キリスト教倫理の簡潔な歴史、ユダヤ教、グレコローマン倫理、そしてキリスト教を土台とする基本的な考え方をわかりやすく解説します。また十字軍、奴隷、異端審問、ガリレオ裁判など、キリスト教史に傷跡を残した過去の問題を、キリスト教倫理の観点から見つめなおします。さらに性、金、権力といった問題にキリスト教倫理がどのような答えを導き出すのかも検証しており、今日のキリスト教倫理の本質に迫る一冊です。
   

• Provides both a short history of Christian ethics and looks at its basic sources as they arise from Judaism, Greco-Roman ethics, and Christianity
• Brings together the history and contemporary discussions in an accessible way
• Discusses failures in the Christian tradition such as crusades, slavery, inquistions, and the Gaileo affair; putting them into a historical perspective and highlighting the challenges they raise for Christian ethics
• Considers Christian ethics in the modern era - what does it mean today?

 
This Very Short Introduction to Christian ethics introduces the topic by examining its sources and historical basis. D. Stephen Long presents a discussion of the relationship between Christian ethics, modern, and postmodern ethics, and explores practical issues including sex, money, and power. Long recognises the inherent difficulties in bringing together 'Christian' and 'ethics' but argues that this is an important task for both the Christian faith and for ethics. 

Arguing that Christian ethics are not a precise science, but the cultivation of practical wisdom from a range of sources, Long also discusses some of the failures of the Christian tradition, including the crusades, the conquest, slavery, inquistions, and the Galileo affair. Placing them in the context of the theory and practice of ethics and their historical persepctive, he notes the challenges they raise for Christian ethics. 

He concludes with a discussion of their implications in the modern era, considering how this affects our lives in the present age.
 
 
Reading Guide
In this Very Short Introduction D. Stephen Long examines the sources, history and contemporary theorists involved in the study of Christian ethics. Using examples of specific practical matters such as sex, money, and power, Long argues that Christian ethics are the cultivation of practical wisdom that comes from many diverse sources.