Alcohol, Addiction and Christian Ethics
Alcohol, Addiction and Christian Ethics
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Addictive disorders are characterised by a division of the will, in which the addict is attracted both by a desire to continue the addictive behaviour and also by a desire to stop it. Academic perspectives on this predicament usually come from clinical and scientific standpoints, with the 'moral model' rejected as outmoded. But Christian theology has a long history of thinking and writing on such problems and offers insights which are helpful to scientific and ethical reflection upon the nature of addiction. Chris Cook reviews Christian theological and ethical reflection upon the problems of alcohol use and misuse, from biblical times until the present day. Drawing particularly upon the writings of St Paul the Apostle and Augustine of Hippo, a critical theological model of addiction is developed. Alcohol dependence is also viewed in the broader ethical perspective of the use and misuse of alcohol within communities.
- Presents a critical theological model of addiction
- Engages seriously with both scientific and theological literature on the subject
- Contrasts the ethical challenges of alcohol use and misuse to individuals and society
Reviews & endorsements
"Well written...will help a broad spectrum of professionals (including psychiatrists, primary care physicians, counselors, social workers, clergy, and educators) make a difference in someone's life"
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
Product details
December 2008Paperback
9780521091343
236 pages
229 × 152 × 14 mm
0.35kg
Available
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Alcohol, addiction and Christian ethics: introduction
- 2. An addiction in context: the use, misuse and harmful use of alcohol
- 3. Drunkenness as vice in the New Testament
- 4. Drunkenness as intemperance: Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Whitefield
- 5. Temperance redefined: the nineteenth century temperance movement
- 6. Addiction as sin and syndrome: the divided self
- 7. Alcohol, addiction and Christian ethics
- 8. Conclusions.
