Burley, M (2012) Atheism and the gift of death. Religious Studies, 48 (4). pp. 533-546. ISSN 0034-4125
Abstract
Richard Beardsmore once argued that, although it is possible for atheists and religious believers alike to regard life as a gift, the regarding of one's own death as a gift is open only to the (Christian) believer. I discuss this interesting contention, and argue that, notwithstanding some important differences between the attitudinal possibilities available to atheists and believers in God, there are at least three senses in which an atheist could regard death as a gift. Two of these involve death's being conceived as serving some particular purpose, whereas the third derives from a more pervasive affirmatory attitude to life as a whole.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2012. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Religious Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Aug 2016 14:53 |
Last Modified: | 22 Jan 2018 10:34 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S003441251200011X |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/21692327.2014.985698 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:85288 |