Christianity and the Roots of Morality

Petri Luomanen, ThD (1996), University of Helsinki, is Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Culture and Literature at that university. He has published monographs and many articles on early Christianity, including Explaining Christian Origins and Early Judaism (Brill 2007; co-edited with Ilkka Pyysiäinen and Risto Uro) and Recovering Jewish-Christian Sects and Gospels (Brill, 2012).Anne Birgitta Pessi, ThD (2004), University of Helsinki, is Professor of Church and Social Studies at that university. She has published, in over 50 referee journal articles and is currently directing two large interdisciplinary research projects on compassion and care.Ilkka Pyysiäinen, PhD (1993) University of Helsinki is Docent in Comparative Religion at that university and the University of Turku. He has published widely in the cognitive science of religion, including How Religion Works (Brill, 2001, 2003) and Supernatural Agents: Why We Believe in Souls, Gods, and Buddhas (Oxford University Press, 2009).

• ContentsForewordList of ContributorsIntroductionPetri Luomanen, Anne Birgitta Pessi and Ilkka PyysiäinenPart 1 - Morality and Religion: Setting the Evolutionary and Philosophical Scene Moral Gods and the Origins of Human Cooperation Petri YlikoskiThe Evolution of Morality and ReligionIlkka PyysiäinenReligious Morality or Moral Religion? Kantian and Pragmatist ReflectionsSami PihlströmDivine Evil, Godless Responsibility, Religious HappinessMika OjakangasComment 1: Comments on Ilkka Pyysiäinen’s “The Evolution of Morality and Religion”Simo KnuuttilaComment 2: Religion Irrespective of Morality Jutta JokirantaPart 2 - Morality and Early ChristianityMorality and the Evolution of ChristianityPetri LuomanenThe Sermon on the Mount: Christian or Universal Ethics? Kari SyreeniFoundations of Early Christian Morality in the Light of Modern Argumentation AnalysisLauri ThurénAre Christians Better People? On the Contrast between “Us” and “Them” in Early Christian RhetoricHeikki RäisänenComment 1: Morality, Networks, and Cultural Evolution: A Short Commentary on Petri Luomanen’s “Morality and theEvolution of Christianity” István CzacheszComment 2: Content and Motivation in Christian Ethics: Comments on Syreeni’s, Thurén’s, and Räisänen’s PapersAntti RaunioPart 3 - Morality and Christianity in Everyday LifeLearning and Living the Golden Rule: Religious Communities and MoralityNancy T. AmmermanReligion and Moral Choice: Does an Innate Moral Sense Account for Religion’s Influence on Moral Choice?Kristen MonroeReligion and Morality: Empirical IllustrationsAnne Birgitta PessiComment 1: A Theologian’s Response to Ammerman, Monroe, and PessiRisto SaarinenComment 2: Religion, Altruism, and Everyday Life: Some ReflectionsGrace DavieSynthesis for Further DiscussionPetri LuomanenIndex of Modern AuthorsSubject Index