Moral Passion and Christian Ethics

New Studies in Christian Ethics

by Robin Gill

In this book, Robin Gill argues that moral passion and rational ethical deliberation are not enemies, and that moral passion often lurks behind many apparently rational ethical commitments. He also contends that though moral passion is a key component of truly selfless moral action, without rational ethical deliberation it can also be extremely dangerous. Gill maintains that a reanalysis of moral passion is overdue. He inspects the gap between the 'purely rational' accounts of ethics provided by some moral philosophers and the normative positions that they espouse and/or the moral actions that they pursue. He also contends that Christian ethicists have not been adept at identifying their own implicit moral passion or at explaining why it is that doctrinal positions generate passionately held moral conclusions. Using a range of disciplines, including cognitive science and moral psychology, alongside the more usual disciplines of moral philosophy and religious ethics, Gill also makes links with moral passion in other world faith traditions.

242 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2021

About the author

Prof. Robin Gill is Emeritus Professor of Applied Theology. He was previously the first holder of both the Michael Ramsey Chair at Kent and the William Leech Research Chair at Newcastle. He has published extensively in sociological theology, the sociological study of churches, Christian and religious ethics, and health care ethics.