Ethicist David Gushee To Teach At Mercer University

From Johnny Pierce of Baptists Today....

MACON, Ga. - Prominent ethicist David P. Gushee has been appointed as distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. He comes from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where he has been the Graves professor of moral philosophy and senior fellow of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership.

At Mercer, Gushee will be based in the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta and teach interdisciplinary ethics courses throughout the university.

McAfee Dean R. Alan Culpepper said that Dr. Gushee stands in the tradition of great Baptist ethicists and social activists such as T.B. Maston, Henlee Barnette and Glen Stassen.

“Dr. Gushee is widely recognized among Baptists and evangelicals for his prophetic voice on such vital issues as creation care, torture and human rights,” Culpepper said according to a media release. “We look forward to the consciousness-raising that he will bring to McAfee and the recognition that his work will bring to Mercer.”

Mercer President William D. Underwood called Gushee “one of the country’s leading voices in the field of Christian ethics … (who) is frequently called upon by the popular press to comment on contemporary ethical and moral issues facing our country and our world.”

Gushee is a graduate of the College of William and Mary, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary in New York where he earned a Ph.D. in Christian ethics. A columnist for Christianity Today, Gushee has written or edited nine books, and has published scores of articles, book chapters and reviews.

His career began with groundbreaking work on Christian behavior in Europe during the Holocaust. His first book, The Righteous Gentiles of the Holocaust, is based on his doctoral dissertation and was translated into German.

Gushee’s 2003 book with Glen Stassen, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context, was named Theology/Ethics Book of the Year by Christianity Today. His most recent book, Only Human (2005, Jossey-Bass), offers a Christian theology of human nature for a general audience and was named one of the top-10 books in Christianity for 2005 by Amazon.com.

It is the first book in a series he is editing for Jossey-Bass called “Enduring Questions in Christian Life.” His other upcoming books will include an analysis of evangelical engagement in American politics (Baylor Press, January 2008), a major examination of the sanctity of human life (Eerdmans) and a Christian interpretation of Western moral philosophy (Chalice).

“I am very excited about joining Mercer at a pivotal point in its long history as a Baptist university…” said Gushee, an ordained Baptist minister. “I look forward to helping enhance the ethics offerings at McAfee and in the university in general … I believe Mercer is a place where I can continue to serve the evangelical world through my teaching, writing and activism while also engaging in significant interfaith dialogue.”

This is definitely great news for Mercer University, students of McAfee and all Baptists who still revere Barnette, Maston and care about Christian Ethics.