Ethics in Brief Volume 20, Nos. 3 & 4 (2015)

Two issues from Volume 20 of Ethics in Brief, published by The Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, are now available online:

Philip Sampson, ‘The Curious Case of the Kind Evangelicals’, Ethics in Brief 20, 3 (2015).

Most Christians believe in kindness to animals, but few see it as an ethical priority. By contrast, evangelicals of the past showed a passionate kindness towards ‘God’s beasts’, and were pioneers of animal welfare reform from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Today, Christians in general, and evangelical Christians in particular, are more likely to be seen as part of the problem than as pioneering solutions. This article discusses the theological differences behind this contrast, and the practical implications for evangelism in a world of growing animal advocacy.

Andrew Basden, ‘The Rise and Demise of Thomas Cook Travel: A Case Study of the Relevance of a Christian Approach to Business’, Ethics in Brief 20, 4 (2015).

This article examines the rise of the Thomas Cook travel company, founded 150 years ago on Christian foundations, and its recent demise. We find that having Christians in charge of a business is not enough. Rather, what is required is an approach that is sensitive to the diversity and complexity of human social life. One such approach is deployed in analysing why Thomas Cook was originally successful but has now got into trouble. It is significant that it emerges from a Christian root.