The first part of the book is grounded in biblical issues and in historical and philosophical theology. It seeks to establish several schemes of death theology related, for example, to early Christianity's Jewish cultural milieu, to belief in Christ's resurrection and to Christology, to issues of millennial belief and to an emergent liturgical practice. The rise of notions of the soul in relation to medieval thought and practice and the place of death in reformation theology are both covered, as is the role of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Finally the rise of biblical theology is...

Anthropology and Christian Theology have traditionally interpreted religion in quite different ways and have often been thought of as hostile to one another. In fact, a fundamental concern for human experience lies at the heart of both disciplines. This innovative book takes a new look at key anthropological and theological themes, and explores the intricacies of their interplay throughout history and in the present. Sacrifice, embodiment, ritual, incarnation, symbolism, gift and power are all related in ways that shed new light on religious behaviour and belief. Detailed analysis of...

Death, Ritual and Belief, now in its third edition, explores many important issues related to death and dying, from a religious studies perspective, including anthropology and sociology. Using the motif of 'words against death' it depicts human responses to grief by surveying the many ways in which people have not let death have the last word, not simply in terms of funeral rites but also in memorials, graves, and in ideas of ancestors, souls, gods, reincarnation and resurrection, whether in the great religious traditions of the world or in more local customs. He also examines...