When it first appeared in 1986, James McClendon's Ethics laid claim to two compelling theological ideas. First, that a highly distinctive theological perspective characterizes the inheritors of the sixteenth century's radical reformation. At the heart of this perspective is what McClendon calls the baptist vision, a way of understanding the gospel that emphasizes the church's distinction from the world, and its continuity with the church of the New Testament. Second, that because of its emphasis on the centrality of discipleship, this radical-reformation outlook insists that theology's first task is to discover and explore the shape of the church's common life as the body of Christ; hence McClendon's novel decision to begin the task of writing a systematic theology with a volume on ethics. Since its first publication, Ethics has been followed by Doctrine (1994) and Witness (2000). The completion of the overall work has brought into sharper focus many of the theological and ethical issues and concerns central to the baptist tradition. In this revised edition of Ethics, McClendon infuses his claim for the priority of ethics within the theological task with a new urgency, born of the fuller, more complete definition of the baptist vision that Doctrine and Witness have made possible. Ethics is central, he reminds us, because biblical faith rests on a set of distinctive practices that arise from our placement within a larger Christian story. In his revisions McClendon offers a more complete explanation of how the interaction of faithful practices and gospel story give rise to a way of life that is distinctively Christian.

Systematic Theology, Vol. 1: Ethics

Religion & Spirituality

James William McClendon Jr.

Christian Books & Bibles

ABINGDON PRESS *

Witness asserts that the church’s identity is established not only by how it lives and what it teaches but also by how it enters into conversation and connects with systems of thought and social structures outside itself.

Systematic Theology, Vol. 3: Witness

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Christian doctrine, McClendon tells us, is no laundry list of propositions to be believed, but is rather an essential practice of the church. Doctrines are those shared convictions which the church must teach and live out if it is to be the church. The author rejects the prevailing assumptions stemming from the rationalism of the Enlightenment, and redefines theology as a discipline within the context of particular religious beliefs and practices of concrete believing communities. McClendon ties the reading of Scripture to the community's understanding of itself and its own mission.

Systematic Theology, Vol. 2: Doctrine

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Books by James William McClendon Jr.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by James William McClendon Jr.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Systematic Theology, Vol. 1: Ethics

Systematic Theology, Vol. 3: Witness

Systematic Theology, Vol. 2: Doctrine