INTRODUCTION: TYPES OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS

TYPOLOGY: "Typology is the effort to order these many elements into families in such a way that some of the characteristic combinations of principles can be understood" (p. xxxvii).
     

I. The Typological Method (or Geisteswissenschaften)
      -"the type is a mental construct of which no individual
        wholly conforms" (p. xxxviii).
      -"Correlations not determinations can be dealt with"
      (p. xxxvii)
      -The typologist is not constructing a value scale
      -Not about explanation or evaluation, but
        understanding and appreciation.

**This introduction is from a 1942 paper of H. R. Niebuhr & was added
to the 50th Aniversary Edition of the book. It helps to guard against misreadings.


Go to Introduction Part II (The Various Ways of Typing Christian Ethics) & III(The Theological Types of Christian Ethics)