount, Stassen and Gushee shed light on the whole of biblical ethical teaching as it relates to a wide range of issues, including peacemaking, just war, nonviolence, sexuality and gender roles, marriage and divorce, race, economics, care of creation, prayer and politics.
Their work yields neither an impossible idealism, nor an abstract ethical system, nor a generic religious legalism. Rather Stassen and Gushee set forth a holistic ethic that motivates us and provides us with a practical basis for living under the lordship of Jesus Christ.
538 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
25 people are currently reading
380 people want to read
About the author
Glen H. Stassen
17 books10 followersGlen Harold Stassen was a Southern Baptist theologian who helped define the social-justice wing of the evangelical movement in the 1980s and played a role in advancing nuclear disarmament talks toward the end of the Cold War.
Stassen studied nuclear physics at the University of Virginia and worked briefly in a naval laboratory after graduation before deciding that he could not contribute to the development of nuclear weapons. He quit to attend Union Theological Seminary in New York City and received his doctorate from the Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., in 1967.
He taught at Kentucky Southern College (now part of the University of Louisville) and Berea College in Kentucky before joining Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. There, Dr. Stassen clashed with administrators who urged faculty members to place ideas like prohibiting abortion, the subordination of women in the family and the literal truth of biblical texts at the core of their teaching.
More than personal rectitude and obedience to rules of behavior, Dr. Stassen argued, Christian ethics demanded organized action to save the world from self-destruction.
“Christians need more than an ethic of ‘just say no,’ ” he wrote. “Jesus didn’t just say no to anger and revengeful resistance, but commanded transforming initiatives: ‘Go make peace with your brother or sister; go the second mile with the Roman soldier.’ ”
What Christians needed, he said, was “an ethic of constructive peacemaking.”
Dr. Stassen championed a pragmatic approach to social justice and world peace. In a series of books beginning in 1992, he outlined a program of grass-roots activism to reduce military spending, improve the lives of the disadvantaged and give citizens a voice in international conflict resolution.
Dr. Stassen’s version of political activism in the 1980s and ’90s put him at odds with leaders of the religious right, who were focusing on opposing abortion and gay rights.
Dr. Stassen was among the few prominent evangelical leaders to publicly challenge the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the leader of the Moral Majority, over his electioneering on behalf of Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. And he was among the few to criticize Reagan over his domestic spending cuts, his military buildup and his use of the phrase “evil empire” in 1983 to describe the Soviet Union.
He went on to help mobilize the international disarmament movement that, by some accounts, played a role in removing intermediate range nuclear missiles from Western Europe in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Theologians had long wrestled with the Christian response to war, and whether it was ever morally justified to kill. Two schools of thought had emerged: pacifism, which said it was never justified, and “just war” theory, which described circumstances in which killing in war was morally defensible. Dr. Stassen advocated what he called a third option: preventing wars from starting in the first place.
In Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives of Justice and Peace (1992) and a dozen other books on nonviolence and conflict resolution, Dr. Stassen described techniques for hard-nosed negotiating in which both parties admit culpability for past deeds, take a clearheaded measure of the interests of the other side and sometimes make calculated unilateral initiatives.
“Biblical realism,” as he described the mind-set for negotiations like these, “is about diagnosing sin realistically and seeking deliverance, not merely about affirming some high ideals.”
- summarised/edited from The New York Times Obituary
Stassen studied nuclear physics at the University of Virginia and worked briefly in a naval laboratory after graduation before deciding that he could not contribute to the development of nuclear weapons. He quit to attend Union Theological Seminary in New York City and received his doctorate from the Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C., in 1967.
He taught at Kentucky Southern College (now part of the University of Louisville) and Berea College in Kentucky before joining Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. There, Dr. Stassen clashed with administrators who urged faculty members to place ideas like prohibiting abortion, the subordination of women in the family and the literal truth of biblical texts at the core of their teaching.
More than personal rectitude and obedience to rules of behavior, Dr. Stassen argued, Christian ethics demanded organized action to save the world from self-destruction.
“Christians need more than an ethic of ‘just say no,’ ” he wrote. “Jesus didn’t just say no to anger and revengeful resistance, but commanded transforming initiatives: ‘Go make peace with your brother or sister; go the second mile with the Roman soldier.’ ”
What Christians needed, he said, was “an ethic of constructive peacemaking.”
Dr. Stassen championed a pragmatic approach to social justice and world peace. In a series of books beginning in 1992, he outlined a program of grass-roots activism to reduce military spending, improve the lives of the disadvantaged and give citizens a voice in international conflict resolution.
Dr. Stassen’s version of political activism in the 1980s and ’90s put him at odds with leaders of the religious right, who were focusing on opposing abortion and gay rights.
Dr. Stassen was among the few prominent evangelical leaders to publicly challenge the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the leader of the Moral Majority, over his electioneering on behalf of Ronald Reagan’s presidential campaigns in 1980 and 1984. And he was among the few to criticize Reagan over his domestic spending cuts, his military buildup and his use of the phrase “evil empire” in 1983 to describe the Soviet Union.
He went on to help mobilize the international disarmament movement that, by some accounts, played a role in removing intermediate range nuclear missiles from Western Europe in the late 1980s and early ’90s.
Theologians had long wrestled with the Christian response to war, and whether it was ever morally justified to kill. Two schools of thought had emerged: pacifism, which said it was never justified, and “just war” theory, which described circumstances in which killing in war was morally defensible. Dr. Stassen advocated what he called a third option: preventing wars from starting in the first place.
In Just Peacemaking: Transforming Initiatives of Justice and Peace (1992) and a dozen other books on nonviolence and conflict resolution, Dr. Stassen described techniques for hard-nosed negotiating in which both parties admit culpability for past deeds, take a clearheaded measure of the interests of the other side and sometimes make calculated unilateral initiatives.
“Biblical realism,” as he described the mind-set for negotiations like these, “is about diagnosing sin realistically and seeking deliverance, not merely about affirming some high ideals.”
- summarised/edited from The New York Times Obituary
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 16, 2008
Read several portions, both for a class and a reading group. So insightful about Christian ethics, and highlights how they are responses to the graciousness of God rather than a burden of human effort. Focuses primarily on Scripture and the life of Jesus as sources of ethics, rather than philosophically derived ethics (though it relates to them). Still extremely analytical and intellectually sound. EXCELLENT and quite powerful.
May 11, 2012
Very, very good. A few mildly liberal bones to spit out, but the way Stassen and Gushee root Jesus' teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in prophetic literature is terrific. And their proposed hermeneutic of reading Jesus' teachings as "triads" is worth the price of the book.
September 21, 2016
Very good book, reading for a graduate class!
November 13, 2011
Like many of you, I was reared in the Christian faith. Saved at 5. Baptized at 8. First special music at church around 13. Won a preaching award at 14. Went off to Christian university at 18.
Like I said. Reared.
And the type of church I was reared in was what people like to call a "bible believing" church. I don't say that with smirk. I only point that out because as a fundamentalist church we were absolutely committed to the Bible, the authority of Scripture as the foundation to our belief and behavior.
Curiously, though, it wasn't until my 20's that I realized a significant portion of the Bible was missing from my "bible believing" upbringing. I mean a pretty significant portion. As in the teachings of Jesus portion. Sermon on the Mount? Missing. Parables? Gone. In fact I can count on two hands (a generous estimate, by the way) the amount of sermons I heard growing up on the Kingdom of Heaven. Even when I did hear a Kingdom sermon, it was a Tim LaHay Left Behind style sermon, where the Kingdom was relegated to a distant land and time in the future. Way beyond and well far away this time and space.
What this communicated to me--both symbolically and literally--was that the teachings of Jesus weren't for now. That the ethics of the Kingdom that Jesus constantly talked about and taught and gave glimpses of in word and deed weren't meant for me now, but instead were for a time down the road.
This is exactly what authors and professors Glen Stassen and David Gushee discovered, much to their dismay, when they surveyed available textbooks in Christian ethics: they were amazed "to find almost none learned anything constructive from the Sermon on the Mount--the largest block of Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, the teaching that Jesus ays in the Great Commission is the way to make disciples and that the early church referred to more often than any other Scripture." (12)
When surveying the landscape of American churches it's not much better. As they observe, "Christian churches across the theological and confessional spectrum, and Christian ethics as an academic discipline that serves the churches, are often guilty of evading Jesus, the cornerstone and center of the Christian faith. Specifically, the teachings and practice of Jesus are routinely ignored or misinterpreted in the preaching and teaching ministry of the churches and in Christian scholarship." (11)
These are strong, harsh words! No, strong, true words, ones consistent with my own story. Stassen and Gushee, however, want to make this right and redirect the course of the Church by "reclaiming Jesus Christ for Christian ethics and for the moral life of the Church." They do so in their book Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, an introduction to Christian ethics built on the foundation of the teachings and practice of Jesus. And boy am I glad they did!
This isn't a new book--it was released in 2003, and I received it from IVP to review by mistake-- and it isn't a new idea, either--thankfully there has been a resurgent focus within evangelicalism on the central theme to Jesus' teachings: the Kingdom of Heaven. This books is unique, however, in that it is a thematic manual of Christian ethics that "focuses unremittingly on Jesus Christ, the inaugurator of the kingdom of God." (12) For this unique, unrelenting focus I am very thankful.
The book is divided into 7 sections: 1) The Reign of God and Christian chatacter; 2) The Way of Jesus and prophetic authority; 3) The Gospel life; 4) Male and Female; 5) The central norms of Christian ethics; 6) Relationships of justice and love; and 7) A passion for God's reign.
The first section is a solid introduction to the central concept of the Kingdom of God in Jesus' teachings, while also acknowledging "scholars as well as plain Christians have been puzzled about what Jesus meant when he spoke of the Kingdom." (19) From here the authors set out to disect the meaning of the kingdom by focusing on what its characteristics are, which they say are crucial for "Christian ethics, for Christian discipleship, for Christian living and for the response of faith(fulness)." (20-21) It is this "Kingdom Character" the authors rightly urge Christians to focus on understanding and cultivating, which sends believers on their way toward understanding and then enacting God's moral will for our moral life.
In so getting us to focus on this understanding and enaction the authors have a helpful conversation on authority and Scripture, helping to move Christians from adopting either cold "bibliolatry" or "ungrounded and ethereal religious subjectivism," instead into recognizing the Christian moral and ethical life must be grounded in an encounter with the risen Christ in community of faith. (89) They also rightly help Christians recognize a conversation about how we are to live is also a conversation about "how this authoritative Bible is to be interpreted" (90), while also helping Christians understand the form and function of moral norms in proximation to that interpretation of Scripture.
One of the most helpful sections I've seen in regards to both topics of Christian ethics and the Kingdom of Heaven was chapter 6, The Transforming Initiative of The Sermon on the Mount," which concludes their prologomena section. In it there is an incredibly informative and helpful chart on page 142 that charts what the authors call the "fourteen triads of the Sermon on the Mount." The first column lists one of the fourteen manners of traditional righteousness--like not killing, not committing adultery, or giving alms; the second column exposes the vicious cycle of that traditionalism--like being angry, looking with lust is adultery in the heart, and practicing righteousness for show, to use our three previous examples; they then show how the ethic of the SotM transforms that original traditionalism into a new ethical experience--like going and being reconciled, removing the cause of temptation, and giving in secret while allowing your Father to reward. This was a powerful section in a powerful chapter that set the stage well for the remaining sections that explore specific ethical encounters.
Because of the size and scope of this book, a review of every 18 ethical point the authors address wouldn't do them justice. That's why I've chosen two in order to give you a taste how the authors work through ethical issues from the teachings of Jesus and way of the Kingdom. I've chosen the death penalty (ch 9 called "restorative penalties for homicide") and the sensitive issue of divorce (ch 13). Both illustrate well the model and method Stassen and Gushee employ to help us wade through real life ethical situations we or our community might/will face.
One of the most contentious political issues in evangelicalism is the death penalty. Liberal evangelicals oppose it; conservative evangelicals generally support it as just punishment for the most heinous crimes. But how should we understand the ethical implications in light of Jesus teachings?
In beginning this study I love what they say about this issue: "One way to study biblical teaching on the death penalty is to begin with Jesus Christ as Lord, and with the commitment to be followers of Jesus, denying that there is some other lord we should follow instead." How true, indeed! Coming from conservative circles--even working in those circles in our government--I've typically heard Romans 13 trotted out as a defense for the death penalty, which inevitably makes Uncle Sam Lord, rather than Jesus.
With that said, the authors point us to Matthew 5:21-24, 39-42, and 43-48. In citing these passages the authors make the point that "Jesus' teachings are always consistent with the sacredness of human life and with initiatives to heal vicious cycles of killing." (198) In 5:39-42, for instance, Jesus names the vicious cucle as violent and revengeful retaliation, which leads to more killing; in response to that revengeful retaliatory cycle we should not participate in such cycles with evil means, but instead engage in transforming initiatives that deliver us from revenge's vicious cycle. (198)
The authors point out Jesus was confronted with the death penalty directly in John 8, yet released the women from the death penalty even though the law required it. This example and the above teachings illustrate, according to the authors, that I we had only Jesus' teachings as our Scripture, "we would surely say that followers of Jesus are not people who seek retaliation by taking life for life, but instead they seek ways of deliverance from such vicious cycles of adding more killing to killing. They seek to take initiatives that deliver from the vicious cycles that lead to homicide." (199)
They end this chapter by arguing that nowhere in the NT did followers of Jesus advocate the death penalty, they give a brief history of the Church's teachings on this issue, and end with a powerful question: "Is the death penalty in actual practice unjust?" which addresses modern practices and the horrifying mistaken conviction rate that has lead to countless unjust deaths of the innocent.
This was a powerful chapter that made me consider my own position and perspective on the death penalty, providing exegetical, theological, ethical, and historical insights to aid me in my own position formulation.
The second example section is one that's hit close to home for most of us: divorce. We had family members divorce, we've seen friends go through the heartache of a marrital break-up, or perhaps we've experienced one ourselves. We know the American statistics, how a majority of marriages end in divorce; we know those same statistics are worse for evangelicals, ironically. How, then, should the Church consider and respond to this potent ethical epidemic through the lens of Jesus techings on the Kingdom of Heaven?
The authors begin this sectoins by saying that most scholars and churches wrongly approach this issue, because they ask the wrong question. "They tend to ask the permissibility question: Under what circumstances is it morally permissible to get divorced or remarried?"(273) Such a framing of this issue tends to reflect a "highly legalistic approach to biblical interpretation" and focuses more on rules and exceptions than "the character of God, scriptural principles that reflect that character, real human situations that reflect our bondage to sin, and transformative practices." (272-273)
While I thought this was a good place to start, I was surprised they didn't really say what the right question was instead, a curious omission that resulted in a less-than-precise evaluation to an important ethical problem.
The authors rightly note that the few explicit teachings of Jesus on divorce are "notoriously difficult to interpret." What we have are in Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12; Mark 10:2-12; and Luke 16:18. The authors place much weight to this this discussion on the Matthew 19 and Mark 10 passages, which subvert the "testing" intent of the Pharisees by directing the conversation to one about the original intentions of God the Creator.In so doing, Jesus "made a strong statement enjoining his listeners to obey God's will for marriage and thus refrain from divorce," while also making connections between divorce and remarriage and adultery. (274)
In so doing, the authors argue that it shouldn't be a surprise Jesus turns to God's intention for marriage in creation, because Jesus' whole mission was about the inbreaking of the Kingdom reign of God that would restore creation ethically to the way God originally intended it to be at the beginning. What does Kingdom-living mean for marriage according to Jesus? The authors think 3 things: 1) Marriage is a male-female covenant partnership established by God for God's purpose; 2) Marriage is the joyful companionship of male and femail in a one-flesh (re)union; and 3) Marriage is a covenant relationship intended to be faithful and permenant. (275-276) Thus, the question we should ask is, "How shall we participate alongside God in creating, nurturing and preserving marriages that reflect God's intent for this holy covenant and that last for a joyous lifetime?" (277)
While I appreciate this reimaging of the question surrounding divorce toward this Kingdom vision, what about the clear exception clause that does seem to exist? The authors want to distance this sensitive issue from a legalistic whats-the-exception to a Kingdom oriented posture, which I appreciate. But then you have the clear teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount regarding just that: a legal exception clause, which is adultery. Interestingly, the authors claim that "It may be the best way to interpret the uniquely Matthean exception clause is simply to see it as his rule-based adaptation of Jesus' unconditoinal teachings against divorce." (emph. mine, 286) This rule-based exception to divorce is simply Matthew's editorial comment, rather than actually Jesus' teaching on the subject? I think that's some shaky exegetical grounding, shaky exegesis that isn't all that helpful toward finding clarity regarding this important ethical issue.
In the end, the Stassen and Gushee land on a fair and helpful interpretation of the heart of Jesus' treaching on marriage and divorce: "What God has joined together, keep together! Go and be reconciled!" They believe that this framing of the divorce issue leads to a far more fruitful set of Christian moral practices in the area of marriage, ones that focus on marriage building and divorce prevention, "rather than on the development of a sophisticated casuistry of exceptions to the norm of lifetime marriage or a similarly tortuous casuistry of judgments concerning which categories of human beings might offer or receive the ministry of the Christian churches." (289)
While I appreciate this ethical approach to the divorce issue, one that clearly is against divorce and for marriage, it does seem to skirt the issue regarding the "what if" questions: What if someone in a church gets a divorce? On what discipline should happen? Should the church engage in disciplinary action if someone pursues divorce outside of the Scripturally prescribed situation of adultery? What does that mean for their participation in ministry life? And several more important questions that I think the authors are remise in neglecting. I get that life is messy and imprecise, and so I appreciate an approach that recognizes this and seeks to rise above the more legalistic tendencies that seem closer to the Pharisees than Jesus. It seems, however, that the authors neglected the precision that should come from biblical exegesis, especially for the sake of ethical clarity.
Unfortunately, this imprecision is evident at times throughout this book, as in the chapter on "Valuing Life at Its Beginning," for instance. Again, I understand life is messy and complex and multi-faceted, but is God unclear in His revelation regarding how we are to behave as His children and agents of His Kingdom, not to mention as human beings created in His image? Are we to place the complexities of life over against the ethical demands of the Kingdom, or are we called to recognize that complexity while lovingly, truthfully asserting the way things were meant to be, asserting the way of God's Kingdom reign? Generally, I saw the later in this book, but at times I was confused why a more precise response was not offered.
Regardless, I believe this is a significant book that will help the average Christian better understand how they should view the complexities of life as members of the Church and agent's of God's Kingdom movement. This book will also serve pastors well in helping their congregations act as beachheads of the Kingdom in their communities, informing sermons or vision-casting meetings with rhobust, well-articulated arguments for a Kingdom-centric ethic.
One of the things I love about this book as that the chapters are not dry explications removed from or devoid of real life grit. Every chapter is anchored in real-life senarios the authors themselves have experienced or witnessed to help ground the reader in reality, to force us all to realize these ethical "things" that we're reading about and pondering really do happen, have happened to people we know and love. People, not to mention followers of Jesus themselves, are faced with real life ethical situations that demand the care to handle them well and also the courage to confront them with the teachings and way of Jesus. Stassen and Gushee help us all on our way toward doing both in this powerful, provocative book that American evangelicalism desperately needs.
Like I said. Reared.
And the type of church I was reared in was what people like to call a "bible believing" church. I don't say that with smirk. I only point that out because as a fundamentalist church we were absolutely committed to the Bible, the authority of Scripture as the foundation to our belief and behavior.
Curiously, though, it wasn't until my 20's that I realized a significant portion of the Bible was missing from my "bible believing" upbringing. I mean a pretty significant portion. As in the teachings of Jesus portion. Sermon on the Mount? Missing. Parables? Gone. In fact I can count on two hands (a generous estimate, by the way) the amount of sermons I heard growing up on the Kingdom of Heaven. Even when I did hear a Kingdom sermon, it was a Tim LaHay Left Behind style sermon, where the Kingdom was relegated to a distant land and time in the future. Way beyond and well far away this time and space.
What this communicated to me--both symbolically and literally--was that the teachings of Jesus weren't for now. That the ethics of the Kingdom that Jesus constantly talked about and taught and gave glimpses of in word and deed weren't meant for me now, but instead were for a time down the road.
This is exactly what authors and professors Glen Stassen and David Gushee discovered, much to their dismay, when they surveyed available textbooks in Christian ethics: they were amazed "to find almost none learned anything constructive from the Sermon on the Mount--the largest block of Jesus' teachings in the New Testament, the teaching that Jesus ays in the Great Commission is the way to make disciples and that the early church referred to more often than any other Scripture." (12)
When surveying the landscape of American churches it's not much better. As they observe, "Christian churches across the theological and confessional spectrum, and Christian ethics as an academic discipline that serves the churches, are often guilty of evading Jesus, the cornerstone and center of the Christian faith. Specifically, the teachings and practice of Jesus are routinely ignored or misinterpreted in the preaching and teaching ministry of the churches and in Christian scholarship." (11)
These are strong, harsh words! No, strong, true words, ones consistent with my own story. Stassen and Gushee, however, want to make this right and redirect the course of the Church by "reclaiming Jesus Christ for Christian ethics and for the moral life of the Church." They do so in their book Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, an introduction to Christian ethics built on the foundation of the teachings and practice of Jesus. And boy am I glad they did!
This isn't a new book--it was released in 2003, and I received it from IVP to review by mistake-- and it isn't a new idea, either--thankfully there has been a resurgent focus within evangelicalism on the central theme to Jesus' teachings: the Kingdom of Heaven. This books is unique, however, in that it is a thematic manual of Christian ethics that "focuses unremittingly on Jesus Christ, the inaugurator of the kingdom of God." (12) For this unique, unrelenting focus I am very thankful.
The book is divided into 7 sections: 1) The Reign of God and Christian chatacter; 2) The Way of Jesus and prophetic authority; 3) The Gospel life; 4) Male and Female; 5) The central norms of Christian ethics; 6) Relationships of justice and love; and 7) A passion for God's reign.
The first section is a solid introduction to the central concept of the Kingdom of God in Jesus' teachings, while also acknowledging "scholars as well as plain Christians have been puzzled about what Jesus meant when he spoke of the Kingdom." (19) From here the authors set out to disect the meaning of the kingdom by focusing on what its characteristics are, which they say are crucial for "Christian ethics, for Christian discipleship, for Christian living and for the response of faith(fulness)." (20-21) It is this "Kingdom Character" the authors rightly urge Christians to focus on understanding and cultivating, which sends believers on their way toward understanding and then enacting God's moral will for our moral life.
In so getting us to focus on this understanding and enaction the authors have a helpful conversation on authority and Scripture, helping to move Christians from adopting either cold "bibliolatry" or "ungrounded and ethereal religious subjectivism," instead into recognizing the Christian moral and ethical life must be grounded in an encounter with the risen Christ in community of faith. (89) They also rightly help Christians recognize a conversation about how we are to live is also a conversation about "how this authoritative Bible is to be interpreted" (90), while also helping Christians understand the form and function of moral norms in proximation to that interpretation of Scripture.
One of the most helpful sections I've seen in regards to both topics of Christian ethics and the Kingdom of Heaven was chapter 6, The Transforming Initiative of The Sermon on the Mount," which concludes their prologomena section. In it there is an incredibly informative and helpful chart on page 142 that charts what the authors call the "fourteen triads of the Sermon on the Mount." The first column lists one of the fourteen manners of traditional righteousness--like not killing, not committing adultery, or giving alms; the second column exposes the vicious cycle of that traditionalism--like being angry, looking with lust is adultery in the heart, and practicing righteousness for show, to use our three previous examples; they then show how the ethic of the SotM transforms that original traditionalism into a new ethical experience--like going and being reconciled, removing the cause of temptation, and giving in secret while allowing your Father to reward. This was a powerful section in a powerful chapter that set the stage well for the remaining sections that explore specific ethical encounters.
Because of the size and scope of this book, a review of every 18 ethical point the authors address wouldn't do them justice. That's why I've chosen two in order to give you a taste how the authors work through ethical issues from the teachings of Jesus and way of the Kingdom. I've chosen the death penalty (ch 9 called "restorative penalties for homicide") and the sensitive issue of divorce (ch 13). Both illustrate well the model and method Stassen and Gushee employ to help us wade through real life ethical situations we or our community might/will face.
One of the most contentious political issues in evangelicalism is the death penalty. Liberal evangelicals oppose it; conservative evangelicals generally support it as just punishment for the most heinous crimes. But how should we understand the ethical implications in light of Jesus teachings?
In beginning this study I love what they say about this issue: "One way to study biblical teaching on the death penalty is to begin with Jesus Christ as Lord, and with the commitment to be followers of Jesus, denying that there is some other lord we should follow instead." How true, indeed! Coming from conservative circles--even working in those circles in our government--I've typically heard Romans 13 trotted out as a defense for the death penalty, which inevitably makes Uncle Sam Lord, rather than Jesus.
With that said, the authors point us to Matthew 5:21-24, 39-42, and 43-48. In citing these passages the authors make the point that "Jesus' teachings are always consistent with the sacredness of human life and with initiatives to heal vicious cycles of killing." (198) In 5:39-42, for instance, Jesus names the vicious cucle as violent and revengeful retaliation, which leads to more killing; in response to that revengeful retaliatory cycle we should not participate in such cycles with evil means, but instead engage in transforming initiatives that deliver us from revenge's vicious cycle. (198)
The authors point out Jesus was confronted with the death penalty directly in John 8, yet released the women from the death penalty even though the law required it. This example and the above teachings illustrate, according to the authors, that I we had only Jesus' teachings as our Scripture, "we would surely say that followers of Jesus are not people who seek retaliation by taking life for life, but instead they seek ways of deliverance from such vicious cycles of adding more killing to killing. They seek to take initiatives that deliver from the vicious cycles that lead to homicide." (199)
They end this chapter by arguing that nowhere in the NT did followers of Jesus advocate the death penalty, they give a brief history of the Church's teachings on this issue, and end with a powerful question: "Is the death penalty in actual practice unjust?" which addresses modern practices and the horrifying mistaken conviction rate that has lead to countless unjust deaths of the innocent.
This was a powerful chapter that made me consider my own position and perspective on the death penalty, providing exegetical, theological, ethical, and historical insights to aid me in my own position formulation.
The second example section is one that's hit close to home for most of us: divorce. We had family members divorce, we've seen friends go through the heartache of a marrital break-up, or perhaps we've experienced one ourselves. We know the American statistics, how a majority of marriages end in divorce; we know those same statistics are worse for evangelicals, ironically. How, then, should the Church consider and respond to this potent ethical epidemic through the lens of Jesus techings on the Kingdom of Heaven?
The authors begin this sectoins by saying that most scholars and churches wrongly approach this issue, because they ask the wrong question. "They tend to ask the permissibility question: Under what circumstances is it morally permissible to get divorced or remarried?"(273) Such a framing of this issue tends to reflect a "highly legalistic approach to biblical interpretation" and focuses more on rules and exceptions than "the character of God, scriptural principles that reflect that character, real human situations that reflect our bondage to sin, and transformative practices." (272-273)
While I thought this was a good place to start, I was surprised they didn't really say what the right question was instead, a curious omission that resulted in a less-than-precise evaluation to an important ethical problem.
The authors rightly note that the few explicit teachings of Jesus on divorce are "notoriously difficult to interpret." What we have are in Matthew 5:31-32; 19:3-12; Mark 10:2-12; and Luke 16:18. The authors place much weight to this this discussion on the Matthew 19 and Mark 10 passages, which subvert the "testing" intent of the Pharisees by directing the conversation to one about the original intentions of God the Creator.In so doing, Jesus "made a strong statement enjoining his listeners to obey God's will for marriage and thus refrain from divorce," while also making connections between divorce and remarriage and adultery. (274)
In so doing, the authors argue that it shouldn't be a surprise Jesus turns to God's intention for marriage in creation, because Jesus' whole mission was about the inbreaking of the Kingdom reign of God that would restore creation ethically to the way God originally intended it to be at the beginning. What does Kingdom-living mean for marriage according to Jesus? The authors think 3 things: 1) Marriage is a male-female covenant partnership established by God for God's purpose; 2) Marriage is the joyful companionship of male and femail in a one-flesh (re)union; and 3) Marriage is a covenant relationship intended to be faithful and permenant. (275-276) Thus, the question we should ask is, "How shall we participate alongside God in creating, nurturing and preserving marriages that reflect God's intent for this holy covenant and that last for a joyous lifetime?" (277)
While I appreciate this reimaging of the question surrounding divorce toward this Kingdom vision, what about the clear exception clause that does seem to exist? The authors want to distance this sensitive issue from a legalistic whats-the-exception to a Kingdom oriented posture, which I appreciate. But then you have the clear teaching of Jesus in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount regarding just that: a legal exception clause, which is adultery. Interestingly, the authors claim that "It may be the best way to interpret the uniquely Matthean exception clause is simply to see it as his rule-based adaptation of Jesus' unconditoinal teachings against divorce." (emph. mine, 286) This rule-based exception to divorce is simply Matthew's editorial comment, rather than actually Jesus' teaching on the subject? I think that's some shaky exegetical grounding, shaky exegesis that isn't all that helpful toward finding clarity regarding this important ethical issue.
In the end, the Stassen and Gushee land on a fair and helpful interpretation of the heart of Jesus' treaching on marriage and divorce: "What God has joined together, keep together! Go and be reconciled!" They believe that this framing of the divorce issue leads to a far more fruitful set of Christian moral practices in the area of marriage, ones that focus on marriage building and divorce prevention, "rather than on the development of a sophisticated casuistry of exceptions to the norm of lifetime marriage or a similarly tortuous casuistry of judgments concerning which categories of human beings might offer or receive the ministry of the Christian churches." (289)
While I appreciate this ethical approach to the divorce issue, one that clearly is against divorce and for marriage, it does seem to skirt the issue regarding the "what if" questions: What if someone in a church gets a divorce? On what discipline should happen? Should the church engage in disciplinary action if someone pursues divorce outside of the Scripturally prescribed situation of adultery? What does that mean for their participation in ministry life? And several more important questions that I think the authors are remise in neglecting. I get that life is messy and imprecise, and so I appreciate an approach that recognizes this and seeks to rise above the more legalistic tendencies that seem closer to the Pharisees than Jesus. It seems, however, that the authors neglected the precision that should come from biblical exegesis, especially for the sake of ethical clarity.
Unfortunately, this imprecision is evident at times throughout this book, as in the chapter on "Valuing Life at Its Beginning," for instance. Again, I understand life is messy and complex and multi-faceted, but is God unclear in His revelation regarding how we are to behave as His children and agents of His Kingdom, not to mention as human beings created in His image? Are we to place the complexities of life over against the ethical demands of the Kingdom, or are we called to recognize that complexity while lovingly, truthfully asserting the way things were meant to be, asserting the way of God's Kingdom reign? Generally, I saw the later in this book, but at times I was confused why a more precise response was not offered.
Regardless, I believe this is a significant book that will help the average Christian better understand how they should view the complexities of life as members of the Church and agent's of God's Kingdom movement. This book will also serve pastors well in helping their congregations act as beachheads of the Kingdom in their communities, informing sermons or vision-casting meetings with rhobust, well-articulated arguments for a Kingdom-centric ethic.
One of the things I love about this book as that the chapters are not dry explications removed from or devoid of real life grit. Every chapter is anchored in real-life senarios the authors themselves have experienced or witnessed to help ground the reader in reality, to force us all to realize these ethical "things" that we're reading about and pondering really do happen, have happened to people we know and love. People, not to mention followers of Jesus themselves, are faced with real life ethical situations that demand the care to handle them well and also the courage to confront them with the teachings and way of Jesus. Stassen and Gushee help us all on our way toward doing both in this powerful, provocative book that American evangelicalism desperately needs.
June 11, 2017
Kingdom Ethics was an excellent overview of the potential present day applications made possible by the sermon on the mount. Their approach, to me, seemed rather innovative for the sermon on the mount. Where most people are taught that the information that Jesus provides in this moment are commands that one ought to do, they instead said these are not commands but rather insights into what the kingdom of God may be. By taking this approach one has a rather intriguing and potentially fulfilling time working towards integrating these pieces of advice from Jesus into their life to transform them into vessels.
The approach they take breaks down scripture into a triad, a past jewish tradition that was followed, a vicious cycle in which followers of the tradition have perhaps knowingly or unknowingly introduced corruption into it, and a transforming initiative that helps people break this cycle. I think by framing it this way, everything that is said enables one to not feel guilty about not living up to the high reaching ideals that no one could ever reach, and rather put their best foot forward as they acknowledge, that yes, there is a cycle, and yes there is a way that one can break through, and that yes, the sin of the world will perhaps cause one to stumble.
In terms of utility, I liked how the book worked several controversial topics into it and provided us with insight into how people can make decisions that would be morally justified based on the scripture and the sermon on the mount teachings. I was initially dissapointed that there wasnt a hard line stance on some topics (like wartime was pretty much left open to following a set of questions to ask, not necessarily that Christians should always be peaceful) however, I did like how they provided examples of when perhaps not necessarily following what was taught might be justified (for example not being truthful, they cited examples in which people in the bible werent necessarily truthful). It also felt a bit more progressive at times with the stances on people of diverse sexual preferences and the role of women, or the role of different ethnic backgrounds in the church, strongly suggesting that there should be no rules in place that would prevent people from using the gifts that they have been blessed with for following Jesus. I think by framing it this way one has to really think about some of the innate opinions they have.
One of the strongest parts for me was also how they continued to imply there was a battle between people trying to identify where they should follow Jesus and the teachings of the bible. Should it be something public or something private. They kept stating that people are constantly putting the law of the land about Jesus, or even at times money (Mammon), which bears consideration. Followers were made to follow Jesus teachings not the law, and a part of the book does make attempts to suggest that people have to be able to remain salt, flavoring the world, while not becoming unseasoned like sand and being integrated into the world.
Overall, sections on biomedical advances in genetics and environmental stewardship were excellent inclusions which are as relevant today as they were yesterday and the stances presented are agreeable, if only they were a bit longer.
Excellent read overall, and I think for nonfollowers interested in ethics, this was an interesting read, comparisons and contrasts with other ethicists and viewpoints were good inclusions.
The approach they take breaks down scripture into a triad, a past jewish tradition that was followed, a vicious cycle in which followers of the tradition have perhaps knowingly or unknowingly introduced corruption into it, and a transforming initiative that helps people break this cycle. I think by framing it this way, everything that is said enables one to not feel guilty about not living up to the high reaching ideals that no one could ever reach, and rather put their best foot forward as they acknowledge, that yes, there is a cycle, and yes there is a way that one can break through, and that yes, the sin of the world will perhaps cause one to stumble.
In terms of utility, I liked how the book worked several controversial topics into it and provided us with insight into how people can make decisions that would be morally justified based on the scripture and the sermon on the mount teachings. I was initially dissapointed that there wasnt a hard line stance on some topics (like wartime was pretty much left open to following a set of questions to ask, not necessarily that Christians should always be peaceful) however, I did like how they provided examples of when perhaps not necessarily following what was taught might be justified (for example not being truthful, they cited examples in which people in the bible werent necessarily truthful). It also felt a bit more progressive at times with the stances on people of diverse sexual preferences and the role of women, or the role of different ethnic backgrounds in the church, strongly suggesting that there should be no rules in place that would prevent people from using the gifts that they have been blessed with for following Jesus. I think by framing it this way one has to really think about some of the innate opinions they have.
One of the strongest parts for me was also how they continued to imply there was a battle between people trying to identify where they should follow Jesus and the teachings of the bible. Should it be something public or something private. They kept stating that people are constantly putting the law of the land about Jesus, or even at times money (Mammon), which bears consideration. Followers were made to follow Jesus teachings not the law, and a part of the book does make attempts to suggest that people have to be able to remain salt, flavoring the world, while not becoming unseasoned like sand and being integrated into the world.
Overall, sections on biomedical advances in genetics and environmental stewardship were excellent inclusions which are as relevant today as they were yesterday and the stances presented are agreeable, if only they were a bit longer.
Excellent read overall, and I think for nonfollowers interested in ethics, this was an interesting read, comparisons and contrasts with other ethicists and viewpoints were good inclusions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 16, 2019
This is a solid book that examines Christian ethics through Jesus's actual words and life. That's a lot more than I can say for many books on Christian ethics, which often only teach you the authors' own biases or the platform of their political allies. Stassen and Gushee clearly believe in the whole Gospel and share it effectively here.
My main issue with the book is that while I agree with most of the authors' ethical conclusions, and appreciate that they clearly source their positions in the Gospel, I don't feel like they ever developed a strong rubric for developing ethical stances from the Bible. Sometimes questions are difficult, sometimes one part of the Bible seems to give a different answer than another. How do we resolve these difficulties? How do we build a coherent framework without just picking and choosing?
Kingdom Ethics doesn't answer that question for me, which is why I feel that Richard B. Hays's "The Moral Vision of the New Testament" is a superior text. But Kingdom Ethics is also very good, and I would recommend that Christians truly seeking to source their lives in their life of Jesus read both of them.
My main issue with the book is that while I agree with most of the authors' ethical conclusions, and appreciate that they clearly source their positions in the Gospel, I don't feel like they ever developed a strong rubric for developing ethical stances from the Bible. Sometimes questions are difficult, sometimes one part of the Bible seems to give a different answer than another. How do we resolve these difficulties? How do we build a coherent framework without just picking and choosing?
Kingdom Ethics doesn't answer that question for me, which is why I feel that Richard B. Hays's "The Moral Vision of the New Testament" is a superior text. But Kingdom Ethics is also very good, and I would recommend that Christians truly seeking to source their lives in their life of Jesus read both of them.
November 17, 2025
While there are sections of this text I disagree with, especially as some of the content ages poorly or is more American in focus than is helpful for my context, I still find the book to be a 5 star read overall. The way they frame the bulk of the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount with the traditional teaching, vicious cycle, and transforming initiative is incredibly simple, teachable, and consistent. While I yearn for an updated version for the 2020s, something that will not happen because one of the authors are deceased, this book still maintains it's 5 star rating for me and I'm glad I turned to it again for this fall's sermon series on the Sermon on the Mount.
July 2, 2019
Основана е върху Библията, най-вече върху проповедта на планината. Взема под внимание екзегетиката, за да разтълкува правилно библейския текст. Съдържанието е добре подбрано, научно издържано и на съвсем достъпен език.
August 29, 2020
Very powerful book on Christian ethics, based on the Sermon on the Mount!
January 8, 2014
Very solid stuff, although it's very dry and reads like a commentary. It's always hard for me to pinpoint why some writers are pure pleasure to read, why the style of particular authors draws me to their work, and why others, like Stassen and Gushee, feel more like work. Here, I think the work is worth it, but I wish it was more compelling.
The discussions of the Beatitudes in general are particularly interesting, with some useful insights. For instance, regarding the third Beatitude ["Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth," Mt 5:5, NRSV], they cite another author who "says it would be better to translate the word 'tamed' rather than 'meek,' in the sense that their wills have been tamed by God’s will" (40). And on the sixth Beatitude ["Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Mt. 5:8, NRSV] "So the sixth Beatitude means, in a nutshell, blessed are those who give their whole self over to God, who is the only one worthy of the heart’s devotion." 45
A worthwhile commentary on the Beatitudes, the main point is that the Christian's life ought to be completely congruent with Jesus' teachings, in particular, the Sermon on the Mount:
"Christian churches across the confessional and theological spectrum, and Christian ethics as an academic discipline that serves the churches, are often guilty of evading Jesus, the cornerstone and center of the Christian faith. Specifically, the teachings and practices of Jesus – especially the largest block of his teachings, the Sermon on the Mount . . . . Jesus taught that the test of our discipleship is whether we act on his teachings, whether we “put into practice” his words. This is what it means to “buil[d our] house on rock (Mt 7:24)." 11
I also like the definition of a Christian, as the authors describe it:
"A Christian is (or should be) defined as one who humbles himself or herself and chooses to enter into discipleship, to follow Jesus’ path, to build his or her life upon his teachings and his practices even at great cost, to pass those teachings and practices on to others, and thus to enjoy the unspeakable privilege of participating in the advance of God’s reign. Jesus inaugurates the long-promised kingdom and thus offers holistic deliverance to the sick, the poor, the guilty and the rejected; incarnates and demands justice and righteousness; practices and teaches the way of peacemaking; and both experiences and imparts joy. Meanwhile, in his ministry and then through his living Spirit, Jesus offers the very presence of God." 30
The discussions of the Beatitudes in general are particularly interesting, with some useful insights. For instance, regarding the third Beatitude ["Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth," Mt 5:5, NRSV], they cite another author who "says it would be better to translate the word 'tamed' rather than 'meek,' in the sense that their wills have been tamed by God’s will" (40). And on the sixth Beatitude ["Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Mt. 5:8, NRSV] "So the sixth Beatitude means, in a nutshell, blessed are those who give their whole self over to God, who is the only one worthy of the heart’s devotion." 45
A worthwhile commentary on the Beatitudes, the main point is that the Christian's life ought to be completely congruent with Jesus' teachings, in particular, the Sermon on the Mount:
"Christian churches across the confessional and theological spectrum, and Christian ethics as an academic discipline that serves the churches, are often guilty of evading Jesus, the cornerstone and center of the Christian faith. Specifically, the teachings and practices of Jesus – especially the largest block of his teachings, the Sermon on the Mount . . . . Jesus taught that the test of our discipleship is whether we act on his teachings, whether we “put into practice” his words. This is what it means to “buil[d our] house on rock (Mt 7:24)." 11
I also like the definition of a Christian, as the authors describe it:
"A Christian is (or should be) defined as one who humbles himself or herself and chooses to enter into discipleship, to follow Jesus’ path, to build his or her life upon his teachings and his practices even at great cost, to pass those teachings and practices on to others, and thus to enjoy the unspeakable privilege of participating in the advance of God’s reign. Jesus inaugurates the long-promised kingdom and thus offers holistic deliverance to the sick, the poor, the guilty and the rejected; incarnates and demands justice and righteousness; practices and teaches the way of peacemaking; and both experiences and imparts joy. Meanwhile, in his ministry and then through his living Spirit, Jesus offers the very presence of God." 30
September 9, 2009
This is important, fair-minded, and accessible book. Stassen and Gushee explore Christian ethics using the structure and content of Sermon on the Mount as a theological base. The result is original, comprehensive, and compelling. It is definitely worth reading for those interested in the topic.
But as an "introductory" text to Christian ethics I found the presentation half-complete. Stassen and Gushee address traditional ethical views only briefly and sporadically while spending a great deal of time advocating their own view. For those looking for a survey of Christian Ethics as a discipline you will need to look elsewhere.
That said, make sure you eventually find your way back to this book. It is an important commentary on (and correction of) the practice of Christian ethics to date.
But as an "introductory" text to Christian ethics I found the presentation half-complete. Stassen and Gushee address traditional ethical views only briefly and sporadically while spending a great deal of time advocating their own view. For those looking for a survey of Christian Ethics as a discipline you will need to look elsewhere.
That said, make sure you eventually find your way back to this book. It is an important commentary on (and correction of) the practice of Christian ethics to date.
December 13, 2012
An excellent discourse on Christian ethics that does a good job of bringing Jesus' teachings back into focus within an evangelical context that so often loses sight of them. Particularly helpful are two tools they present: character ethics and the triad interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount. It would have been nice if the authors had brought these concepts into unity with the ethical portions of the Epistles (such as the Fruit of the Spirit) and the Old Testament redemptive narrative, but these things are fairly easy to do without the authors doing it for you. Certainly worth a read if you were raised, as I was, in a church context that values abstract theology above practical ethics.
August 12, 2011
While I appreciate Stassen and Gushee's efforts here - they avoid neat and tidy "thus sayeth the Lord" and grapple with contextualizing the ancient message of Scripture, I'm not totally sold on their methodology. While their triad approach to interpreting the sermon is appropriate much of the time it is hardly convincing as a universally applicable hermenuetical tool for all of the Sermon on the Mount. Thus, in my opinion the book falls short of some of its goals. However, this book is a great primer for biblically addressing some of the significant moral issues of our day.
April 9, 2013
For the record, I didn't read all of this book. Parts of it were required reading for a graduate level class I was in, and I mildly enjoyed what I read. I was recently going through my books, getting rid of those that I thought I wouldn't read soon, and Kingdom Ethics was a casualty of this house cleaning. However, just yesterday I was wishing that I had kept this book. Thus, I give it a 3-star rating. Good enough to check out, but not so good that I felt compelled to keep it.
December 19, 2009
A good reminder that all Christians are Christians first and then Americans. And at the same time they have a duty to involve themselves in the politics of their nations for the good of God's Kingdom. Very interesting discussions on big issues: war and peace, death penalty, abortion, etc.
Read
June 10, 2007Academically thorough and updated - a combination of Stassen wisdom and Gushee contemporary energy regarding a Christian ethic from evangelical viewpoint.
August 14, 2008
You have to love an approach to ethics that seeks the perspective of Jesus. This book is deeply thoughtful and thoroughly researched. It covers everything and brings refreshing new perspectives.
October 28, 2008
Great read on Christian ethics from the context of Jesus sermon on the mount.
Insightful perspective on the ethics of the Kingdom as 180 reverse on ethics of the present world system.
Insightful perspective on the ethics of the Kingdom as 180 reverse on ethics of the present world system.
August 31, 2010
See my review of "Resident Aliens", only change the name Hauerwas to Stassen and Gushee.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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