DESCRIPTION: In our age of technology, the most fundamental issues concerning the beginning of life (e.g. prenatal screening, abortion, reproductive technologies, embryonic stem cell research), and death (e.g. active and passive euthanasia, organ and tissue donation, quality vs. quantity of life) have become dizzyingly complicated. This course offers an opportunity to investigate both secular and religious approaches, with an emphasis on how Christians uniquely understand these issues in light of our faith.

COURSE OBJECTIVES/LEARNING OUTCOMES: (1) Students will gain a rudimentary understanding of the biology and science involved in bioethical issues. (2) They will reflect on the intersection of Christian faith and technology, learning from Church tradition and biblical texts even as they recognize the unique ethical challenges of our era. (3) Students will be equipped to discuss with believers and nonbelievers the complexities of these moral issues. (4) Through thoughtful discussion and reasoned arguments, students will develop a distinctively Christian framework by which they can analyze and respond to bioethical issues. (5) By intellectually and prayerfully considering these issues, students can better witness to their hope in Christ as they support others facing difficult decisions or encounter such situations themselves.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: This course focuses not only on cognitive ethical arguments surrounding these issues but also on the responsibility of Christians to be a compassionate presence in a culturally, religiously, and morally pluralistic world. At the very least, all of us face our own death. This course should therefore be relevant to missionaries, lay people, therapists, ministers--all who wish to offer Christian hope and healing amidst the joys and sadnesses that arise at the beginning and end of life.

COURSE FORMAT: The course will consist of interactive lectures with occasional movies and documentaries. Guest speakers will share from their experiences as patients, hospital chaplains, and the like. The course will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions for ten weeks. Note: Students must read assigned material not only to facilitate discussion but to assure their academic success on occasional quizzes.

REQUIRED READING:

Anderson, Ray. Theology of Death and Dying. Fuller Seminary Press, 1986.

Kilner, John F., Paige C. Cunningham, and W. David Hager, eds. The Reproduction Revolution: A Christian Appraisal of Sexuality, Reproductive Technologies, and the Family. Eerdmans, 2000.

O'Rourke, K. D., and Philip Boyle. Medical Ethics: Sources of Catholic Teaching. Georgetown University Press, 1999.

Pence, Gregory. Classic Cases in Medical Ethics: Accounts of Cases That Have Shaped Medical Ethics, with Philosophical, Legal, and Historical Backgrounds. McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Verhey, Allen. Reading the Bible in the Strange World of Medicine. Eerdmans, 2003.

Course Reader.

Bregman, L. Beyond Silence and Denial: Death & Dying Reconsidered. Westminster John Knox, 1999.

Buchannan, Allen, et al. From Change to Choice: Genetics and Justice. Cambridge, 2000.

Nuland, Sherwin. How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter. Vintage Press, 1993.

Smith, D. H. & C. B. Cohen, eds. A Christian Response to the New Genetics. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.

1. Several quizzes focusing on rudimentary "facts" of science surrounding bioethical issues and on the basic outline of theological or philosophical arguments articulated by various authors (40%);

2. An extensive plan for an education series or presentation targeting a church audience (25%);

3. A 10-15 page research paper (35%).