A Search for a Theology of Resuscitation

This is an attempt to search for a theology to underpin the ethics of resuscitation. Because reference is sometimes made to resuscitation being attempted in the Bible the Search examines the Old and New Testament for instances of resuscitation or revival from the dead which may shed light on such theology. However it is also contended thatin the time before Christ it was life in this world which was prizedand that it was only towards the end of the Old Testament era there was the beginning of a perception of resurrection after death to a different sphere of existence. Following the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ it was eternal life that was to be the goal of living. This it is contendedis why there is a dearth of material in Christian Tradition on any reference to a value of revival to life in this world. It is also contended that in Christian Tradition up until approximately the last century there is always a fundamental acknowledgment of God as the Author of life and the Arbiter of death. However in modern times the emphasis which has been laid on the autonomy of the individual is encouraging people to replace and edge out God thus twisting the first strand of theological underpinning of the ethics out of recognition. An additional strand of theology is uncovered in that the biblical recorded resuscitations were all carried out for some purposwe or for the benefit of someone other than the person being revived although the person themselves may have derived some indirect benefit.