Reading the Bible in the Strange World of Medicine

by Allen Verhey

Author of such major books as Remembering Christian Community, Scripture, and the Moral Life , Allen Verhey has become one of today's most trusted Christian voices in contemporary ethics, including the moral challenges that new medical technologies pose to Christian faith and decision-making.

With this new book Verhey brings the biblical tradition to bear on contemporary bioethical concerns. Drawing on an unmatched depth of insight in these two realms, Verhey explores how the Bible can illuminate and guide medical ethics. He argues that churches are called to think and speak clearly about bioethical concerns, and he lays out here the scriptural tools for them to do so. After firmly grounding Christian ethical discourse in Scripture, Verhey shows how the Bible can be applied to such pressing questions as suffering, genetic intervention, abortion, reproductive technologies, end-of-life care, physician-assisted suicide, and more.

Filled with faith-based wisdom and apt illustrations of the moral dilemmas discussed, this book is a must-read for Christians grappling with the ethical dimensions of medicine today.

Genres: Theology, Christianity

Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Marie Butson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone could write about the necessary contributions of Christianity to the journey of dying, it was the late Allen Verhey. He puts forward the old tradition of the "Ars Morendi", the spiritual guide to those who are in the process of dying and their loved ones, as a tradition to be renewed. In light of our culture's deeply ingrained denial of death and our leaving it to medicine to botch it up, this book presents a challenge to us to face our end and prepare for it with wisdom and love.

[Matthew Loftus · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic overview of how the Bible speaks to current issues and problems in bioethics, with an appropriate amount of skepticism for mainstream bioethics' emphasis on rights and consent. Would be a fantastic primary course text for a medical ethics class.