Stanley Hauerwas

Whatever might be said about Hauerwas--and there is plenty--no one has ever accused him of being boring, and in this book he delivers another jolt to all those who think that Christian theology is a matter of indifference to our secular society. Combative, incisive, always provocative, here he takes on some of the most time-honored values and troubling questions that mark our day--and in doing so reveals the pertinence of a critique of liberalism from a Christian perspective.

Stanley Hauerwas critically engages the major theological & philosophical voices of modernity to reclaim a space for Christian discourse. Writing to a generation of Christians that finds itself at once comfortably "at home" yet oddly fettered & irrelevant in America, Hauerwas challenges contemporary Christians to imagine what it might mean to "break back into Christianity" in a world that is at best semi-Christian.

This volume introduces the work of a group of Jewish and Christian scholars who bring to theology the fruits of both premodern faith and modern reason.

When The Ethics of Abortion first appeared, this powerful collection of essays gained instant recognition as one of the first attempts to present both sides of the abortion debate in the words of leading proponents. Now, after two major Supreme Court cases, intense political wrangling, and heavy media coverage of often violent public demonstrations, the editors have updated and revised this groundbreaking book by adding thirteen new selections and retaining many popular selections from the previous edition. Comprehensive and balanced, this popular volume in Prometheus's "Contemporary Issues" series offers nineteen essays and three excerpts from the high court's opinions in Roe v. Wade, which changed the face of abortion law for all time; Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), which regulated the use of public facilities for abortions; and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992), which imposed a waiting period and permitted parental notification. This provocative anthology covers such compelling issues as the pre-Roe abortion period in American history, abortion and the Constitution, abortion and feminism, abortion and Christianity, as well as the fundamental moral issues.

Many of us keep pet animals; we rely on them for companionship and unconditional love. For some people their closest relationships may be with their pets. In the wake of the animal rights movement, some ethicists have started to re-examine this relationship, and to question the rights of humans to "own" other sentient beings in this way. In this engaging and thought-provoking book, Stephen Webb brings a Christian perspective to bear on the subject of our responsibility to animals, looked at through the lens of our relations with pets--especially dogs. Webb argues that the emotional bond with companion animals should play a central role in the way we think about animals in general, and--against the more extreme animal liberationists--defends the intermingling of the human and animal worlds. He tries to imagine what it would be like to treat animals as a gift from God, and indeed argues that not only are animals a gift for us, but they give to us; we need to attend to their giving and return their gifts appropriately. Throughout the book he insists that what Christians call grace is present in our relations with animals just as it is with other humans. Grace is the inclusive and expansive power of God's love to create and sustain relationships of real mutuality and reciprocity, and Webb unfolds the implications of the recognition that animals too participate in God's abundant grace. Webb's thesis affirms and persuasively defends many of the things that pet lovers feel instinctively--that their relationships with their companion animals are meaningful and important, and that their pets have value and worth in themselves in the eyes of God. His book will appeal to a broad audience of thoughtful Christians and animal lovers.