Foreword / David B. Burrell -- Christian ethics in a fragmented and violent world -- A qualified ethic : the narrative character of Christian ethics -- On being historic : agency, character, and sin -- On beginning in the middle : nature, reason, and the task of theological ethics -- Jesus: the presence of the Peaceable Kingdom -- The servant community : Christian social ethics -- Casuistry as a narrative art -- Tragedy and joy : the spirituality of peaceableness. Foreword / David B. Burrell -- [Pt.] 1: Christian ethics in a fragmented and violent world. Ethics and the demand for absolutes ; Living amid fragments the insufficiency of ethics ; The privitization [sic] of religion ; The truthfulness of Christian convictions -- [Pt.] 2: A qualified ethic : the narrative character of Christian ethics. The abstractness of an unqualified ethic ; The narrative character of Christian convictions -- [Pt.] 3: On being historic : agency, character, and sin. On being responsible for our character ; Character and freedom ; Freedom as the presence of the other ; Our sinful character -- [Pt.] 4: On beginning in the middle : nature, reason, and the task of theological ethics. The task of Christian ethics ; Reason and revelation -- [Pt.] 5: Jesus : the presence of the Peaceable Kingdom. The ethical significance of Jesus ; Jesus, Israel, and the imitation of God ; Jesus and the Kingdom of God ; The Resurrection: the establishment of a kingdom of forgiveness and peace ; An ethics of salvation and faith -- [Pt.] 6: The servant community: Christian social ethics. Social ethics and qualified ethics ; The church is a social ethic ; A community of virtues ; The "marks" of the church ; The social ethics of the church -- [Pt.] 7: Casuistry as a narrative art. Narrative, virtues, and casuistry ; Decisions, decisions, decisions! ; Casuistry, choices, and the church -- [Pt.] 8: Tragedy and joy : the spirituality of peaceableness. Acquiring the patience to do nothing ; Tragedy and peaceableness ; Joy and peaceableness ; On the grace of doing one thing.