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Preface. <p>Introduction.</p> <p><b>Part I: Topics.</b></p> <p>1. The Specter of Religious Identity.</p> <p>2. Humanizing Religion.</p> <p>3. Conscience and Spiritual Conviction.</p> <p>4. Metaphors of the Soul.</p> <p>5. Voices of Neohumanism.</p> <p>6. The Christ of Christian Humanism.</p> <p><b>Part II: Thinkers.</b></p> <p>7. Human Only Human?</p> <p>8. Goodness and Fictive Persons.</p> <p>9. Reverence for Life -- The Spirit of Life.</p> <p>10. Sovereign Expressions of Life.</p> <p>11. Ecstatic Humanism.</p> <p>12. On Christian and Theological Humanism.</p> <p>Index.</p>

<b>William Schweiker</b> is the Edward L. Ryerson Distinguished Service Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago and he is the Director of the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion. His many books include <i>Responsibility and Christian Ethics</i> (1995), <i>Power, Value and Conviction: Theological Ethics in the Postmodern Age</i> (1998), <i>Theological Ethics and Global Dynamics: In the Time of Many Worlds</i> (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004), and <i>Religion and the Human Future</i> (with David Klemm, Wiley-Blackwell, 2008). Schweiker has published numerous articles and award-winning essays, and has edited and contributed to six volumes, including <i>Humanity Before God: Contemporary Faces of Jewish, Christian and Islamic Ethics</i> (2006), and <i>The Blackwell Companion to Religious Ethics</i> (Wiley-Blackwell, 2004, 2008).

This is an insightful and masterly look at the challenges and possibilities for Christian life in the contemporary world. Schweiker investigates Christianity's relevance in the global age and discusses how we can – and ought – to orient the life of faith. <p>Schweiker begins with an exploration of the big religious themes of modern life, including religious identity in global times, the role of conscience, and current versions of humanism. He also engages some prominent contemporary philosophers and theologians who clarify the nature of faith by developing and contrasting it with ideas from other thinkers on shared topics of reflection. The book goes on to reflect on the themes of integrity, and theological and ethical perspectives of 'life'. The final section returns to the theme of 'religious humanism' with discussions of important recent work on Christian humanism.</p> <p><i>Dust that Breathes</i> is unique in its appreciation of the ambiguity of religion, in its representations of the highest human achievements and the very worst of human actions. Schweiker concludes that a Christian outlook on life is still relevant, proposing an approach to Christian existence which is fully engaged with shared human concerns, and yet one which can meet the practical challenges and possibilities of the global age.</p>

"The recovery of a chastened humanistic perspective and agenda is a global imperative. William Schweiker critically examines topics that have historically claimed the humanist title, weaving together a vision that builds upon them yet goes well beyond. With skill and passion he provides insight into what it means to live the life of faith today. This is a seminal text from an author who is at the forefront of the debate, deserving a wide readership."<br /> —<b>John W. de Gruchy</b>, Emeritus Professor of Christian Studies, University of Cape Town <p>"<i>The Dust That Breathes</i> reinstates religious humanism in the light of the challenges of globalization, multiculturalism, and the looming ecological catastrophe threatening our planet. Although inflected with Christian theological imagery and concepts, Schweiker's vision addresses all men and women of religious faith who share an urgent sense of responsibility to secure the divinely created order and the dignity of human existence. It deserves to receive wide attention."<br /> —<b>Paul Mendes-Flohr</b>, Professor of Modern Jewish Thought, The Divinity School, University of Chicago</p> <p>"In <i>Dust that Breaths</i>, the renowned North American ethicist William Schweiker continues to portray the stance towards life that he has made known as theological humanism. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey ... in a text that combines a humanistic pathos with a thick theological anthropology, constructive use of particularly Christian sources, and moral realism. It is a difficult and exciting endeavor. It is carried out with the help of Schweiker’s learnedness and his trademark ability to integrate a quest for intersubjectivity with openness for great complexity and ongoing change."<br /> —<b>Per Sundman</b>, Faculty of Theology, Uppsala University</p>

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