Equipped for Every Good Work: The Use of Scripture in Bioethical Decision Making (original) (raw)
Related papers
Iranian Journal of Biomedical Law and Ethics, 2020
Background: Application of modern medical and bio sciences and also that of modern biotechnologies to human life, during the last decades, have left impact on and indeed changed traditional religious and moral attitudes. Use of such sciences and technologies has given rise to unprecedented moral and religious discussions which could not be justified and fruitful without taking into consideration of foundations of moral judgments. This is more significant in Islamic societies in which religion plays a considerable role in formation of moral beliefs and legal rules. Methods: This research is a philosophical study by means of conceptual and critical analysis. Results: Taking into account recent biotechnological developments and normative problems arising from them, it is necessary to study religious and moral approaches to these problems and evaluate various types of theorizing on bioethical problems. Conclusion: In this paper, upon discussing and evaluating (religious) theological and textualist approaches to bioethics, it is attempted to put forth a justifiable religious approach to bioethical problems.
Christian Bioethics: From Foundations to the Future
Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality, 2020
The papers in this issue of Christian Bioethics explore and challenge taken-for-granted ideas that inform judgments about the nature of Christian bioethics, the nature of Christian clinicians’ and healthcare organizations’ obligations, and the nature of who we are. In doing so, these leading scholars in the field address some of the most fundamental questions in Christian bioethics scholarship today.
Bioethics, Theological Bioethics, and Human Life
Philippiniana Sacra
On this study, I will reflect on "Bioethics, Theological Bioethics, and Human Life." I will deal first with the nature of bioethics; then with theological bioethics; and, finally, with human life as the central concern of bioethics. There is not need to insist on the relevance of bioethics. We read newspapers, magazines and journals of public interest; we watch the news on television or movies; we navigate on the web..., what do we read and see very often? Issues and problems directly connected with bioethics. A few examples: Dolly the sheep and human cloning, Dr. Kevorkian, and physician assisted suicide (PAS), the Human Genome Project (to map and sequence our genetic code), IVF and ET (in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, respectively), Baby Fae with a baboon heart and organ transplants and xenotransplants (or organ transplants from other species of animals to humans), surrogate motherhood (imagine: a child today may have five parents), genetic engineering and so forth. And the latest issue? A possible implantation of brain chips to improve mental capacity and memory. Facing these issues, the ethical question is: What can he done should it be done? Is it right, good? A challenging question in our world dominated by science and technology!
Theologians at the Bedside: On the Role of Theology in Contemporary Bioethical Discourse
Caritas et Veritas, 2018
The article discusses the role and mission of theologians in contemporary bioethical discourse. Christian bioethicists turn out to be the odd ones out in any academic discourse from a methodological perspective, however, this peripheral position can also be viewed as a privileged situation. They can act with exceptional freedom in domains which require cooperation between diff erent disciplines, such as bioethics. Moral theologians can contribute most if they make use of this role of being the odd-one-out, with the attitude of having nothing to lose, and by placing relationships, the vulnerable, faith, everyday life experience , and the uncommon at the centre of the discourse. They can go beyond the limits of bioethical conversations centred on legal and medical questions bringing in viewpoints inspired by the long tradition of the praxis of the Church.
Bioethics and Reason in a Secular Society: Reclaiming Christian Bioethics
Conatus, 2018
Bioethics evolved from traditional physician ethics and theological ethics. It has become important in contemporary discussions of Medicine and ethics. But in contemporary secular societies the foundations of bioethics are minimal in their content and often rely on procedural ethics. The bioethics of particular communities, particularly religious communities, are richer than the procedural ethics of a secular society. Religious bioethics, situated within religious communities, are richer in content in general and in the lived reality.
The Development of Bioethics in the Context of the Christian Spiritual Tradition
2021
The article aims to explicate the Christian spiritual tradition in the context of philosophical-religious and bioethical discourse. The methodological basis of the work is an interdisciplinary approach, philosophical and generally scientific methods: systemic, dialectical, historical, hermeneutics, comparative analysis, etc., the principles of objectivity, confessional unbiasedness, world outlook, and methodological pluralism inherent in modern religious studies. As a result of the research, three levels of integration ties were identified and analyzed: interdisciplinary synthesis within individual groups of sciences; between disciplines belonging to different groups of sciences (natural, humanitarian, social, technical); the tendency towards the convergence of science and various forms of extra-scientific knowledge, religion, inherent in the education of bioethics as an integrated direction of modern knowledge. It is grounded that the basis of this process should be a model of comp...
(Re)-Emerging Challenges in Christian Bioethics: Leading Voices in Christian Bioethics
Christian bioethics: Non-Ecumenical Studies in Medical Morality
This is the third installment in a Christian Bioethics series that gathers leading voices in Christian bioethics to examine the themes and issues they find most pressing. The papers address fundamental theoretical questions about the nature of Christian bioethics itself, long-standing ethical issues that remain significant today, including physician-assisted suicide, euthanasia, the definition of death, the allocation of scarce resources, and finally, more futuristic questions regarding transhumanism. The contributions underscore the enduring significance of Christian engagement in bioethics.
God’s Story and Bioethics: The Christian Witness to The Reconciled World
Christian Bioethics, 2015
In this article, I seek to put Engelhardt's work on Christian bioethics in the wider context. First, I discuss some fundamental issues inextricably linked to his work: the difference and relation of a "secular world" to the Christian notion of the "world," the difference and relation between the concepts of "history" given with human "progress" appearing in the field of bioethics, in contrast to the Christian understanding of God's story with His "world." These issues will be discussed in connection with the philosophical work of Karl Löwith and Jürgen Habermas, among others. Next, I critically discuss Engelhardt's genealogical account of "modernity," in order to draw-with agreement-attention to this genealogy's implications for the Christian epistemology needed for a proper understanding of human nature (the conditio humana). Discursive rational argument is not enough to secure a proper understanding of human nature, says Engelhardt. Yet, it will be shown that through the practice of Christian witness as a "good work"-which brings along with it different essential modes of understanding human nature-the Christian can encounter secular public discourse. I examine how the witness of a Christian ethos may contribute indispensable insights for public and secular discourse; this witness, I argue, implies radical consequences for medical research and treatment. Despite my general agreement with his work, one of my central theses will be that Engelhardt rests content too early in embracing an empty procedural account of the justice that can be achieved by the state. Christian witness can and ought to contribute more than this. 1