Religion and the Human Future: An Essay on Theological Humanism
David E. Klemm, William Schweiker, David KlemmBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Ours is a time when cultures and religions creatively interact but also often collide, and human power increasingly endangers forms of life even while great technological advances enable us to better relieve suffering and want. This powerful manifesto sets forth a dynamic and robust vision of human life beyond the divisions that haunt the humanities, social sciences, theology, and religious studies. The authors outline a vision called theological humanism, based on the idea that neither God's will nor human flourishing alone provides an adequate measure and orientation for human life. The task of human life is responsibility for the integrity of life, the measure of human action. Yet more than that, the idea of theological humanism articulates a profound and ancient insight too often lost in the current debate between theologians and humanists - that human beings are mixed creatures striving for wholeness and integrity.About the Author:
David E. Klemm is a professor in the Department of Religious Studies at The University of Iowa
About the Author:
William Schweiker is Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago and Director of the Martin Marty Center
Synopsis
Ours is a time when cultures and religions creatively interact but also often collide, and human power increasingly endangers forms of life even while great technological advances enable us to better relieve suffering and want. It is a time of great uncertainty, unrest, but also creativity, which reveals a profound quest to understand the meaning and responsibility of our shared and yet divided humanity. It is this religious quest for humanity that authors David E. Klemm and William Schweiker address in this Blackwell Manifesto.
The authors outline a vision called theological humanism based on the idea that neither God's will nor human flourishing alone provide an adequate measure and orientation for human life. The task of human life is responsibility for the integrity of life, the measure of human action. Yet more than that, the idea of theological humanism articulates a profound and ancient insight too often lost in the current debate between theologians and humanists - that human beings are mixed creatures striving for wholeness and integrity.
This powerful manifesto sets forth a dynamic and robust vision of human life beyond the divisions that haunt the humanities, social sciences, theology, and religious studies. It announces a way of thinking about and living out the quest for our humanity and thus the task of religion and the human future.
Editorials
From the Publisher
"There is no doubt this is a great book. . . the place to finish this review is with admiration and respect. This book will shape key debates for many years to come. It is a remarkably clear statement of a program and vision, which stresses integrity, reason, and generosity. For this service to the church and the academy, we should be deeply grateful." (Conversations in Religion and Theology, November 2010)
"Religion and the Human Future provides an excellent, well thought-out and well documented analysis of the current dilemma facing religions and religious people: the human dangers and inadequacies of hypertheism, with its exaggerated response to the challenge of modernity and over humanization, with its overly unreflective veneration for modernity." (Ethical Perspectives, July 2010)"This text sounds a clarion call to change the debate about the role of religion in human life. ... With limited endnotes and an engaging style, this carefully argued text mostly succeeds in its attempt to be accessible to a wider audience that could include upperlevel undergraduates." (Religious Studies Review, September 2009)