In every culture, in every epoch, human beings have yearned for heaven -- the dwelling place of the gods, mirror of our hopes and desires. Now, in The Quest for Paradise, renowned scholar John Ashton and his colleague Tom Whyte offer an intriguing look at how we have thought of and envisioned heaven and the afterlife, from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, to the Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims, as well as the indigenous peoples of the Americas, Australia, and Africa.
Lavishly illustrated with extensive depictions of heaven in art from around the world, and drawing on scriptures, myths, epics, poems, novels, philosophy, and other writings from many cultures, The Quest for Paradise illuminates the vast spectrum of beliefs about the world beyond. The book also explores the concept of utopia, or paradise on earth, from the perspective of such diverse thinkers as H.G. Wells, D.H. Lawrence, Margaret Mead, and Aldous Huxley.
Ashton and Whyte present a fascinating array of ancient and modern views of heaven. Included are extraordinary inhabitants and geographical features, representing scenes from works such as The Odyssey, the Bible, the Quran, and the Sukhavativyuha Sutras, and from the works of writers such as Hesiod, Ovid, Virgil, Dante, Milton, and Yeats, highlighting both the diversity and the universality of reflection on heaven.

The Quest For Paradise: Visions of Heaven and Eternity in the World's Myths and Religions

Reference

Whyte, Tom

Ashton, John

Encyclopedias & Subject Guides

HarperOne

The [Oxford] Encyclopedia of Healthy Cities and Communities

de Leeuw, Evelyne

Hancock, Trevor

Oxford University Press

The first comprehensive study of St. John's Gospel in forty years, this book provides new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Baltmann regarded as the two great riddles of the Gospel: its position in the history of Christian thought, and its central or governing idea. Ashton provides translations of all non-English quotations, and confines detailed exegetical arguments and intricate questions of specialized concern to the footnotes, therein making Understanding the Fourth Gospel an accessible study of the Gospel for the general reader.

Understanding the Fourth Gospel

Literature & Fiction

Classics

Is historical criticism of the New Testament dead? In this telling collection of eight new studies on John's Gospel, the author of the acclaimed Understanding the Fourth Gospel argues that this is very far from the case. Challenging the assumptions of methodologies that ignore the historical context in which the Gospel was composed, Ashton offers a spirited defense of historical criticism and provides practical demonstrations of the many new insights that it can still yield. The first two chapters treat in greater depth two key themes (the Prologue of John and the Jews) which appeared in the author's earlier work. A third chapter supplements and corrects this larger work. The rest of the book explores further facets of the Gospel, and at the same time exposes some of the serious theoretical weaknesses in much recent writing on the Gospel.

Studying John: Approaches to the Fourth Gospel

Religion & Spirituality

Christian Books & Bibles

The first comprehensive study of St. John's Gospel in forty years, this book provides new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Baltmann regarded as the two great riddles of the Gospel: its position in the history of Christian thought, and its central or governing idea. Ashton provides translations of all non-English quotations, and confines detailed exegetical arguments and intricate questions of specialized concern to the footnotes, therein making Understanding the Fourth Gospel an accessible study of the Gospel for the general reader.

Is historical criticism of the New Testament dead? In this telling collection of eight new studies on John's Gospel, the author of the acclaimed Understanding the Fourth Gospel argues that this is very far from the case. Challenging the assumptions of methodologies that ignore the historical context in which the Gospel was composed, Ashton offers a spirited defense of historical criticism and provides practical demonstrations of the many new insights that it can still yield. The first two chapters treat in greater depth two key themes (the Prologue of John and the Jews) which appeared in the author's earlier work. A third chapter supplements and corrects this larger work. The rest of the book explores further facets of the Gospel, and at the same time exposes some of the serious theoretical weaknesses in much recent writing on the Gospel.

Clarendon Press

Public health issues are rarely out of the news. The 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Grenfell Tower fire, new designer drugs, outbreaks of Ebola, and links between social media and mental health, occupy our thoughts and our screens. However, awareness of these events as public health issues is a recent phenomenon; for many years after the Second World War, the history of the field was eclipsed by advances in clinical science and patient care. In Practising PublicHealth: An Eyewitness Account, John Ashton sets the record straight. The former Regional Director of Public Health in the North West of England, and co-founder of the WHO HealthyCities Project, shares his adventures and experiences as a leader in public health at a time of unprecedented change and challenge. He presents case studies from the frontline of public health, and tells stories that are now part of modern history. Fighting for a better public health at community, national, and international levels, John shows us how public engagement and partnership goes hand in hand with political action. The stories in this book illustrate theimportance of using your imagination, challenging the status quo, and thinking on your feet when initiating change. John also reveals the thinking behind his renowned hands-on approach to public health, andexplains why he insists on bridging the gap between theory and practice. Practising Public Health connects the work of nineteenth century public health giants to that of today's twenty first century pioneers, taking time to reflect over, dissect and highlight the events, decisions and people involved in its development. With case studies and story-telling, this book is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate public health courses worldwide. It is alsoof high value to other health professional groups such as nurses and health visitors, social workers and community development activists, as well as politicians and policy makers.

Practising Public Health: An Eyewitness Account

Health, Fitness & Dieting

In this fully revised new edition of a pioneering study of John's gospel, John Ashton explores fresh topics and takes account of the latest scholarly debates. Ashton argues first that the thought-world of the gospel is Jewish, not Greek, and secondly that the text is many-layered, not simple, and composed over an extended period as the evangelist responded to the changing situation of the community he was addressing. Ashton seeks to provide new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Bultmann called the two great riddles of the gospel: its position in the development of Christian thought and its central or governing idea. In arguing that the first of these should be concerned rather with Jewish thought Ashton offers a partial answer to the most important and fascinating of all the questions confronted by New Testament scholarship: how did Christianity emerge from Judaism? Bultmann's second riddle is exegetical, and concerns the message of the book. Ashton's answer highlights a generally neglected feature of the gospel's concept of revelation: its debt to Jewish apocalyptic.

In this fully revised new edition of a pioneering study of John's gospel, John Ashton explores fresh topics and takes account of the latest scholarly debates. Ashton argues first that the thought-world of the gospel is Jewish, not Greek, and secondly that the text is many-layered, not simple, and composed over an extended period as the evangelist responded to the changing situation of the community he was addressing. Ashton seeks to provide new and coherent answers to what Rudolf Bultmann called the two great riddles of the gospel: its position in the development of Christian thought and its central or governing idea. In arguing that the first of these should be concerned rather with Jewish thought Ashton offers a partial answer to the most important and fascinating of all the questions confronted by New Testament scholarship: how did Christianity emerge from Judaism? Bultmann's second riddle is exegetical, and concerns the message of the book. Ashton's answer highlights a generally neglected feature of the gospel's concept of revelation: its debt to Jewish apocalyptic.

Words, Language & Grammar

This collection of posthumously published essays by John Ashton manifests his ongoing exegetical work at the end of his life. The essays explore themes arising from his groundbreaking study, Understanding the Fourth Gospel, which John Ashton intended to be preceded by an intellectual autobiography contextualizing this study both in the wider context of biblical scholarship and the particularities of his life. This in itself is an unusual contribution and it sheds much light not only on the current state of Johannine studies but also on the situation of those involved with both church and academy in the closing decades of the twentieth century.

Discovering John: Essays by John Ashton

James Clarke

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ashton, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Ashton, John

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Ashton, John. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Quest For Paradise: Visions of Heaven and Eternity in the World's Myths and Religions

The [Oxford] Encyclopedia of Healthy Cities and Communities

Understanding the Fourth Gospel

Studying John: Approaches to the Fourth Gospel

Understanding the Fourth Gospel

Studying John: Approaches to the Fourth Gospel

Practising Public Health: An Eyewitness Account

Understanding the Fourth Gospel

Understanding the Fourth Gospel

Discovering John: Essays by John Ashton