Beyond Mere Health : Theology and Health Care in a Secular Society

These essays and the substantial responses to them are a splendid example of ‘narrating the “secular” theologically’, as one of the contributors puts it. The book is not narrowly focused on issues of health care, genetic engineering, or the like; breadth of scope matches depth of analysis. At the heart of all the essays is a passion for doing theology well, in particular for bringing a solid theological anthropology to bear on problems discussed. Dr Christiaan Mostert Professor of Systematic Theology, United Faculty of Theology, Melbourne. The papers given at the 1995 Melbourne Symposium presented in this volume unpack the theological issues surrounding the topic and question rigorously some of the assumptions of our culture and health care system. Archbishop Keith Rayner Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne Primate of the Anglican Church in Australia. Both Christians and non-Christians who work in the field of bioethics will appreciate this book, for it is a refreshing and nourishing change of fare for anyone whose staple diet in bioethics consists of the applications of principles. Dr Bernadette Tobin, Director, John Plunkett Centre for Ethics in Health Care, Sydney. Into the ‘rapture of distress’ of modern medicine comes the question ‘Cur Deus Homo’ — why does God become man? In engaging this question and others, Beyond Mere Health places questions of health and disease into the wider, indeed eschatalogical, context of the Triune God who, at the very time when we are so intent on remaking God in our image, enters time and space, recaptivates humanity in himself, killing sin, depriving death of its power and revivifying humanity. Beyond mere health indeed! Dr Neil Williams, Consultant Psychiatrist, Melbourne.