Full Description
Just about everyone will face a difficult bioethics decision at some point. In this book a theologian, ethicist, and lawyer equips Christians to make such decisions based on biblical truth, wisdom, and virtue.
Though a relatively new discipline, bioethics has generated extraordinary interest due to a number of socially pressing issues. Bioethics and the Christian Life places bioethics within the holistic context of the Christian life, both developing a general Christian approach to making bioethics decisions and addressing a number of specific, controversial areas of bioethics.
Clear, concise, and well-organized, the book is divided into three sections. The first lays the theological foundation for bioethics decision making and discusses the importance of wisdom and virtue in working through these issues. The second section addresses beginning-of-life issues, such as abortion, stem-cell research, and infertility treatments. The third section covers end-of-life issues, such as living wills, accepting and refusing medical treatment, and treatment of patients in permanent vegetative states.
Contents
Preface
Introduction: The Christian Confronts Bioethics
Part 1: Foundations of Bioethics
Christianity and Health Care in a Fallen World
Theological Doctrines
Christian Virtues
Part 2: The Beginning of Life
Marriage, Procreation, and Contraception
Assisted Reproduction
The Human Embryo
Part 3: The End of Life
Approaching Death: Dying as a Way of Life
Suicide, Euthanasia, and the Distinction between Killing and Letting Die
Accepting and Forgoing Treatment
Conclusion (with a Bibliographic Essay)
General Index
Scripture Index
