Classifying pastoral care as an "applied theology" suggests that it stems from a separate and "pure" theology. In this new volume, R. John Elford contends that pastoral concerns and actions are not products of theology, but in fact are the catalysts that prompt and necessitate it. Elford offers a detailed critical analysis of the relationship between theology and pastoral care and compares how different faith traditions understand the pastoral. He traces how shifting historical circumstances and perceptions of pastoral need spurred changes in theological understanding, and he asserts the need for these traditions to be "in conversation" with modern culture. In closing, The Pastoral Nature of Theology considers the role of morality in pastoral care and how contemporary issues often bring about profound theological problems.

This book is the outcome of collaboration between medical and theological writers from within the Christian tradition. Its aim is to explore ways in which medicine and theology can be complementary and to counter the frequent examples of the two disciplines being in disagreement. The subjects chosen for discussion are selective and are grouped under three headings: Theological Background, Moral Boundaries, and Regulation and Policy. This enables the discussion to proceed from theology to specifics in medicine with a concluding emphasis on the practicalities of regulation and policy. The book can, therefore, be read as an essay in applied ethics. It seeks to discover how cherished theological beliefs can work themselves out in relation to some of the specific questions raised by modern medical technologies. The argument throughout shows why theology has to listen carefully to medicine and how theology can then be of practical benefit, in enabling medicine to exercise its social responsibilities.