Living Together and Christian Ethics is the first positive, in-depth study of cohabitation outside marriage from a mainstream Christian theological perspective. The book retrieves the traditions of betrothal from the Bible and church history, and shows how these can transform Christian attitudes to living together before marriage. A crucial distinction is made between prenuptial cohabitation where marriage is intended, and nonnuptial cohabitation where it is avoided. Since betrothal was widely understood as a real beginning of marriage, the book argues for a complete pastoral, theological and liturgical renewal that reclaims the riches of forgotten Christian marital traditions and redeploys them in conveying the good news of the faith to women and men who are not yet married. The book takes issue with theologians who marginalize marriage, and suggests that the recognition of marital values can act as a helpful bridge between Christian teaching and people who are not formally married.

The first positive, in-depth study of cohabitation outside marriage from a mainstream Christian theological perspective.

About the Author
Adrian Thatcher read Theology at Regentis Park College, Oxford, and was awarded the D.Phil. in 1973 for his work on The Ontology of Paul Tillich (also his first book, 1978). He was a Baptist Minister (1966-74) and is now an Anglican. He has taught at the College of St Mark and St John, Plymouth, since 1977, becoming Head of the Department of Theology and Philosophy in 1984, and Professor of Applied Theology in 1995. His books include Truly a Person, Truly God (1990), Liberating Sex: A Christian Sexual Theology (1993), People of Passion: What the Churches Teach about Sex (with Elizabeth Stuart (Mowbray, 1997), and Marriage after Modernity: Christian Marriage in Postmodern Times (1999). In 2000 he directed The First International Marriage Conference at the College of St Mark and St. John and has edited and contributed to the volume of conference proceedings, Celebrating Christian Marriage: New Agendas, New Opportunities ( 2001). He also writes in the Theology of Education, and recently edited Spirituality and the Curriculum (1999). He was Alan Richardson Memorial Fellow in the University of Durham, England, in 1997, and is a regular speaker at Church conferences on marriage and questions of sexual ethics. He has written articles and reviews in many journals including the British Journal of Religious Education, Christian Century, Crucible, Feed the Minds, Theology and Sexuality, the Scottish Journal of Theology, Studies in Christian Ethics, and The Witness. He is a member of several learned societies including the Societies for the Study of Theology, and of Christian Ethics.

Reviews
'The significance of the subject matter of this book is beyond doubt. ... this is a very important response to the developing marriage crisis.' Stephen Platten
'This is a wonderful book and it should be required reading for every priest and minister ...'. Michael Northcott, The Expository Times
'This latest book on cohabitation appears in the Cambridge series New Studies in Christian Ethics, and is marked by all the engaging energy and liveliness of [Thatcher's] previous work.' Church Times
'One will certainly encourage one's students to read this hypnotically well-written addition to theological aesthetics ...'. Scottish Journal of Theology
'... a well-argued and thought-provoking book ...'. Studies in Christian Ethics



Book Information
ISBN 9780521009553
Author Adrian Thatcher
Format Paperback
Page Count 316
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 378g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 138mm * 18mm