Grace and Social Ethics

Grace and Social Ethics demonstrates why the doctrine of grace has significant implications for social ethics and for Christian engagement with culture. The book reframes Christian social ethics by illuminating how grace shapes human identity and community.

Angela Carpenter integrates theology and social science to articulate a vision of human persons as constituted by gift rather than merit. This graced anthropology compellingly bridges theology and contemporary research on human dependence and mutuality. Carpenter insightfully applies this graced identity to pressing issues in social ethics such as criminal justice, labor practices, and gun violence.

Scholars and students of theological ethics as well as pastors seeking resources for moral formation will find illuminating perspectives in this integrative work, which situates social justice imperatives within God's gracious purposes.

Introduction
Part 1: An Anthropology of Grace
1. Christian Grace and the Reformation Psychology
2. Human Evolution and the Myth of Self-Sufficiency
3. Belonging and Self-Worth in Contemporary Psychology
4. Grace and the Interdependence in Human Society
Part 2: Social Ethics and Grace
5. Work
6. Criminal Justice
7. Gun Control
Epilogue: A Spirituality for Graced Identity
Index