The Sacredness of Human Life
Why an Ancient Biblical Vision Is Key to the World's Future
Author David P. Gushee ISBN 9780802844200 Binding Trade Cloth Publisher WM B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Publication Date January 14, 2013 Size 152 x 229 mm
This authoritative book is the most comprehensive examination ever of the sacredness of human life. Never before has one volume explored this subject in such a multifaceted way, encompassing biblical
This authoritative book is the most comprehensive examination ever of the sacredness of human life. Never before has one volume explored this subject in such a multifaceted way, encompassing biblical roots, theological elaborations, historical cases, and contemporary ethical perspectives.
Tracing the concept of the sacredness of human life from Scripture through church history to the present day, David Gushee argues that viewing human life as sacred is one of the most precious legacies of biblical faith — albeit one that the church has too often failed to uphold.
Besides providing a masterful historical survey, Gushee?s discussion covers the many current ethical challenges and perspectives that will impact the survival and flourishing of human life, including biotechnology, the death penalty, abortion, human rights, nuclear weapons, just war theory, women?s rights, and creation care.
Gushee?s Sacredness of Human Life is a game-changing book that will set the standard for all future discussions of this key ethical concept.
Tracing the concept of the sacredness of human life from Scripture through church history to the present day, David Gushee argues that viewing human life as sacred is one of the most precious legacies of biblical faith — albeit one that the church has too often failed to uphold.
Besides providing a masterful historical survey, Gushee?s discussion covers the many current ethical challenges and perspectives that will impact the survival and flourishing of human life, including biotechnology, the death penalty, abortion, human rights, nuclear weapons, just war theory, women?s rights, and creation care.
Gushee?s Sacredness of Human Life is a game-changing book that will set the standard for all future discussions of this key ethical concept.
Georgia Author of the Year Award (GAYA) in the Inspirational-Religious category
Jim Wallis
— Sojourners
"David Gushee is one of the preeminent Christian ethicists in the country, and his work is important for both those in the academic world and all of us trying to live out obedient and biblical lives. In The Sacredness of Human Life he rescues this most spiritual of concepts from the narrow realm of political rhetoric, which it has come to inhabit in recent years. This book should be read by anyone who desires to reclaim a broader definition of how 'the sacredness of life' should truly be understood."
Jeremy Waldron
— New York University School of Law
"No one, to my knowledge, has come up with a deeper or more sustained account of what it means to say that human life is sacred than David Gushee in this magisterial work. The analysis is overwhelming — in a good sense. . . . The title might suggest a preoccupation with abortion, but there is so much more than that in this book. Gushee applies his analysis to issues like the death penalty, environmental degradation, racism, nuclear weapons, and biotechnology. And even on abortion, those who disagree with his position will not want to miss the cornucopia of insight he provides and — most strikingly — the sensitivity and openness of his discussion."
Glen Stassen
— Fuller Theological Seminary
"This is the most significant book I have ever seen about what it really means to say that human life is sacred. It combines conservative loyalty to preserving the sacredness of human life with liberal loyalty to caring for the basic needs of life. . . . Gushee's work can bring the healing we need in our time of dangerous polarization."
Robin Lovin
— Southern Methodist University
"To believers and skeptics alike, Christian ethics sometimes appears to be little more than a collection of commands and prohibitions. Gushee makes it clear that there is a central idea to the discipline, one that connects to the core of biblical faith and has implications for human rights, ecology, and global politics. . . . A masterful guide to thinking about the choices that will shape Christian life in the twenty-first century."
Amy Laura Hall
— Duke University
"This story of Christian witness will preach and reach. David Gushee is an uncommonly patient writer. He relates biblical testimonies to the sacredness of life with subtlety and clarity. . . . His summons to think hard and live well invites baffled undergraduates, weary pastors, curious laity, and careworn activists to reengage in small, intentional practices of prayer and study on abortion, torture, immigration, and women's rights. I can't wait to teach this book."
Peter Ochs
— University of Virginia
"The question of 'human life' has become a major theo-political battleground today in the USA — and battlegrounds are not the best environments for nurturing human life. David Gushee has entered the battleground the way he suggests St. Francis confronted the Crusades — not with another sword but with the Word. . . . Gushee's voice is one that believers of all faiths will want to engage. . . . This book leaves me happily breathless!"
Charles Mathewes
— University of Virginia
"David Gushee is one of the most important theological ethicists writing today, and this book is a landmark for future work in Christian ethics. If you are interested in fundamental moral and theological concepts, or in the character of religious discourse in our public life, or in the future health and sanity of the Christian churches in the USA (and beyond), you owe it to yourself to read this book."
Charles Camosy
— Fordham University
"Today's political discourse artificially and problematically separates discussion of the dignity of the human person into 'social justice' and 'pro-life' approaches. But in this fantastic book David Gushee articulates how sacred Scripture and tradition offer a coherent and timely defense of the sacredness of life that refuses to accept this simplistic and polarizing binary. A dynamic, readable, and historically aware account of issues like war, abortion/infanticide, racism, biotechnology, and women's rights."
M. Cathleen Kaveny
— University of Notre Dame
"This magisterial volume draws upon biblical studies, philosophy, theology, history, and law in order to illustrate the breadth and richness of the concept of the sanctity of human life. Gushee shows us that the ideal of life
View Review quote
Jim Wallis
— Sojourners
"David Gushee is one of the preeminent Christian ethicists in the country, and his work is important for both those in the academic world and all of us trying to live out obedient and biblical lives. In The Sacredness of Human Life he rescues this most spiritual of concepts from the narrow realm of political rhetoric, which it has come to inhabit in recent years. This book should be read by anyone who desires to reclaim a broader definition of how 'the sacredness of life' should truly be understood."
Jeremy Waldron
— New York University School of Law
"No one, to my knowledge, has come up with a deeper or more sustained account of what it means to say that human life is sacred than David Gushee in this magisterial work. The analysis is overwhelming — in a good sense. . . . The title might suggest a preoccupation with abortion, but there is so much more than that in this book. Gushee applies his analysis to issues like the death penalty, environmental degradation, racism, nuclear weapons, and biotechnology. And even on abortion, those who disagree with his position will not want to miss the cornucopia of insight he provides and — most strikingly — the sensitivity and openness of his discussion."
Glen Stassen
— Fuller Theological Seminary
"This is the most significant book I have ever seen about what it really means to say that human life is sacred. It combines conservative loyalty to preserving the sacredness of human life with liberal loyalty to caring for the basic needs of life. . . . Gushee's work can bring the healing we need in our time of dangerous polarization."
Robin Lovin
— Southern Methodist University
"To believers and skeptics alike, Christian ethics sometimes appears to be little more than a collection of commands and prohibitions. Gushee makes it clear that there is a central idea to the discipline, one that connects to the core of biblical faith and has implications for human rights, ecology, and global politics. . . . A masterful guide to thinking about the choices that will shape Christian life in the twenty-first century."
Amy Laura Hall
— Duke University
"This story of Christian witness will preach and reach. David Gushee is an uncommonly patient writer. He relates biblical testimonies to the sacredness of life with subtlety and clarity. . . . His summons to think hard and live well invites baffled undergraduates, weary pastors, curious laity, and careworn activists to reengage in small, intentional practices of prayer and study on abortion, torture, immigration, and women's rights. I can't wait to teach this book."
Peter Ochs
— University of Virginia
"The question of 'human life' has become a major theo-political battleground today in the USA — and battlegrounds are not the best environments for nurturing human life. David Gushee has entered the battleground the way he suggests St. Francis confronted the Crusades — not with another sword but with the Word. . . . Gushee's voice is one that believers of all faiths will want to engage. . . . This book leaves me happily breathless!"
Charles Mathewes
— University of Virginia
"David Gushee is one of the most important theological ethicists writing today, and this book is a landmark for future work in Christian ethics. If you are interested in fundamental moral and theological concepts, or in the character of religious discourse in our public life, or in the future health and sanity of the Christian churches in the USA (and beyond), you owe it to yourself to read this book."
Charles Camosy
— Fordham University
"Today's political discourse artificially and problematically separates discussion of the dignity of the human person into 'social justice' and 'pro-life' approaches. But in this fantastic book David Gushee articulates how sacred Scripture and tradition offer a coherent and timely defense of the sacredness of life that refuses to accept this simplistic and polarizing binary. A dynamic, readable, and historically aware account of issues like war, abortion/infanticide, racism, biotechnology, and women's rights."
M. Cathleen Kaveny
— University of Notre Dame
"This magisterial volume draws upon biblical studies, philosophy, theology, history, and law in order to illustrate the breadth and richness of the concept of the sanctity of human life. Gushee shows us that the ideal of life
David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University and Chair of Christian Social Ethics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam/IBTS. One of the world's leading Christian ethicists, he is the author or editor of more than twenty-five books, including Changing Our Mind, After Evangelicalism, Kingdom Ethics, Still Christian, Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, and The Sacredness of Human Life. Gushee is also a frequent speaker, Kingdom Ethics podcaster, and activist. He and his wife, Jeanie, live in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit davidpgushee.com or @dpgushee on social media.
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