Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas

Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas (1967) is a scholarly work by Ismail al-Faruqi, first published in 1967. It explores Christian ethical thought from both historical and systematic perspectives, analyzing its development and key ideas.[1] This work is part of a broader series by al-Faruqi that examines religious and ethical principles across different faiths.[2][3] The book is noted for its critical stance on the development of Christian theological doctrines and its advocacy for a rational, coherent ethical framework. The publisher emphasized the unique value of this work as the first major Muslim attempt to examine Christian dogma and ethics on their own terms.[4] The book has been reviewed and critiqued by various scholars, including a notable review from a Christian perspective.[5]
Table of Contents
| Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Sections and Subsections | |||
| Part One: What is the Ethic of Jesus? | |||
| I The Jewish Background: Jewish Ethic | Hebrew Racialism | ||
| Hebrew Scripture as a Record of Hebrew Racialism | |||
| The Ethico-Political Situation at the Time of Jesus | |||
| II The Ethical Breakthrough of Jesus | In Reaction to Jewish Ethic | ||
| The Ethic of Intent | |||
| The Final Disposition of the Law | |||
| The Content of Self-Transformation | |||
| III Dialectic of the New Ethic | The Old Values and the New | ||
| — In the Realm of the Political | |||
| — In the Realm of the Social | |||
| — In the Realm of the Family | |||
| — In the Realm of the Personal | |||
| — In the Realm of the Cosmic | |||
| IV The Sufi Parallel | The Parallelism | ||
| Its Explanation | |||
| Part Two: The Christianist Transvaluation | |||
| V What is Man? The Imago Dei | In Hellenic Christianity | ||
| In Pre-Reformation Christianity | |||
| In the Reformation | |||
| In the Christianity of Modern Times | |||
| VI What Ought Man to Be? Sin and Salvation | Man is a Fallen Creature: Peccatism | ||
| — The Jewish Background | |||
| — The Christianist Transvaluation of the Jewish Idea of the Fall | |||
| — Sin in the Gospel | |||
| — Sin in the Teaching of Paul | |||
| — Sin in the Teaching of the Apostolic Fathers | |||
| — Sin before Augustine | |||
| — Augustine: The Exemplar of Peccatism | |||
| — Sin in the Reformation | |||
| — Peccatism and Contemporary Christian Thought | |||
| Man is Reconciled: Saviourism | |||
| — Christianity is the Religion of Redemption | |||
| — The Nature of Saviourist Salvation | |||
| VII What Ought Man to Be? Church and Society | Christianism and Society | ||
| — In Traditional Theology | |||
| — In Modern Theology | |||
| - The Case of William Temple | |||
| - The Case of Karl Barth | |||
| In the Theology of the Future | |||
| The Lack of Societist Foundations and the Split Consciousness of Western Man | |||
| The Societist Transvaluation | |||
| The A-Societism of Reinhold Niebuhr | |||
| Conclusion | |||
| Epilogue | |||
| Index of Subjects | |||
| Index of Biblical Quotations | |||
| Index of Authors and Book Titles | |||
References
- ↑ Ismail Raji al-Faruqi, Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas, Kuala Lumpur: A.S. Noordeen, 1999. ISBN 9789830650883.
- ↑ Fathiyyatunnur Idrisi, "Christian Ethics: A Review from the Perspective of Al-Faruqi," Journal of Fatwa Management and Research, Special Edition, vol. 27, no. 2, January 2022, pp. 1–9.
- ↑ Siti Hadija Mohd, "A Structured Critical Analysis of Al-Faruqi's Christian Ethics," Preprint, 2023, Kuala Lumpur.
- ↑ M.K.S., "Review of 'Christian Ethics: A Historical and Systematic Analysis of Its Dominant Ideas'," Dialogue, vol. 8, no. 1, 1967, pp. 186–187.
- ↑ F. Peter Ford Jr., "Isma'il al-Faruqi on Muslim-Christian Dialogue: An Analysis from a Christian Perspective," Islam & Christian Muslim Relations, vol. 4, no. 2, December 1993, pp. 268–282.