The essays included in this volume of the JSCE are fairly typical in that they reflect issues of perennial interest to members of the Society of Christian Ethics--from concerns about poverty and violence to questions about the virtues necessary to avoid a politics of despair. For example, John Langan's essay--which is a revised version of his presidential address to the SCE--focuses on the political situation in the United States after the election of 2004. His meditation on the virtue of hope transcends this specific context and is directly relevant to several of the other essays we publish here. Although we could catalog the many connections across these essays, we leave that to our readers. Suffice it to say that thanks to the talented authors who have shared their work with us; we are delighted to bring out another rich and provocative volume.

Preface Selected EssaysHope in and for the United States of America John Langan, SJ The Case for Abolition of War in the Twenty-First Century Stanley Hauerwas, Linda Hogan, and Enda McDonagh Whither Messianic Ethics? Paul as Political Theorist P. Travis Kroeker "Trust and Obey": The Danger of Obedience as Duty in Evangelical Ethics Wyndy Corbin Reuschling A New Discipline? Beverly Harrison and "Malestream" Christian Ethics C. Melissa Snarr Thomas Aquinas and the Culture of Fear Scott Bader-Saye Bonaventure on Moral Motivation: Trajectories of Exemplification in his Treatment of Voluntary Poverty David A. Clairmont Virtue's Semblance: Erasmus and Luther on Pagan Virtue and the Christian Life Jennifer A. Herdt The Belgian "Act on Euthanasia": Clarifying Context, Legislation, and Practice from an Ethical Point of View Jan Jans Ettty Hillesum's Learning to Live and Preparing to Die: Complacentia Boni as the Beginning of Acquired and Infused Virtue William McDonough Book Reviews Contributors