March 14, 2008

Life Issues in Context

Sometimes I have this internal debate with myself about how to approach bioethics issues such as abortion, stem cell research, euthasia, etc. Will I win over someone's sensibilities by arguing from a more sterile natural law perspective or should I be driven by principles and argue from my Christian worldview which enlists Scripture and reason?

Since I'm arguing with myself, I always win the debate. But seriously...

In a society become more and more secularized, how is it that we can expect peoples views on matters of bioethics to align with those of a Christian perspective if they simply do not cohere with their naturalist paradigm? As we are seeing, our culture is becoming less Christian all the time, society is becoming more consistently pagan in their views of life and death.

This leads me to conclude that matters of bioethics MUST be coupled with the gospel and not addressed in isolation. To truly promote a Christian worldview, we can't be responsible for instilling the idea that these issues are merely Christian values that can be adopted on a whim. These are positions on matters of life and death that have meaning in relationship to our Creator and to the gospel. The context of evangelical bioethics is in our theology, without which there lacks true understanding.

The future of Christian bioethics depends significantly upon revival, for lives to be transformed by the message of Christ. The church is called to step up in this regard, to be the bearers of this message and to address these violations against human dignity. Without a true awakening, without the movement and work of the Holy Spirit, I believe the current debates in bioethics will yield little change in ou culture's love affair with death.
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