
By What Authority?
The Churches and Social Concern
Anthony Harvey(Author)
SCM Press
Published on 1. September 2001
Book
Paperback/Softback
186 pages
978-0-334-02849-9 (ISBN)
Description
It has come to be taken for granted that churches should issue reports and make statements on public affairs - anything from unemployment to prisons, urban deprivation to the Internet. In theory their conclusions are based on "theology"; in practice they rely more on simple appeals to justice, compassion and human rights. The author examines a number of such reports issued over the last 15 years and finds their "theology" to have made little contribution to their generally sensible, if not always exciting, recommendations. Instead, he argues that they should openly acknowledge thier debt to an ethical consensus which is still widely accepted, should be alerted to the insidious influence of fashionable dogmas, and should re-fashion their understanding of human beings so as to counter the pervasive individualism of recent centuries. In this way, the churches, along with other faith communities, can still make a valid contribution to "civil society" today.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 213 mm
Weight
14 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-334-02849-9 (9780334028499)
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Schweitzer Classification