Theology Disability And The New Genetics

A unique text which focuses on the theory and practice of the church, as it engages with the complex issues that are emerging in response to new genetic technology.

As society becomes progressively dominated by an ideology of healthy living, Matt Edmonds makes a vital critique of contemporary efforts to remove 'disability' from the world around us. Surveying the logic and language of both secular and religious health movements, Edmonds highlights the misplaced generalisations and dubious values that cumulatively serve to undermine individual inclusion and well-being on a day-to-day basis. 'A Theological Diagnosis' seeks a new direction. From the resources of Christian theology it finds a paradigm with which to examine the infections of genetic theory, faith healing and the meaning of 'disability' so as to prescribe a way forward for both believer and non-believer alike. Combining history, theology and thoughtful analysis, this is a prescription that none of us can afford to ignore. Quite simply, there is little time left.

A biologist and a Christian theologian examine the scientific and philosophical implications and potential impacts of genetic technologies. God, Science, and Designer Genes: An Exploration of Emerging Technologies provides a unique approach to the central ethical dilemma in contemporary science, offering both an up-to-date account of the current state of genetic technologies and insightful discussions of the moral/theological questions these technologies raise. Coauthored by professors of biology and theology, God, Science, and Designer Genes examines a range of from-the-headlines issues, including the relationship between science and religion, "designing" our children, stem-cell research, cloning, genetics and behavior, genetics and privacy, and using genetic technologies for social justice. Who should benefit—personally and financially—from DNA technology? Who might be harmed? How do we protect individual rights and guard against discrimination? How will embryo modification affect the identity of those so modified? God, Science, and Designer Genes gives readers an eloquent, thoughtful, and objective foundation for considering these and other questions about the potential conflict between scientific achievement, personal faith, and social responsibility.

This ground-breaking book uses organizational ethics and stakeholder theory to explore the ethical accountability of leadership in healthcare organizations to their distinct vulnerable stakeholder communities. The book begins with a discussion of the moral agency of healthcare organizations and introduces stakeholder theory. It then looks at key ethical challenges in relation to the confidentiality and privacy of healthcare data, before turning to child health and interventions around issues such as obesity, maltreatment, and parenting. The book ends by focusing on ethics of care in relation to older people and people with disabilities. An insightful contribution to thinking about ethics for contemporary healthcare management and leadership, this interdisciplinary book is of interest to readers with a background in healthcare, business and management, law, bioethics, and theology.

Can the law promote moral values even in pluralistic societies such as the United States? Drawing upon important federal legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, legal scholar and moral theologian Cathleen Kaveny argues that it can. In conversation with thinkers as diverse as Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II, and Joseph Raz, she argues that the law rightly promotes the values of autonomy and solidarity. At the same time, she cautions that wise lawmakers will not enact mandates that are too far out of step with the lived moral values of the actual community. According to Kaveny, the law is best understood as a moral teacher encouraging people to act virtuously, rather than a police officer requiring them to do so. In Law’s Virtues Kaveny expertly applies this theoretical framework to the controversial moral-legal issues of abortion, genetics, and euthanasia. In addition, she proposes a moral analysis of the act of voting, in dialogue with the election guides issued by the US bishops. Moving beyond the culture wars, this bold and provocative volume proposes a vision of the relationship of law and morality that is realistic without being relativistic and optimistic without being utopian.

This book provides pastors, seminarians, and interested laity with the background necessary to understand the need for disability ministry and the contexts out of which the church’s ministry among people with disabilities must emerge. This is true not only for descriptions of ministries over the past sixty years, but also the challenges disability poses for biblical studies, church history, Christian theology, and ethics. Insights are gained not only from mainstream secular and religious sources but from evangelical and other conservative materials. The blending of items from different religious resources reveals just how ubiquitous disability is and the need for disability ministry—now and for many years into the future. The book’s format is such that either it can serve as a text for courses on disability ministry, or individual chapters can be employed in various courses on selected topics in biblical studies, history, theology, and ethics. Pastors and lay leaders will enjoy the depth of coverage for each topic. This is a book about a serious subject, for serious readers. Its materials are designed to inform, stimulate, and promote disability ministry as a topic worthy of serious study.

This book provides a framework for a new theology of disability which begins with the notion that limits are an unsurprising element of human life. This profoundly challenges common sense categories of disabled and non-disabled and offers significant new images and possibilities for theological reflection and action