In this episode, host Garrett Snedeker and JWI intern Isaac Michael speak with Prof. Andrew Walker of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary about his new book Faithful Reason: Natural Law Ethics for God’s Glory and Our Good. Professor Walker discusses his intended audience for the book, its main ideas, and his hopes for a revival of the Natural Law in American legal discussions. He also touches upon common difficulties many Protestants have with the Natural Law and makes the case for the authority of the Natural Law in Protestant moral thought. He ultimately presents a Christ-centered case for Natural Law reasoning which he sees as essential to any coherent account of a natural moral order.
Buy Faithful Reason here
Dr. Walker serves as Associate Dean in the School of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology. He is also the Director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement. Additionally, he is a fellow in Christian Political Thought at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and serves as the Managing Editor of WORLD Opinions. Walker joined the faculty of Southern Seminary in 2019. His previous appointment was Senior Fellow in Christian Ethics at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. He is married to Christian, and they have three children. He is a member of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky.
He writes regularly for such outlets as National Review, First Things, Newsweek, WORLD Opinions, The Gospel Coalition, American Reformer, and Public Discourse. He’s done additional study through the Witherspoon Institute and the James Madison Program at Princeton University. In 2023, he was one of the winners of the inaugural “Freedom and Opportunity” academic awards from the Heritage Foundation for his contributions to conservative thought.
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 teaches courses in the areas of ethics, biomedical ethics, sexual ethics, moral theory, public theology, and religion in the public square. He oversees several Doctor of Ministry students and Research Doctoral students as well as serving as the primary program coordinator for Southern’s Ethics and Public Theology concentration.
