Brian Hebblethwaite - Böcker

In Defence of Christianity is a short book of Christian apologetics. Acknowledging that reason is not the basis of faith, Brian Hebblethwaite sets out some of the main reasons that can be advanced in support of the Christian faith. He defends the view that belief in God makes most sense of a world that has come up with moral and creative persons and communities, including all that they have produced in the way of culture, mysticism, and sainthood. He also argues that the history of religions, and in particular the history of Israel and the story of Christ and his Church, offers the best diagnosis and solution of the problems that afflict humanity and the most hopeful picture of the ultimate future of creation

What does it mean to hope for heaven?Brian Hebblethwaite traces the background to the Christian hope in the faith of Israel, examines its primary basis in the acts of God in the story of Jesus Christ, and follows the history of Christian attitudes to the future of humanity and of creation throughout the Christian centuries. The Christian Hope tells the complex story of the different strands, emphases and problems that have developed between biblical times and our own in the quest to understand 'the four last things' - death, judgement, heaven and hell. Hebblethwaite concentrates our attention on the modern period since 1900, an era when modern Christian theology has witnessed a remarkable recovery of interest in hope and the future as dominant motifs in its reflections. The discoveries of modern science have affected Christian hope and Christian understanding of creation and its ultimate destiny. At different stages in the history of the church, very different stresses have been laid on the present or on the future, on hope for the individual or on hope for society, on this-worldly hope or on other-worldly hope. Through a study of the basis of Christian hope and of the history of its interpretation, Hebblethwaite aims to present a balanced view of these different elements in the Christian tradition and a credible eschatology for today.

What does it mean to hope for heaven?Brian Hebblethwaite traces the background to the Christian hope in the faith of Israel, examines its primary basis in the acts of God in the story of Jesus Christ, and follows the history of Christian attitudes to the future of humanity and of creation throughout the Christian centuries. The Christian Hope tells the complex story of the different strands, emphases and problems that have developed between biblical times and our own in the quest to understand 'the four last things' - death, judgement, heaven and hell. Hebblethwaite concentrates our attention on the modern period since 1900, an era when modern Christian theology has witnessed a remarkable recovery of interest in hope and the future as dominant motifs in its reflections. The discoveries of modern science have affected Christian hope and Christian understanding of creation and its ultimate destiny. At different stages in the history of the church, very different stresses have been laid on the present or on the future, on hope for the individual or on hope for society, on this-worldly hope or on other-worldly hope. Through a study of the basis of Christian hope and of the history of its interpretation, Hebblethwaite aims to present a balanced view of these different elements in the Christian tradition and a credible eschatology for today.

Austin Farrer's important contribution to philosophical and theological anthropology is discussed here by the six main contributors to the Austin Farrer Centenary Conference held at Oriel College in 2004. After an Introductory survey by Basil Mitchell, Nancy Murphy provides an in-depth study of Farrer's defence of the freedom of the will, Edward Henderson brings out the key notion of double agency in Farrer's conception of the way God acts in and through the human person. Brian Hebblethwaite explores Farrer's writings for the light they throw on creation and evolution, with special reference to the problems of providence and evil. David Brown extends Farrer's insights on the role of images in biblical revelation to their role in natural religion, and Douglas Hedley shows how Farrer's ' and Mitchell's ' work on the imagination enriches our understanding of the relation between faith and reason. The Centenary Conference sermon by the Bishop of Oxford is also appended.

One of the 'borderlands' of theology is the area in which it concerns overlap with those of philosophy. This book charts some of the frontiers that are of most concern in contemporary discussion. Beginning with a study of ontology in the New Testament, it proceeds to consider the borderlands between theology and philosophy from different standpoints in four main groups: the apostolic and patristic age, Enlightenment and post-Enlightenment thought, morality and ethics and, finally, contemporary reflection about meaning and truth. This distinguished collection of essays has been produced to honour Donald McKinnon, who retired from the Norris-Hulse Professorship of Divinity in the University of Cambridge in 1978, a bibliography of whose published writings is included in the volume.

Faculties of theology are a traditional feature of most western European universities, yet in colleges of education, schools and in some newer universities the subject is studied, if at all, under the heading of 'religious studies'. Taking the question 'Is there such a subject?' as his point of departure, the author sets out to explore the relation between theology and the broader field of religious studies. Theology primarily means 'rational talk about God', but the word is used in other wider and looser senses as well. Mr Hebblethwaite discusses in what ways it is possible for non-believers to engage in theology, and stresses the need for all to pursue the subject openly and self-critically in a religiously pluralist world. Criteria for truth-claims in religion and the problem of revelation are among the topics examined. In the course of his study the author looks at the relationship between theology and a number of adjacent subjects: psychology and the social sciences, philosophy, history and ethics.

This book gathers together essays, published and unpublished, in which Brian Hebblethwaite explores and defends the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation against its modern critics. He shows what would be lost from the Christian religion if non-incarnational Christology (a way of understanding Jesus Christ without belief in his divinity) were to be adopted by the Christian churches. He begins by examining some of the problems raised by this challenge to traditional doctrine, then considers the contribution of Austin Farrer to Christology, and goes on to analyse the recent trend towards Unitarianism in contemporary theology. In a new, concluding essay, Canon Hebblethwaite answers criticisms of his contribution to the current debate on the Incarnation.

This short 1988 book offers an alternative reading of the impact of modernity on Christian faith to that advanced by Don Cupitt in the TV series and book The Sea of Faith. It is a spirited defence of belief in the objective reality of God and in life after death, as opposed to Cupitt's radically interiorised and expressivist conception of religion. As attractive as many may find a denial of the traditional doctrines of the Church in favour of an anti-metaphysical, non-dogmatic expressivist version of Christian faith, Hebblethwaite insists that of greater importance is the question of truth at stake here, and it is on the question of truth that he focusses his attention. After arguing against Cupitt's response to the modern situation, the author tries to show how belief in an objective God is not only possible despite the impact of modern science and historical criticism, but indeed highly plausible.

This important work explores the distinctiveness of Christian ethics, particularly through its interconnections with doctrine and the wider history of religions.Brian Hebblethwaite shows how the distinctiveness of Christian ethics can be understood and appreciated. He brings out the complex nature of that distinctiveness - in Christian individuals and communities as they reflect something of the triune love of God, and in contemporary humanism and major world faiths in which this love is also discernable.He concludes with an extended exploration of the strengths and weaknesses of the different religions in their contributions to the overcoming of evil.