This comprehensive, systematic survey of Luther's ethical thought and teaching clearly discusses all the major ethical issues that concerned Luther. Contemporary readers will be especially interested in what the Reformer has to say about the Christian's attitude toward secular society, toward the state, and toward war. The Ethics of Martin Luther offers scholars and nonspecialists alike a much-needed explanation of Luther's ideas. --

Although countless books have been devoted to the life and work of Martin Luther King, Jr., few, if any, have focused on King's appropriation of, and contribution to, the intellectual tradition of personalism. Emerging as a philosophical movement in the early 1900s, personalism is a type of philosophical idealism that has a number of affinities with Christianity, such as a focus on a personal God and the sanctity of persons. Burrow points to similarities and dissimilarities between personalism and the social gospel movement with its call to churchgoers to involve themselves in the welfare of both individuals and society. He argues that King's adoption of personalism represented the fusion of his black Christian faith and his commitment not only to the social gospel of Rauschenbusch, but most especially to the social gospelism practiced by his grandfather, father, and black preacher-scholars at Morehouse College. Burrow devotes much-needed attention both to King's conviction that the universe is value-infused and to the implications of this ideology for King's views on human dignity and his concept of the "Beloved Community." Burrow also sheds light on King’s doctrine of God. He contends that King's view of God has been uncritically and erroneously relegated by black liberation theologians to the general category of "theistic absolutism" and he offers corrections to what he believes are misinterpretations of this and other aspects of King’s thought. He concludes with an application of King’s personalism to present-day social problems, particularly as they pertain to violence in the black community. This book is a useful and fresh contribution to our understanding of the life and thought of Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be read with interest by ethicists, theologians, philosophers, and social historians.

As profound as Martin Luther's ideas are, this giant of church history was concerned above all with practical instruction for daily Christian living. Harvesting Martin Luther's Reflections highlights this concern of Luther, mining his thought in key areas of doctrine, ethics, and church practice. Gathering noteworthy contributions by well-known Luther scholars from Europe and the Americas, this book ranges broadly over theological questions about baptism and righteousness, ethical issues like poverty and greed, and pastoral concerns like worship and spirituality.

"This user-friendly, informative historical theology also challenges contemporary Christians at affirm common biblical ground for theological ethics and to facilitate more public social witness."--BOOK JACKET.

A cast of distinguished contributors engage critically with Martin Luther King's understudied writings on labor and welfare rights, voting rights, racism, civil disobedience, nonviolence, economic inequality, poverty, love, just-war theory, virtue ethics, political theology, imperialism, nationalism, reparations, and social justice

Martin Luther King, Jr. developed a philosophical logic of nonviolence in terms of equality, structure, nonviolent direct action, and love. Here we look at the way King's analysis makes use of each concept with a special view to the context of other Black activist intellectuals. This ebook is a slightly edited version of earlier print editions.

Prominent Reformation historian Timothy Wengert introduces the basic components of Martin Luther's theology of the Bible and examines Luther's contributions to present-day biblical interpretation. Wengert addresses key points of debate regarding Luther's approach to the Bible that have often been misunderstood, including biblical authority, the distinction between law and gospel, the theology of the cross, and biblical ethics. He argues that Luther, when rightly understood, offers much wisdom to Christians searching for fresh approaches to the interpretation of Scripture. This brief but comprehensive overview is filled with insights on Luther's theology and its significance for contemporary debates on the Bible, particularly the New Perspective on Paul.