Explore how the principles of a global ethic can be found in Judaism and how they can provide the ethical norms for all religions to work together toward a more peaceful humankind.
Hans Küng and Rabbi Walter Homolka
Translated by Rev. Dr. John Bowden
Hardcover
6 x 9, 224 pp | 978-1-59473-255-3
Explore how the principles of a global ethic can be found in Judaism and how they can provide the ethical norms for all religions to work together toward a more peaceful humankind.
In 1993, the Parliament of the World’s Religions endorsed the “Declaration toward a Global Ethic” composed by Hans Küng. In it, representatives from all the world’s religions agreed on principles for a global ethic and committed themselves to directives of nonviolence, respect for life, solidarity, a just economic order, tolerance, and equal rights and partnership between men and women. But the declaration was just the first step.
In this impressive volume, Hans Küng, probably the most famous living Roman Catholic theologian, and Rabbi Walter Homolka, head of Germany’s Abraham Geiger rabbinical seminary and distinguished professor, draw on the Jewish tradition to show the riches that Judaism can offer people of all faiths and nonbelievers in achieving these directives.
Presenting key sacred texts and theological writings, the authors make the case for binding values and basic moral attitudes that can be found in Judaism’s universal message of a better world. Exploring Judaism’s focus on ethical conduct over declarations of faith, the authors show that making ethical decisions is indispensable in an ever-changing world.
“Enlightening and inspiring…. Convincingly shows … all religions of the world can endorse a global ethic and each has a distinctive contribution to it. This book offers Judaism as a ‘case study’ for a global project.”
—Paul F. Knitter, Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions, and Culture, Union Theological Seminary
“At a time when people around the globe experience great division but also the unifying power of technology, this new framework offers hope for interfaith dialogue and understanding.”
—Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus, president, Central Conference of American Rabbis
“Demonstrates the rich contribution Judaism can make to the development of an ethical framework for today’s global society. [Gives] the Jewish tradition its rightful place at the center of the ongoing discussion of a global ethic.”
—John T. Pawlikowski, OSM, PhD, professor of social ethics; director, Catholic-Jewish Studies Program, Catholic Theological Union
“Proclaims the equality and worth of all persons in the eyes of God—irrespective of their faiths…. A vital and significant addition to the library of ecumenical discourse and interfaith dialogue.”
—Rabbi David Ellenson, president, Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion
