Good Work: Christian Ethics in the Workplace

by Esther D. Reed

Overview

Amidst the current economic and business realities, with high-pressure workplaces and simultaneous high unemployment, many Christian theologies of vocation seem unduly idealistic. Yet, as the West's desire for cheap consumer goods unleashes disturbing consequences across the globe, it is clear that our current vocational system poses major challenges to any moral case for prosperity. What would it really mean to think and act Christianly about our labor? Is it possible? In Good Work Esther Reed engagingly tackles these questions within a biblical framework, as she sketches a tangible and realistic theological ethic of work in the hope of God's coming kingdom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781602582958
Publisher:	Baylor University Press
Publication date:	08/01/2010
Series:	Sarum Theological Lectures
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	140
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Esther D. Reed is Associate Professor of Theological Ethics, University of Exeter, and the author of The Future of Christian Social Ethics (2004), The Genesis of Ethics (2002), and Theological Reading of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1996).

What People are Saying About This

Highly recommended. Written in a clear, engaging style, Reed’s richly sophisticated discussion holds numerous treasures, including fascinating treatments of key issues such as vocation, liturgy, social justice, and human rights. Good Work is rooted in a profound reading of Christian theological and liturgical resources and includes a striking focus on Eastern Orthodoxy’s traditions and insights.

David P. Gushee

Highly recommended. Written in a clear, engaging style, Reed’s richly sophisticated discussion holds numerous treasures, including fascinating treatments of key issues such as vocation, liturgy, social justice, and human rights. Good Work is rooted in a profound reading of Christian theological and liturgical resources and includes a striking focus on Eastern Orthodoxy’s traditions and insights.

Gilbert Meilaender

A needed and most welcome book. By unraveling the different meanings of work and placing them into a theological context of rest and resurrection, Esther Reed makes clear how theology can enrich our thinking about our labor.

Editorial Reviews

This is a meaty little book.... It is engaging, interesting, and solid, but it moves in important fresh directions, touching down on matters of vocation and liturgy, social justice, human rights, the integrity of creation and our role as stewards.

Hearts and Minds Books - Byron Borger

Throughout the book, Reed moves beyond simply understanding work in relation to individuals or even the relationship of working individuals to God—important as these themes may be for a Christian understanding of work—to understanding work in relation to the Triune God’s work within creation and all of humanity, which always relates to communities and not just isolated individuals…Esther Reed has written a provocative book on a difficult but universal experience.

Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics - Wilton Bunch

The Future of Baptist Higher Education is an excellent collection of papers delivered at a national colloquium held at Baylor University that highlights the superb diversity of thought that exists within the Baptist higher education ranks. The book makes a contribution to the question, how shall Baptist colleges and universities preserve their heritage while providing leadership within the academy.

--Bob R. Agee, Executive Director, Association of Southern Baptist Colleges and Schools

From the Publisher