"Many theologians, as well as many philosophers, may be heard today asserting that there neither is nor can be any such thing as a uniquely Christian ethical system. On the one hand it is argued that an ethic based on revelation must be inherently static, unable to respond to new demands and situations; but if the ethical code is little more than a refinement of so-called natural law or natural morality, then there is no reason to term it Christian. In (...) consequence, most of the current discussion in the field of ethics addresses itself almost exclusively to a consideration of such specific issues as war, sex, abortion or mercy killing. Professor N. H. G. Robinson, however, turns his attention to the basic question of what Christian ethics really is. Morality, Robinson argues, was not created by Christianity, but exists independently; all men are subject to it, whatever their belief. This fundamental truth about human beings is of profound significance for theology, which must continue to insist upon an objective moral code. We will never understand Christian ethics, Robinson asserts, until we accept the doctrine of natural morality. But there can hardly be two moralities—one natural and the other supernatural—each competing for our obedience. Rejecting both the medieval and the post-Reformation approaches to the relationship of natural and Christian ethics, Robinson looks to the redemptive nature of Christian revelation for his answer. Moral standards are not merely imposed upon us, nor do we invent them; we discover them—their authority depends on their existing independently of us. It is the entry of redemptive revelation into the system of moral philosophy that creates what Robinson describes as "natural morality, judged, reoriented and transformed, and brought under the forgiving and reconciling lordship of Christ, which constitutes the Christian life." Here, then, is no inflexible, static code, incapable of responding to change. Rather, Robinson, describes a creative ethic that is objective, normative, and theocentric, a morality always in the making; it is a way of life, not a closed system. "Moral rules," he overserves, "are yesterday's moral solutions." Teh Groundwork of Christian Ethics is a major contribution to the field of Christian ethics which no serious student can afford to overlook."-Publisher. (shrink)