Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World - Softcover

Mouw, Richard J.

3.86

258 ratings by Goodreads

9780830818259: Uncommon Decency: Christian Civility in an Uncivil World

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830818251 ISBN 13: 9780830818259

Publisher: IVP Books, 1992

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Can Christians be civil in a world falling apart? In these wild and diverse times, prolifers square off against prochoicers, gay liberationists confront champions of the traditional family, husbands and wives face each other in court, artists attack legislators, and "politically correct" intellectuals abhor crusading fundamentalists. Philosopher and ethicist Richard Mouw is concerned that, too often, Christians seem to be contributing more to the problem than to the solution. But he recognizes--from his own personal struggle--that it's not easy to hold to Christian convictions and treat sometimes vindictive opponents with civility and decency. Few if any people in the evangelical world have dialogued as widely and sensitively as Mouw. So few can write more wisely or helpfully about what Christians can appreciate about pluralism, the theological basis for civility, and how we can communicate with people who disagree with us on the issues that matter most.

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About the Author:

Mouw is president of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Before coming to Fuller in 1985 as professor of Christian philosophy and ethics, he was for seventeen years professor of philosophy at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Review:

"This book is right on target and just in time--when Christians in the same churches and denominations have trouble talking to one another. Spiritual leaders in these churches and denominations need to embody and practice it."

"A convincing case . . . . We can think of so many people who need to read this book, even as we suspect most of them think it would do us a heap of good. They're probably right."

"Mouw convincingly argues that the need for civility is pressing. The virtue is nearly extinct. Civility is a Christian virtue whereby we enter public discussions with a strong conviction of Christian truth, a willingness to learn from those with whom we disagree, and a desire to honor the humanity of even our fiercest foe. Civility is not a passive politeness that defers to everyone and stands for nothing. Neither is it relativistic. It is a mannerly demeanor in which an inner intensity never overpowers self-restraint or rational discourse. . . . The book articulates an urgent message Christians should take to heart."

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