Ethics of Pastoral Ministry in Medical Care

Question 1

Thesis statement

Answer 1

Questions such as doctor assisted suicide, in vitro fertilization, etc. stretch our ability as Christians to respond with reason and biblical insight.

Question 2

Why do Christians have to respond?

Answer 2

• It is our responsibility (we need to be salt and light)
• Relevant for the social issues of our day.
• We are to base our positions on specific passages of scripture, but many of the issues we are facing were unknown to the biblical authors, therefore cannot help us through the maze of current bioethical difficulties.
• Therefore we must find our answers by considering implicit principles that will guide us through the thorny questions of our day

Question 3

Term Paradigm

Answer 3

• Currently being used to describe ways of looking at the world
• Use springs from writings of Thomas Kuhn’s “Structure of Scientific Revolutions”
• Scientific community adopts a paradigm through which it views the natural world
• Paradigms are not just personal, they are communal

Question 4

Kuhn’s theory

Answer 4

Holds the paradigm of the scientific community tends to delineate the body of data and theories that are to be accepted

Question 5

Why we should understand our philosophical position

Answer 5

• In order to articulate our views to those outside the church we need to speak their language
• If we confine our discussion to the theological aspects of the paradigm we may fail to speak to our secular culture.