Surviving death /

This sequel to Johnson's natural theology of God in Saving God: Religion after Idolatry (CH, Jan'10, 47-2510) is a dense and sustained yet engaging argument for a new way of understanding how humans can survive death, given that science and contemporary philosophy make some believe that traditional Christian claims about bodily resurrection are implausible. Johnson (Princeton Univ.) engages both constructively and critically many proposals about the relationships between personality, body, and identity. His constructive argument centers on how one should understand that an attitude of agape, namely, an attitude that places the good of others above the survival of one's individual personality (not person), allows an individual to survive death. He postulates that only those who are concerned with the good of others can survive the "onward rush of history." The author admits that this argument will not convince those who hold faith in a biblical account of resurrection, but he does provide readers much to think about. Most readers will be able to follow the book's argument if they read carefully, but a philosophical background is necessary if one wants to fully appreciate its highly technical argumentation. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates through faculty/researchers. A. W. Klink Duke University