Engelhardt as Sectarian: An Evangelical Protestant Consideration of After God
In this article, I argue that while Christians should share Engelhardt's disappointment in how bioethics functions in the world, they should not share his exasperation. I begin by outlining the general argument in After God, its understanding of secularism, and of how such secularism has impact...
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Format: | Electronic Review |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2017]
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In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2017, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 200-218 |
Review of: | After God (Yonkers, New York : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2017) (Thobaben, James R.)
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RelBib Classification: | CH Christianity and Society NCH Medical ethics VA Philosophy |
Further subjects: | B
Book review
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Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
Summary: | In this article, I argue that while Christians should share Engelhardt's disappointment in how bioethics functions in the world, they should not share his exasperation. I begin by outlining the general argument in After God, its understanding of secularism, and of how such secularism has impacted bioethics. Next, I suggest that Englehardt appears to lean toward disengagement or at least an extremely suspicious sectarianism. Rather, I claim that it is possible for Christians to morally engage in a useful way with others and still base their own moral activity on proper life telos. Such cooperation is not to serve a commonly-held ultimate purpose, but shared proximate ends. That said, the moral discourse with those outside the Church may be necessarily limited by shallow moral acquaintanceship. I argue that the concept of "middle axioms" can be used as a mechanism for engagement with others in this society. Importantly, this approach does not require abandoning distinctive Christian commitments and foundational assumptions. |
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ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbx005 |