Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God's Glory and Our Good

Many evangelical Christians have faith in the Bible, but struggle with confidence in its ethical principles. Some believe that biblical morals are not as effective as secular ideologies in promoting human well-being and societal progress. Others feel that using the Bible as a basis for moral arguments lacks persuasive power in public discussions.

In Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God's Glory and Our Good, Andrew T. Walker argues that developing a comprehensive Christian ethic is not simply a matter of appealing to biblical authority, but also of understanding the way that God has ordered creation and our place within it. In this work, he provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to natural law ethics from an evangelical perspective.

In the first section of Faithful Reason, Walker develops a robust framework of natural law ethics, guided by biblical and theological evidence. In the second section, this framework is applied to various contemporary ethical issues within dignity ethics, embodied ethics, personal ethics, social ethics, and political ethics. Through a natural law framework, readers are empowered to reason through the particulars of any situation and develop a godly ethical response.

Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an Associate Dean in the School of Theology and the Executive Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement at Southern Seminary. He is a Fellow in Christian Political Thought at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and serves as the Managing Editor of WORLD Opinions. He writes regularly for such outlets as National Review, First Things, Newsweek, WORLD Opinions, The Gospel Coalition, American Reformer, and Public Discourse. He is the author of the award-winning God and the Transgender Debate (now in its second edition), co-author of Marriage Is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing, editor of The Gospel for Life series, and author of the award-winning Liberty for All: Defending Everyone’s Religious Freedom in a Secular Age. His most recent publications are two edited volumes, Social Conservatism for the Common Good: A Protestant Engagement with Robert P. George and Baptist Political Theology. His next book Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God’s Glory and Our Good (B&H Academic) publishes in May 2024. Andrew and his wife, Christian, are also co-authors of the forthcoming What Do We Say When…? A Parent’s Guide to Navigating Cultural Chaos for Children and Teens. He is also co-editor alongside Ryan T. Anderson of the forthcoming, Five Views on the Natural Law (Zondervan, 2025). A sought-after conference speaker and cultural commentator, Walker researches and writes about the intersection of Christian ethics, public theology, and the common good. His academic research interests include natural law theory, human dignity, theology of law, family stability, church-state studies, and social conservatism. His analysis and commentary have been cited in such outlets as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and many others. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Southwest Baptist University. He received his Master of Divinity, Master of Theology, and Doctor of Philosophy in Christian Ethics from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.