Christian Bioethics and the Bible

Abstract

This essay responds to Tristram Engelhardt’s critique of Christian bioethics. There is much to be commended in his essay, particularly his concern that Christian bioethics has failed to be authentically and distinctively Christian. To address such concerns, my essay argues that greater prominence needs to be given to the Bible in Christian bioethics. This would involve several challenges and difficulties, some of which are reviewed. Given the centrality of Scripture to Christian life and practice, including ethics, its use should be encouraged within Christian bioethics. Such an undertaking requires an approach to using Scripture, which the grammatico-historical method provides. This approach is described briefly, with resources for further study referenced. The approach is then applied to a small number of examples to demonstrate the rich source of distinctive insight that the Bible brings to Christian bioethics.