In order to work toward right relationships among humanity and all other things, what is required is an ethical theory that concerns itself with interests that include but are not limited to the human. James M. Gustafson's theocentric ethics, which centres value on God, can accomplish this in the religious sphere. Gustafson's ethical theory also has the potential to work within nontheistic secularism as a way of construing all things as interrelated and interdependent. Underlying Gustafson's theology and value theory is a commonsense ontology, which appreciates evidences from the sciences, affective orientation, and resembles certain webs of beliefs held by many outside religious communities. In order to illustrate the transition to secular Gustafsonian ethical theory, functional surrogates of theology found in secular philosophy, and particularly in the work of Mary Midgley, are identified. Gustafson's ethical theory is used to identify certain obligations and restrictions with regard to environmental ethics.

Christian ethics are ecclesial. The aim of this study is to sustain this conviction in the case of St John Chrysostom. The pastoral concern "The Counsel against Despair" provides the interpretative key to his ethics. The full spectrum of his works, most of which are homilies, are examined in this study. The thesis begins with an account of the wider theological issues involved. This is particularly necessary because pastoral ministry has generally been regarded as peripheral to theology proper, and homiletical material has usually been dismissed as an improper source for understanding patristic ethics. In the main body of the thesis, the problem of despair is situated in Chrysostom's overall theological vision. The intrinsic connection of ethics to ecclesiology is explored through an analysis of the pivotal role which a community in mutual consolation and exhortation plays in the overcoming of moral impotence and moral confusion. The implications for the moral commitments of an individual are also examined. Attention is given throughout the analysis to the crucial points of departure between Chrysostom and those among his predecessors and contemporaries who maintain a more rational and volitional interpretation of ethics. A concluding chapter reflects on Chrysostom's contribution to the understanding of the nature of pastoral ministry in the modern age. An Augustinian and a post-Vatican II Roman Catholic approach to the problem of ecclesiastical discipline are analysed and found unsatisfactory. Chrysostom's line of reasoning offers a way to situate pastoral ministry in a wider moral framework. The thesis aims to show that homiletical material and the place of the affections in theological ethics should receive more attention from patrologists and systematic theologians.

There is a prima facie incompatibility between a law conception of ethics, in which law concepts (e.g. ought, rule, action) are basic, and a virtue conception of ethics, in which virtue concepts (e.g. character trait, ideal, agent) are basic. However, both conceptions contain elements that are needed for an adequate ethical account. Aquinas's conception of ethics is of interest, because it combines virtue and law components within a broadly Aristotelian account. I argue that Aquinas's virtue-and-law ethical conception is not ad hoc, but emerges from, expresses, and is grounded normatively, rationally, and motivationally in his general conception of practical thought. My first objective in the thesis is to explicate and defend an interpretation of Aquinas's understanding of practical thought as the rational determination of general good into particular action. I argue, first, that this interpretation expresses Aquinas's conception of the nature of practical thought, as reflected in Aquinas's central practical concepts of order, nature, good, and reason. Second, I argue that this interpretation is expressed in Aquinas's conception of the structure of practical thought, as reflected in general, specific, and particular conceptual levels of practical thinking, reasons, and forms of reasoning. My second objective in the thesis is to show that Aquinas's virtue-and-law account presupposes and develops this conception of practical thought, and briefly to indicate how insights from Aquinas's account elucidate relationships between virtue and law ethical conceptions.

This dissertation challenges the adequacy of three interrelated foci of twentieth- century Protestant Pauline interpretation. Interpreters regularly: (1) distinguish Paul's theology from his ethics, (2) emphasise his preaching as the sole or primary vehicle for gospel proclamation and divine revelation, and (3) deny that Paul engages in reasoned, ethical reflection. This study offers a new proposal for understanding how Paul does theology and ethics as a former Pharisee and first-century pastoral theologian a Christian community-builder with an apocalyptic (i.e. revelatory) perspective. Paul integrates Christian thinking and living, combining what interpreters frequently separate as theology and ethics. This becomes evident in Paul's complex process of theological, moral reasoning for which we have coined the phrase 'theo-ethical reasoning'. This characterisation captures both the divine and human elements of Paul's behavioural reasoning grounded in the revelation of the risen Christ to Paul and in Paul. According to theo-ethical reasoning, Paul associates specific acts of Christ-conforming conduct with the power of God that becomes manifest in community experiences of new life. Since this reasoning often lies beneath the surface of the texts, the study explores the underlying logic of Paul's arguments. This highlights the consistent pattern of reasoning by which Paul analyses and responds to behavioural issues. The study also argues that Paul encourages his churches to practise spiritual discernment by engaging in theo-ethical reasoning a dialogical, comparative process of reasoned reflection on the links between behaviour and experience. In this practice of looking for life, the Spirit leads community members to associate experiences of new life with conduct that conforms to Christ's cruciform pattern of self-giving love for others. This correlation grounds both Paul's proclamation of Jesus Christ by word and deed and believers' faith in the power of God. We conclude that theo-ethical reasoning lies at the centre of Paul's religion.

Thesis (Th. M.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 174-184).

Thesis (M.A.)--Columbia Graduate School of Bible and Missions, 1986. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 89-100).

Thesis (S.T.L.)--Catholic University of America, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-132).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2006. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 317-333).

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, BC, 1992. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-294).

Thesis (M.A.)--Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-123).