Science, Biological, Medical (genetics, illness/mental illness, death)

[1] The very forces that bring living species into existence –including us!– also bring cancer into being. Specifically, the forces of chance (random occurrences) and necessity (law-like regularities) are required for human life, and they are also what make cancer possible. This unnerving finding from the biological sciences is the brutal fact explained and addressed […]

In 2010, a controversy erupted over the draft of a new social statement on genetics, as some people in farming communities claimed the document labeled using genetically engineered crops as sinful. Glenna and Stofferahn use this case study as a jumping off point to dive into what libertarianism looks like the United States today, particularly in an agrarian context. Can this political stance on the common good be compatible with Christianity?

What does it mean to die well in this culture? Last January that question brought together nearly 50 Lutheran ethicists, pastors, chaplains, hospital and hospice care-givers at the annual Lutheran Ethicists’ Gathering for a rich and wide-ranging discussion. The April and May issues of JLE are dedicated to sharing key insights for its audience by presenters to the Gathering. Like sharing news of a superb hole-in-the wall restaurant, we want others to benefit from the excellent fare of last January.

In her article, Schmidt examines the document “A time to live, and a time to die” a document created and adopted by Community of Protestant Churches in Europe. Grounded in Protestant theology, the document intends to guide the leaders and parishioners of CPCE’s member churches to think about this complex ethical issue, considering both the public voice of the church as an institution and for people struggling with these issues in th​eir own families.

Luther’s sermons and letters of pastoral counsel speak eloquently about the ability of faithful Christians to face death confidently trusting God’s promises in the Gospel. In that spirit, the ELCA adopted a social message on “End-of-Life Decisions” in 1992 that picks up this tradition of speaking honestly and faithfully to issues faced by the dying and their loved ones. As a hospital chaplain, Klink explores the gifts of the 1992 message and ponders​ what issues and questions might need further work from a Lutheran perspective given the changes in technological, medical and social climate over the last two decades.

Veatch, Robert. Hippocratic, Religious and Secular Medical Ethics: Points of Conflict. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press 2012.

What does it mean to die well in this culture? While far too many people never have the opportunity to face that question because their lives are snuffed out, it is being asked with greater urgency and frequency as contemporary societies become more scientifically and medically sophisticated.

Over time, we have moved from a model where doctors have the final say in end-of-life care to patients having ultimate decision-making power. Though both of these have benefits, neither inherently consider the family members involved, or the ways in which hopice and palliative care have developed in recent decades. Doka argues for an ecological approach to end-of-life care in which each of these dimensions is taken into consideration to ensure that the ecosystem of a person’s life–including the grief process of their family–is taken into consideration when preparing for a patient’s passing.

In the Christian tradition, pastoral care to the dying has a long history. ​​Reinis particularly explores ​​the medieval literary genre of self-help books known as the ars moriendi, or “art of dying.” Martin Luther contributed to this genre with his Sermon on Preparing to Die (1519); dozens of Lutheran pastors, among them Wenzeslaus Linck in Nuremberg and Martin Moller in G​​örlitz, followed in his footsteps. All of them offered spiritual comfort to the dying in ways that addressed contemporary concerns. The recently-published The Divine Art of Dying (2014) by Karen Speerstra and Herbert A​nderson heralds a long-overdue renaissance of this genre. Reinis considers how ​the practices of the past can inform our actions today in our increasingly secularized society.

Evans, Abigail Rian. Is God Still at the Bedside? The Medical, Ethical, and Pastoral Issues of Death and Dying. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011. Pp. ix + 484. $22.23.