Biblical Ethics and Social Change

261 Pages·2011·1.011 MB·English

by  Stephen Mott

Biblical Ethics and
Social Change
This page intentionally left blank
Biblical Ethics and
Social Change
Second Edition

STEPHEN CHARLES MOTT
Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford University’s objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.
Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto
With offi ces in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam
Copyright © 1982, 2011 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mott, Stephen Charles.
Biblical ethics and social change /Stephen Charles Mott.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p.) and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-19-973937-0 (pbk.)
1. Christian ethics. 2. Social ethics. 3. Ethics in the Bible. I. Title.
BJ1251.M66 2011
241—dc22 2010015725
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
In memory of
Royden Cross Mott
1908–1979
and
Katherine Irene Mott
1911–1998
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface to the Revised Edition , ix
Preface to the First Edition , xi
Acknowledgments , xvii
Abbreviations , xix
PART I : A BIBLICAL THEOLOGY OF SOCIAL INVOLVEMENT
1. Biblical Faith and the Reality of Social Evil , 3
2. God’s Grace and Our Action , 19
3. Love and Society , 33
4. God’s Justice and Ours , 49
5. The Long March of God , 69
PART II : PATHS TO JUSTICE
6. Evangelism , 93
7. The Church as Countercommunity , 111
8. Strategic Noncooperation , 123
9. After All Else—Then Arms? 143
10. Creative Reform through Politics , 165
viii CONTENTS
Notes , 179
Index of Biblical References , 223
Index of Authors , 229
Index of Subjects , 235
Preface to the Revised Edition
I have been told by some professors who are currently using this
volume as a text in seminary or university courses that the thought
structure of the book is still current. The illustrations, however, need
to be updated. I have consequently provided throughout more
current examples for the theory of the book. In addition, I have
incorporated pertinent materials from my study since the completion
of the fi rst edition almost three decades ago. These additions or
substitutions do not change the argument of the book but deepen
and sharpen its points. One type of illustration from the fi rst edition
that I have decided for pedagogical reasons to continue is material
relating to the civil rights struggle in the 1950s and 1960s and earlier.
I have found, similar to my use of slavery, that the reader in most
every case agrees with me on the issue and so can listen to the point
that I am making with it.
I have also have clarifi ed and strengthened the argument of the
book by drawing upon my reading and thought over the past three
decades since the writing of the fi rst edition. This refl ects my
ongoing and deep love for the biblical grounding of social justice and
its application to intentional institutional change.
In the fi rst edition, I noted the unhelpful disparity between the
disciplines of Christian social ethics and biblical studies. In the
succeeding quarter of a century that disparity has been overcome in
many signifi cant ways. Many solid studies of biblical ethics have
been written by ethicists. The social sciences have been incorporated