Strange Virtues: Ethics in a Multicultural World

by Bernard T. Adeney-Riskotta

Theologian and veteran missionary Bernard Adeney addresses in-depth what may be the stickiest crosscultural communication problem of our differing approaches to morality.In this comprehensive treatment, he considers ethics across cultures, addresses the ethical import of other religions and gender relations, explores how the Bible and culture interact to produce ethical stances, and includes particular case studies. Strange Virtues will benefit not only missionaries, ethicists and students, but all Christians who want to better understand their neighbors here at home.

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An insightful look at how values are expressed in different cultures and what happens when Christian morality is thrown into the mix. All overseas workers usually have struggled with issues such as corruption and attitudes to women. This book provides no glib answers but challenges the reader to think more deeply about their host culture in a respectful way and at the same time adhere more truly to Biblical ethics. The author also exposes the weaknesses of the developed world culture and the default superiority mode that dogs us in our lives.

[The Wanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book. Please. Read this book.

It's not full of pithy advice or shallow evangelical rhetoric. It's not an academic treatise and it's not trendy and easy-to-swallow, either. It looks at the world in a real way, and it does Christian theology in a way that acknowledges the messiness. It drives you to want to do better and makes it plain that doing better is going to be tough. It doesn't tell you what the answers are, but it gives you the tools to find your answers, regardless.

Adeney uses the social sciences and theology to analyze areas of ethical conflict, but it is no dry post-mortem. He uses his own lived experiences and the experiences of others to illustrate this world full of strange problems. The combination works well, and you need to read this book.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most interesting feature of this book were the specific examples Adeny provides where a Western religious or social workers living in other cultures dealt with behaviors outside what we would find acceptible in the U.S. Many of these examples centered around the role of women and power structures in other cultures. Many times the question becomes one of picking the lesser evil.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read in which Adeney tackles some of the most challenging ethical issues faced by Christians in cross-cultural contexts. The information and content offered by Adeney are useful and backed up with tons of case studies and experiences. He offers his personal insights on how to develop a theology that makes sense of topics that may seem uncomfortable to many Christians due to ethnocentric beliefs. He does a great job of offering resolution between biblical truth and ethical challenges.