Life after Death: A New Approach to the Last Things

by Anthony C. Thiselton

Writing in the wake of a near-fatal stroke, eminent theologian Anthony C. Thiselton addresses a universally significant death and what comes next. This distinctive study of "the last things" comprehensively explores questions about individual death, the intermediate state, the return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, hell, the final state of the redeemed, and more. At once scholarly and pastoral, Thiselton's Life after Death offers biblically astute, historically informed, and intellectually sound answers -- making this book an invaluable resource for thinking Christians.

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies

410 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2011

About the author

Anthony Charles Thiselton is emeritus professor of Christian theology at the University of Nottingham and a fellow of the British Academy. His recent publications include Approaching Philosophy of Religion, Discovering Romans, Systematic Theology, The Holy Spirit, and The Last Things.

Reviews

[Daniel Hoffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, didn't quite finish this one. I quit with about 30 pages to go. Could have finished it just to finish, but honestly was getting almost nothing from it. It might serve as a decent reference for the specific topics that in considers, but the writing is choppy—it almost reads as an unpolished collection of the author's notes, and a lot of it is just gathering references and notes from secondary sources. Also, there was more tedious philosophical discussion about things like "promise" and "waiting" than I cared for.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery explored

There are no easy answers to the difficult questions here. But the journey of investigation is a thrill in itself drawing on the thinking of the centuries and across disciplines. And at its core the book is about a loving and promising God who wants us to flourish in his presence. Complex and, for me, impenetrable at times (!) yet there is so much here to ponder, delight in and to wait patiently for

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times veers off into the philosophic (some of which he admits can be skipped by the non-academic reader) but there are some real gems here. Particularly liked the insights from Moltmann and Pannenberg together with the author's commentary. Brought clarity in some areas, but acknowledged that while the best is yet to come there remain speculations and unanswered questions.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Arguing against widespread assumptions of our evidence-based culture, Thiselton argues for a logic of promise on the basis of what God has done in Christ. Thiselton pulls heavily from linguistic philosophers like Wittgenstein, Austin, and Searle to illuminate and explain much of the biblical and theological language concerning death, resurrection, heaven, hell, judgment, and new creation. These voices serve a methodological and heuristic purpose primarily. As for his major theological influences, he is recognizably indebted to Barth, Moltmann, Kasemann, and Pannenberg, whose names seem to appear in the footnotes of almost every other page. Regardless of who the agreement or disagreement is with, the novelty of certain insights and suggestions included here speak volumes not only to Thiselton’s erudition, but to his faith and trust in the God whose promises are the bedrock of the resurrection community.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent look at eschatological issues. It's strengths were that it went beyond the theologies of Augustine and St. Thomas and looked at the wider theological perspective of Church history as well as some more contemporary theologians such as N.T. Wright, Moltmann, Barth, and other prominent scholars. It reminds us that we are called to live our lives for the purposes of Christ and that we don't have all the answers to all the questions of whose in and whose out.