Not to be confused with football player James Fredrerick Thrower

James Arthur Thrower (1936–1999)[1][2][3][4] was an academic and writer on religion.

After studying at the University of Durham (BA Theology)[5] and University of Oxford (Philosophy),[6] he lectured at the University of Leicester, University of Ghana, and University of Durham.[7] He became a lecturer in religion at the University of Aberdeen in 1970.[6] His PhD thesis there in 1981 was on Marxist-Leninist 'Scientific Atheism' and the Study of Religion and Atheism in the USSR.[1] He worked as a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Helsinki, Leningrad and Warsaw.[8] He later became Professor of the History of Religions and Director of the Centre for Study of Religions at Aberdeen. His works include A Short History of Western Atheism (1971), The Alternative Tradition (1981)[6] and Religion: The Classical Theories (1999).[9] In 1996 he wrote the foreword for Steuart Campbell's work The Rise and Fall of Jesus, which examines the Jesus myth and the origins of Christianity. It suggests that Jesus wanted to be crucified.[10] He died suddenly on 14 November 1999,[11] and his wife, Judith, died in 2016.[12] They had three children, Penelope, Charlotte and Annabel.[13]

Reza Aslan used Thrower as an example of someone who thought that atheism was a belief system in its own right and not just a negation of belief.[14]

References

  1. 1 2 "Dissertation Notices" (PDF). Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "Academic Author: Thrower, James". Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  3. ↑ Cox, James L.; Sutcliffe, Steven J. (2006). "Religious studies in Scotland: A persistent tension with divinity". Religion. 36: 1–28. doi:10.1016/j.religion.2005.12.001.
  4. ↑ "Thrower, James (1936-) - People and organisations - Trove". Retrieved 24 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Results of Final Examinations held in June 1958". Durham University Gazette. 5 (New series) (1): 106. November 1957. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 Clarke, Paul A. B.; Linzey, Andrew (2013). Dictionary of Ethics, Theology and Society. Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 9781136121005.
  7. ↑ Berner, Ulrich; Bochinger, Christoph (2004). European Traditions in the Study of Religion in Africa. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 258. ISBN 9783447050029.
  8. ↑ Thrower, James (1980). The Alternative Tradition: Religion and the Rejection of Religion in the Ancient World. Religion and society. Vol. 18. Walter de Gruyter. p. 291. ISBN 9789027979971.
  9. ↑ "Religion - Edinburgh University Press". Retrieved 22 October 2017.
  10. ↑ The Rise and Fall of Jesus. Explicit Books. 1996. ISBN 978-0952151210.
  11. ↑ "Death notices". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 18 November 1999.
  12. ↑ "Family Announcements, THROWER - Deaths - Announcements". Aberdeen Press and Journal. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  13. ↑ Thrower, James (1983). "Dedication". Marxist-Leninist 'Scientific Atheism' and the Study of Religion and Atheism in the USSR. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110838589.
  14. ↑ Aslan, Reza (21 November 2014). "Reza Aslan: Sam Harris and "New Atheists" aren't new, aren't even atheists - Salon.com". Salon. Retrieved 28 November 2017.


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