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Theology and Issues of Life and Death
John Heywood Thomas
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Description for Theology and Issues of Life and Death
Paperback.
"Does theology have any relevance to the problem of life and death?" According to John Heywood Thomas the answer is an unequivocal yes. A largely personal expression of this conviction precedes the argument's exposition, which is then stated first of all quite generally - that nothing human is alien to theology's concern. Three main issues are considered: the unborn life, death as an event in life, and the possibility of global death. The issue of a life before birth is a complex problem, requiring as much awareness of philosophical issues as of relevant empirical factors. The same kind of multifaceted thinking is needed in confronting the issue of death, an inescapable topic for theology. If death is an event in life what does it reveal about the meaning of life? And what of the very human action of the funeral? After a discussion of the complex issues involved the argument returns to the global reference of theology. Two areas of concern are singled out to show that the theologian can offer guidance in debate: the environmental crisis and the threat of nuclear war.
Product Details
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2014
Publisher
James Clarke & Co Ltd United Kingdom
Number of pages
156
Condition
New
Number of Pages
156
Place of Publication
Cambridge, United Kingdom
ISBN
9780227174203
SKU
V9780227174203
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 15 to 20 working days
Ref
99-2
About John Heywood Thomas
John Heywood Thomas, Emeritus Professor of Nottingham University, was Head of its Department of Theology and successively Pro-Vice Chancellor and Dean of the Arts Faculty. He had taught previously at the University of Manchester, Episcopal Seminary Austin, Texas, and the University of Durham. Described by Paul Tillich as his "logical critic", he has written studies of Tillich as well as of Kierkegaard.
Reviews for Theology and Issues of Life and Death
"In Theology and Issues of Life and Death, the veteran Welsh theologian Professor John Heywood Thomas has gathered together lectures... and mostly unpublished paper." The Revd Robin Gill, Church Times, October 2014 It has provided me with insight into Heywood Thomas's thinking as he demonstrates that theology is of temporal as well as eternal use, and how it can be prepared to grapple with issues at the beginning and end of life that evade any simplistic solutions. Heywood Thomas's intellectual vigour shines through the pages, as does his pastoral heart and his honesty[...]There is a wealth of material here for non-theologians such as myself, and especially for those with pastoral responsibilities. D Gareth Jones, Theological Book Review, volume 26, no 1, 2014 One of the great strengths of this collection of writings is the care with which Heywood Thomas reveals the complexity of the problems associated with certain ideas which have a great deal of currency in Christian circles...There is a good deal to be gained from the reflections contained within this short book and we should be grateful to Susan Parsons for her editorial hand ensuring its content an extended life. Duncan Dormor, Theology, vol 118 issue 3, May/June 2015 "Drawing widely on his scholarly learning, his interest in medical issues and his love of poetry, not least that of Keats and Dylan Thomas, Thomas has produced a beautifully written book reflecting deeply on Christian hope centred on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the understanding of ourselves as relational beings in the Image of God. As such it is a pleasure to read. And it remains as relevant to current debates about medical ethics as to the cases and debates of the last century." Agneta Sutton, Heythrop Journal, vol 56 issue 5, September 2015 Heywood Thomas ... deserves praise for a much more dispassionate, pondered approach than has become common on all sides. Any claim to high-toned certainty is largely absent, and this is in itself, given the complexity of the issues, a comment on the quality or lack of it of many of our debates. Nicholas Peter Harvey, Studies in Christian Ethics, Volume 27.4