We Are Who We Think We Were: Christian History and Christian Ethics

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We Are Who We Think We Were calls into question the outdated historical methodologies in use in Christian social ethics and outlines the consequences stemming from them. By adopting the postmodern post-structuralist position of historian Elizabeth Clark, Aaron D. Conley calls ethicists to learn to read for the gaps, silences, and uncertainties that exist both in historical texts and the histories represented by these texts. The book calls ethicists to a critical self-reflexive historiography. This self-criticism allows the ability to construct new histories and formulate new ethical norms for the world in which we now live. Praise for We Are Who We Think We Were “A masterful, energetic exploration of the interface between our construction of historical storylines and our ethics. This book is a welcome plea for locating dialogues across differences at the center of Christian beliefs and practices during the twenty-first century.” Vernon K. Robbins | Emory University “We Are Who We Think We Were is an ambitious yet carefully constructed critique of mainstream Christian ethicists’ uses and abuses of history. Not only does Conley make a persuasive case for why and how historical method matters for Christian ethicists who take seriously the moral demands of justice, the critical self-reflective methodology he develops points to important constructive possibilities for telling our stories in other ways.” Yvonne C. Zimmerman | Methodist Theological School in Ohio “Conley advocates thoroughgoing deconstruction with self-critical awareness of the powerinterests and subliminal loyalties driving the narrative-tradition that shapes our historical self-understanding. He provides improved articulateness for what I intend by a ‘historical drama’ approach, with continuous repentance in participative community, with realistic attention to self-correcting data from diverse others, and to the struggle for delivering justice. We all need to learn from Conley.” Glen Stassen | Fuller Theological Seminary Toward a self-critical understanding of our own past— We Are Who We Think We Were Conley Religion / History / Christian Ethics Aaron D. Conley earned his Ph.D. at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. He teaches regularly at Regis University in Denver and is actively working on several book projects. This volume is a revision of a dissertation completed at Iliff School of Theology under the direction of Miguel de la Torre. e m e r g i n g s c h o l a r s We Are Who We Think We Were Christian History and Christian Ethics Aaron D. Conley ...