Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics

by Joel B. Green

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2011

Overview

This one-stop reference book on the vital relationship between Scripture and ethics offers helpful orientation and perspective for students, pastors, and scholars. Written to respond to biblical scholars and ethicists’ movement to recover the Bible for moral formation, it’s the best reference work available on the intersection of these two fields. The volume shows how Christian Scripture and Christian ethics are necessarily intertwined and offers up-to-date treatment of five hundred biblical, traditional, and contemporary topics, including tithing, euthanasia, the Trinity, population policy and control, healthcare systems in Scripture, the seven deadly sins, idolatry, the image of God, terrorism, the Sermon on the Mount, vegetarianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The stellar ecumenical list of contributors consists of more than two hundred leading scholars from the fields of biblical studies and ethics.

Whether you’re a student, scholar, pastor, or professor, Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics provokes you to read the Bible honestly—to let it surprise, challenge, and correct you as you apply the many steps of interpretation. By using the tools included in Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics, you’ll approach Bible study with more depth and understanding. Integrate the practical methods found in this volume with your preferred Bible, the Passage Guide, and the other Bible study tools in Logos Bible Software—then dive into Bible study with a vast knowledge base right before your eyes.

Key Features

• Includes contributions from more than two hundred leading biblical scholars
• Features a wide diversity of theological and ecumenical standpoints
• Shows how Christian Scripture is involved in five hundred different topical entries

Contents

Top Highlights

“Ethics may be defined as disciplined reflection concerning moral conduct and character. In Scripture, such reflection is always disciplined by convictions about God’s will and way and by commitments to be faithful to God. Biblical ethics is inalienably theological.” (Page 5)

“Similarly, the use of ‘homosexual’ is problematic because it suggests that the biblical authors had an understanding of homosexuality that parallels our contemporary understanding, resulting in potentially anachronistic readings of Scripture.” (Page 372)

“A fundamental question within the church has been whether the full inclusion of LGBT persons of faith represents a prophetic movement of God’s Spirit parallel to the full inclusion of women and racial/ethnic minorities in the church, or whether it represents a movement away from fidelity to a normative understanding of human sexuality as revealed in Scripture and tradition.” (Page 371)

“The fundamental unity of biblical ethics is simply this: there is one God in Scripture, and it is that one God who calls forth the creative reflection and faithful response of those who would be God’s people.” (Page 5)

“Second, justice appears more as a moral principle or ideal in the way it is used by the prophets and in the book of Psalms.” (Page 435)

Endorsements

Wide-ranging, thorough, and cautious, the Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics will be a helpful resource for both students and scholars. With its mix of different kinds of articles and its attention throughout to biblical materials, the dictionary meets a significant need and provides something for almost any reader.

—Gilbert Meilaender, Duesenberg Professor in Christian Ethics, Valparaiso University

A book as ambitious as the Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics risks being too superficial to be helpful. I am happy to report that this is not the case for this imaginatively conceived and organized book. This book will quickly become an indispensable resource for Christian reflection on the moral life.

—Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics, Duke Divinity School

The dictionary provides a wonderful tool for exploring the relationship between Scripture and ethics. Essays providing an overview of the moral concerns of Scripture and the shape of Christian ethics usefully frame an array of detailed articles. Some articles treat biblical books, others ethical topics, including virtues and vices, denominational traditions, contemporary topics such as environmental ethics, and controversial subjects such as homosexuality. The treatments are comprehensive and honest, informed by critical perspectives on the Bible and contemporary ethical reflection. They do not shy away from issues where churches, by their own admission, have misused Scripture (e.g., ‘apartheid’). This volume is a rich resource for biblical scholars and ethicists alike.

—Harold W. Attridge, The Rev. Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, Yale Divinity School

Renewed interest in the relationship between Scripture and ethics has created the need for an accessible and reliable guide to the issues and the literature. This is it.

—R. W. L. Moberly, professor of theology and biblical interpretation, Durham University

Pastors, laypeople, and scholars alike will find in this exceptionally valuable resource wise guidance for Christian life and discernment about ethical issues. It offers an excellent blend of substantive engagement and methodological reflection from well-respected scholars. Highly recommended.

—L. Gregory Jones, professor of theology, Duke Divinity School

Scholars in the fields of Scripture and ethics are increasingly engaged in important conversations, and this volume is an excellent contribution to that dialogue. This star-studded grouping of contributors from biblical, ethical, and theological disciplines covers a remarkable range of pertinent topics, including every biblical book and every lively ethical topic. This invaluable reference tool will serve both lay readers and scholars very well indeed and contribute to the continuing interaction among them in thoughtful and provocative ways.

—Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary

This is a wellspring of wisdom that will prove to be of immense value to the church. As we deal daily with questions of how Scripture relates to the vast and growing ethical challenges posed by today’s society, the Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics will be a reliable source of insight and guidance. Its contributors are respected voices who have reflected deeply on challenges of Christian ethics, and this compilation is a treasure trove of rich and helpful perspectives.

—Wes Granberg-Michaelson, general secretary, Reformed Church in America

The relationship of biblical studies to moral theology has not been given the attention it merits by biblical scholars. This impressive volume has pulled together important articles on a wide range of topics that will certainly be of importance to systematic and moral theologians. The selection of topics is broadly ecumenical and should appeal to the widest possible audience. Let us hope that this volume will spur a new generation of studies to reflect more carefully and systematically on the moral teachings and legacy of the Bible.

—Gary A. Anderson, Hesburgh Professor of Catholic Theology, University of Notre Dame

The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics is a unique reference work, drawing together topics that are intimately connected but often relegated to separate spheres. Letting both spheres identify the topics, the editors have compiled a comprehensive handbook for thinking about the realm of ethics and the moral life but with particular attention to what the Bible has to say about such matters. At the same time, new directions are opened up as biblical texts and topics not often associated with ethical issues are seen to have much to say. Scholars in both fields will want to have this volume in their library.

—Patrick D. Miller, professor emeritus of Old Testament theology, Princeton Theological Seminary

It is rare indeed for a dictionary to be a page-turner, but this one makes the reader want to find a comfortable chair and a lot of free time to roam through it. The scope of the articles is remarkable as is the quality of the research and writing. If any single volume can help us draw well-informed connections between the thought-world of Scripture and the contemporary contexts in which we teach, preach, and seek to live as people of faith, this may be it.

—Ellen F. Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke Divinity School

With articles on every biblical book, [this text] offers preachers a welcome guide to the ethical import of scripture. With entries on almost any issue readers might confront, it is an invitation to start with a ‘hermeneutics of engagement,’ rather than a ‘hermeneutics of dismissal.’ Three orienting essays introduce the book, guiding us into the subtle depths and multiple interrelations hidden in the conjunction of Scripture and ethics.

—Christian Century

This reference tool seeks to bring together a survey of the literature, issues, concepts, and challenges related to the studies of both biblical scripture and Christian ethics for students, pastors, and scholars. . . . This is a well-organized volume that surveys the relationship between these two disciplines in detail. . . . It is recommended for libraries serving students and scholars of religion, religious leaders, or laypersons with a particular interest in this topic—such as those in Bible study groups.

—Booklist

Product Details

• Title: Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics
• Author: Joel B. Green
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2011
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Ethics in the Bible › Dictionaries; Christian ethics › Biblical teaching--Dictionaries
• ISBNs: 9781441252449, 9780801034060, 1441252444, 080103406X
• Resource ID: LLS:DICTSCRETHGREEN
• Resource Type: Encyclopedia
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:18:13Z

About Joel B. Green

Joel B. Green has been associate dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies since 2008 and professor of New Testament interpretation at Fuller since 2007; prior to that, he served for 10 years at Asbury Theological Seminary as professor of New Testament interpretation, as dean of the School of Theology, and as provost.

Green has written or edited 30 books, including four that have won awards: In Search of the Soul: Four Views of the Mind-Body Problem (with Stuart Palmer), Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (with Paul J. Achtemeier and Marianne Meye Thompson), The Gospel of Luke, and Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (with Scot McKnight).