Description
Preserving the Penultimate brings two of the 20th century’s most renowned Christian thinkers, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Albert Schweitzer, into conversation around the emerging possibilities of healthcare. Here Bonhoeffer’s theology meets Schweizer’s philosophy and praxis to examine the place that healthcare should hold within the Church and its mission. Using the crisis within the National Health Service in the United Kingdom as an example, the insights which these renowned thinkers bring to healthcare are explored.
Is the Church ignoring a part of its mission having retreated from the world of healthcare? Taking Bonhoeffer’s notion of redeeming the penultimate (our present reality), as well as Schweitzer’s emphasis on the practical application of Christian tenets, Preserving the Penultimate courses a path through the overlaps of these two thinkers, ultimately leading to a ‘re-envisioning the praxis of healthcare as theologically central to the mission of the Church.’ As questions around healthcare become more urgent than ever, the role of Christianity to offer alternatives and inspire a broader vision of care is illuminated, considering not only the physical but the spiritual well-being of the person.
About the Author
The Revd Dr Robert M Jaggs-Fowler CStJ MBBS LLM MA PhD FRCGP FRSA is a Visiting Fellow at St John’s College, Durham University, an Anglican priest, a retired GP, a writer and poet. He holds degrees in the subjects of medicine, medical law and ethics, theology, and philosophy. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Royal Society of Arts.
The winner of the Lincoln Book Festival Prize for Fiction in 2005 and the Fathom Prize for Poetry in 2010, Robert has published two academic books (The Law and Medicine: Friend or Nemesis? [2013], and The Healing Enigma: The Physician-Priest in the 21st Century [2018]), two collections of poetry, and a novel. He lives in North Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire.
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
Statement of Copyright and Permissions
Part One
1. Setting the Scene
Introduction
The United Kingdom’s NHS as a Health Institution Exemplar
The Relevance of the Sermon on the Mount
The Relationship of the Church to the Rest of the World
God’s ‘Great Commission’
The Church and Healthcare – An Introductory Comment
The Church, Education and Social Action: The United Kingdom Exemplar
Conclusion
2. Suffering, Health and Healing, Dying and Death
Introduction
Terminology and Definitions
Suffering
A Note on the Interrelationship of these Concepts with Healthcare
3. The Christian Gospel, Poverty and Health
Introduction
Definition of Poverty
Scripture and Poverty
Poverty and Health
The Gospel and Health
The Illumination Provided by Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer
4. The Church’s Response to Scripture on Poverty and Health
Introduction
Church Response to Issues of Poverty
Church Response to Issues of Health
Envisaging the Future Role of the Church in Healthcare
Conclusion
Part Two
5. Introduction to Part Two
6. The Relevance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
7. The Relevance of Albert Schweitzer
8. The Nature and Significance of Bonhoeffer’s Penultimate and Ultimate
Introduction
Bonhoeffer’s Concept of the ‘Penultimate’ and ‘Ultimate’
Albert Schweitzer and the Penultimate
The Relationship between Christians and the Penultimate
The Penultimate as a Sacrament
Conclusion
9. An Overview of the Life, Philosophy and Theology of Albert Schweitzer
Introduction
An Essential Biography of Albert Schweitzer
The Ethical Nature of Civilisation
Schweitzer’s Perspective on Eschatology
The ‘Will to Live’ and ‘Reverence for Life’
The Post-Colonial Perspective of Schweitzer
Conclusion
10. The Christology of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer, the Penultimate and Healthcare
Introduction
Luther’s Theologia Crucis
The Christology in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Written Work
The Christology of Albert Schweitzer
Are the Christologies of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer the Same?
Relevance to the Twenty-First Century
Conclusion
11. The Ethics of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer, the Penultimate and Healthcare
Introduction
Christian Ethics in General
An Overview of Healthcare Ethics
General Comments on the Ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
General Comments on the Ethics of Albert Schweitzer
The Ethics of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer Relating to the Four Principles of Healthcare Ethics
Respect for Autonomy
Beneficence
Non-maleficence
Justice
Conclusion
12. Suffering, Health and Healing, Dying and Death Revisited
Introduction
Bonhoeffer’s Perspective on the Five Concepts
Suffering
Health and Healing
Dying and Death
Schweitzer’s Perspective on the Five Concepts
Suffering
Health and Healing
Dying and Death
The Perspectives of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer Compared and Contrasted
Conclusion
13. The Christian Gospel, Poverty and Health Revisited
Introduction
Bonhoeffer’s Perspective
Schweitzer’s Perspective
14. The Message of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer for Twenty-First-Century Healthcare
Appendix: Comparative Timeline for Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Albert Schweitzer
Bibliography
Index
