Skip to content
Register Sign in Wishlist
Living Together and Christian Ethics

Living Together and Christian Ethics

Part of New Studies in Christian Ethics

  • Date Published: March 2002
  • availability: Available
  • format: Paperback
  • isbn: 9780521009553

Paperback

Add to wishlist

Other available formats:
Hardback, eBook


Looking for an inspection copy?

This title is not currently available on inspection

Description
Product filter button
Description
Contents
Resources
Courses
About the Authors
  • Living Together and Christian Ethics is the first positive, in-depth study of cohabitation outside marriage from a mainstream Christian theological perspective. The book retrieves the traditions of betrothal from the Bible and church history, and shows how these can transform Christian attitudes to living together before marriage. A crucial distinction is made between prenuptial cohabitation where marriage is intended, and nonnuptial cohabitation where it is avoided. Since betrothal was widely understood as a real beginning of marriage, the book argues for a complete pastoral, theological and liturgical renewal that reclaims the riches of forgotten Christian marital traditions and redeploys them in conveying the good news of the faith to women and men who are not yet married. The book takes issue with theologians who marginalize marriage, and suggests that the recognition of marital values can act as a helpful bridge between Christian teaching and people who are not formally married.

    • The first positive in-depth study of cohabitation outside marriage from a mainstream Christian theological perspective
    • Argues that Christian teaching is able to sanction people living together if they intend to marry
    • Offers new support for marriage, disagreeing both with theologians who dismiss it and with social commentators who dismiss all forms of cohabitation
    Read more

    Reviews & endorsements

    'The significance of the subject matter of this book is beyond doubt. … this is a very important response to the developing marriage crisis.' Stephen Platten

    'This is a wonderful book and it should be required reading for every priest and minister …'. Michael Northcott, The Expository Times

    'This latest book on cohabitation appears in the Cambridge series New Studies in Christian Ethics, and is marked by all the engaging energy and liveliness of [Thatcher's] previous work.' Church Times

    'One will certainly encourage one's students to read this hypnotically well-written addition to theological aesthetics …'. Scottish Journal of Theology

    '… a well-argued and thought-provoking book …'. Studies in Christian Ethics

    See more reviews

    Customer reviews

    Not yet reviewed

    Be the first to review

    Review was not posted due to profanity

    ×

    , create a review

    (If you're not , sign out)

    Please enter the right captcha value
    Please enter a star rating.
    Your review must be a minimum of 12 words.

    How do you rate this item?

    ×

    Product details

    • Date Published: March 2002
    • format: Paperback
    • isbn: 9780521009553
    • length: 316 pages
    • dimensions: 216 x 138 x 18 mm
    • weight: 0.378kg
    • availability: Available
  • Table of Contents

    Part I. Living Together as a Theological Problem:
    1. A guide to living together
    2. Living together: a preliminary theological analysis
    3. Testing the betrothal solution
    Part II. An Exercise in Retrieval - Bringing Back Betrothal:
    4. The bible and betrothal
    5. Evidence from liturgy and law
    6. Whatever happened to betrothal?
    Part III. Extending the Marital Norm:
    7. Betrothal, consent and consummation
    8. The sacramental beginning of marriage
    9. Extending the marital norm
    Appendix. A rite of betrothal before marriage.

  • Author

    Adrian Thatcher, College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth
    Adrian Thatcher read Theology at Regentís Park College, Oxford, and was awarded the D.Phil. in 1973 for his work on The Ontology of Paul Tillich (also his first book, 1978). He was a Baptist Minister (1966–74) and is now an Anglican. He has taught at the College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth, since 1977, becoming Head of the Department of Theology and Philosophy in 1984, and Professor of Applied Theology in 1995. His books include Truly a Person, Truly God (1990), Liberating Sex: A Christian Sexual Theology (1993), People of Passion: What the Churches Teach about Sex (with Elizabeth Stuart (Mowbray, 1997), and Marriage after Modernity: Christian Marriage in Postmodern Times (1999). In 2000 he directed The First International Marriage Conference at the College of St Mark and St. John and has edited and contributed to the volume of conference proceedings, Celebrating Christian Marriage: New Agendas, New Opportunities ( 2001). He also writes in the Theology of Education, and recently edited Spirituality and the Curriculum (1999). He was Alan Richardson Memorial Fellow in the University of Durham, England, in 1997, and is a regular speaker at Church conferences on marriage and questions of sexual ethics. He has written articles and reviews in many journals including the British Journal of Religious Education, Christian Century, Crucible, Feed the Minds, Theology and Sexuality, the Scottish Journal of Theology, Studies in Christian Ethics, and The Witness. He is a member of several learned societies including the Societies for the Study of Theology, and of Christian Ethics.

Related Books

Sorry, this resource is locked

Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]

Register Sign in
Please note that this file is password protected. You will be asked to input your password on the next screen.

» Proceed

You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.

Continue ×

Continue ×

Continue ×
warning icon

Turn stock notifications on?

You must be signed in to your Cambridge account to turn product stock notifications on or off.

Sign in Create a Cambridge account arrow icon
×

Find content that relates to you

Join us online

This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Read more Close

Are you sure you want to delete your account?

This cannot be undone.

Cancel

Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.

If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.

×
Please fill in the required fields in your feedback submission.
×