Thesis (D. Min.)--Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, 1995. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-115).

The basic problem examined in this thesis has two focii - social ethics and modernization. Is there a relationship between social ethics and modernization? If so, what is the nature of this relationship and what is the effect of this relationship in practice? In examining these questions, two things have been attempted: (1) a preliminary and selective examination of current literature on modernization in order to come to a better understanding of what the concept means, of the problem areas that need clarification, and of how values affect the process of modernization, both implicitly and explicitly; and (2) and examination of the ethical task in order to determine whether it involves a body of theoretical assumptions only, or leads to the devising of theoretical values that can be tested in relation to particular actions, in this case modernization.