Hard choices
Subtitle: how to resolve moral dilemmas
By: J. Philip Wogaman.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Louisville, KY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 174
ISBN-13: 9780664233167
Subjects: Christian ethics
Description: "How can we make decisions that are consistent with our basic values? We must first, J. Philip Wogaman says, identify basic moral presumptions that can guide our thought as we face moral dilemmas. These basic moral presumptions include equality, grace, the value of human life, the unity of humankind, preferential claims for the poor and marginalized, and the goodness of creation. The burden of proof, he argues, must be borne by decisions that are contrary to such presumptions. He pulls into the conversation difficult ethical issues such as divorce, sexuality, abortion, political choices, economic justice, affirmative action, homosexuality, nuclear disarmament, economic globalization, global warming, international security, environmental policies, and military power. In the process, he provides a smart and helpful guide to Christian ethical behavior."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Part I: Starting points; title: Some decisions are easier than others; title: Easy decisions; title: More difficult decisions; title: Moral dilemmas; title: The deep basis of the moral life; title: Practical decision making; title: Why ethics is ultimately religious; title: Acceptable and unacceptable forms of revelation; title: The useful incomplete ness of religious tradition; title: Moral virtue and character; title: Intuition and deliberation in moral decision-making; title: The absolute and the relative in moral life; title: Have we become too relativistic?; title: The natural law approach; title: God as the absolute; title: Facts and values; title: Individual integrity and communal authority; title: The transcendent absolute; title: Rules and relationships; title: The moral burden of proof; title: The legal analogy; title: Applying the idea of "presumption" to ethical decision-making; title: Moral presumptions as a common starting point; title: Basic moral presumptions; title: Uses of scripture; title: Positive Christian value presumptions; title: The limits and flaws in human nature; title: Presumptions that preserve balance; title: A presumption for Scripture and tradition; title: When presumptions are in conflict; title: Part II: Applications and illustrations; title: Difficult personal decisions; title: Sexual intimacy and family life; title: Contraception and abortion; title: Choosing a spouse; title: Divorce; title: Vocational choices; title: The uses of our money; title: Political choices; title: Hard choices in the public arena; title: Abortion; title: Homosexuality; title: The dilemma of "affirmative action"; title: Securing economic justice; title: Environmental policies; title: Criminal justice; title: Uses of military power; title: Hard choices at the global level; title: International institution building; title: International security and policing; title: Nuclear disarmament; title: Economic globalization; title: Global warming; title: Hard choices in communities of faith.