Millennial dreams and moral dilemmas: Seventh-Day adventism and contemporary ethics
Technological developments on many fronts have created in our society some extremely difficult moral predicaments. Previous generations have not had to face the dilemmas posed by, for example, the availability of safe abortions, sperm banks and prostoglandins. They have not had to come to terms with...
Summary: | Technological developments on many fronts have created in our society some extremely difficult moral predicaments. Previous generations have not had to face the dilemmas posed by, for example, the availability of safe abortions, sperm banks and prostoglandins. They have not had to come to terms with an unchecked exploitation of natural resources heralding imminent ecological crisis, or, worst of all, with the recognition that only in this current generation have people the capacity to destroy themselves and their environment. This book seeks to show how, and why, Seventh-day Adventism has addressed these moral issues, and that the ethical questions arising from these issues are especially relevant to the Adventist Church and its development. Dr Pearson looks specifically at the moral decisions Adventists have made in the area of human sexuality, on such issues as contraception, abortion, the role and status of women, divorce and homosexuality, from the beginnings of the movement to 1985. I. Introduction -- Confrontation with the issues -- II. Major influences in Adventist moral thought -- Advent and remnant: two major doctrinal influences -- Keeping the family together: stable homes and a united church -- A cultural legacy: Victorian and American -- III. Issues of human sexuality -- Marital relations among Adventists: the pursuit of purity -- Adventists and intimacy: the celebration of sex -- Adventists and abortion: early hostility -- Abortion: tensions in the institutionalized church -- Early Adventists women: int he shadow of the prophetess -- Adventists women in the modern church: the pain of liberation -- Divorce in Adventism: a perennial problem -- Divorcing and enforcing: problems with principles and procedures -- Homosexuality: the sin unnamed among Adventists -- Homosexuality in Adventism: sin, disease or preference? -- IV. Postscript -- Adventism in transition |
---|---|
Item Description: | Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015) |
ISBN: | 0511554745 |
Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511554742 |