Preserving the Penultimate: The Impact of Bonhoeffer and Schweitzer on Healthcare

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 Schweitzer'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.

Table of 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 29 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

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.