Bringing together articles and chapters from his considerable work in theological ethics, India, and the social order, Duncan Forrester incorporates new writing and introductions to each thematic section to guide readers through this invaluable resource. This book offers stimulating studies in three related areas - Indian Christianity with particular attention to the caste system, contemporary Christian theological ethics, and the distinctive and challenging theological approach that Duncan Forrester has developed in relation to public issues such as prisons and punishment, welfare provision, social justice, and poverty.

Contents: Preface; Introduction: formative practices in Christian theology; Part I India: Encountering Munuswamy; The end of equality?: a strange silence in public debate. Caste: Hierarchy, equality and religion; The revolt of 1857 and the caste question; Caste and mass movements; Caste and Christianity since Gandhi and Ambedkar, Adrian Bird. Christian Theology in India: Christianity and early Indian nationalism; Christian theology in a Hindu context; Commensalism and Christian mission: the Indian case; Professor Hick and the universe of faiths. Part II Practical Theology: Introduction; Divinity in use and practice; Some thoughts on 'religionless Christianity'; The chaplain as educational counsellor; The liberation of worship; Living in truth and unity: the Church as a hermeneutic of law and gospel; Anthropology in modern theology; Biblical interpretation and cultural relativism; The communicative practice of a humble Church; The future of theology: the vocational and the academic in theological education. Part III Christian Ethics: Introduction; The place of the Church in the new Europe; Justice as an issue for contemporary practical theology; Ecclesia Scoticana; The Church and the concentration camp: some reflections on moral community. Part IV Political Theology: Introduction; The political teaching of Luther (1483-1546) and Calvin (1509-1564); The political teaching of Richard Hooker (1553-1600); The problem of natural law in theology and social science; The attack on Christendom in Marx and Kierkegaard; Mystique and politique; The theological task; The promise of liberation theology; The Church, theology and the poor; Can liberation theology survive 1989?; Violence and non-violence in conflict resolution: some theological reflections; Social justice in Protestant thought. Part V Public Theology: Introduction; The scope of public theology: what is public theology?; Punishment and prisons in a morally fragmented society; Ethics and salvation; Education and