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Who am I? It is one of life's basic questions and it has troubled philosophers through the centuries. One aspect of the answer lies in working out what it is to be a person. This is not just of academic interest. Your conclusion will affect the way you think about...
Putting principles into practice Autonomy: rights balanced with responsibilities I believe Christians can give considerable support to autonomy in so far as it endorses the unique value of each human being - someone created in the image of God (Gn 1:26-7) and for whom alone Christ died (Jn 3:16). However, Christians would...
Is it ever ethical to withdraw nutrition from patients? Are there circumstances in which treatment can be legitimately withdrawn? Is feeding a form of medical treatment? At present the law is open to interpretation on these issues. However, a court can declare that it is lawful to withdraw medical assistance...
The ethical dilemmas faced by health professionals in the developing world ultimately revolve around two main problems: not enough money, and not enough time. There is not enough money to do the job that needs to be done, and there is not enough time in which to do it. This...
A good friend of mine, aged 82, whose life had been characterised by humour, independence and good health, suffered a severe stroke. He had few relatives and lived alone. When admitted to hospital he was stuporose and paralysed on one side. During the next six weeks, until he died, there...
Some points to make: Extramarital conceptions have increased rather than decreased since the advent of contraception. Many young people don't use contraception or don't use it properly. It doesn't protect you from emotional hurt, or sexually transmitted disease (if hormonal). Some methods act after conception.
It is easy to get steamed up and emotional and lose a discussion by sheer lack of tact. Alternatively, we can win the argument but lose the person. Peter exhorts us to give an account of the hope that we have within us with 'gentleness and respect' (1 Pet 3:15)....
Does the end ever justify the means? Secular ethicists classically divide ways of making ethical decision-making into two categories: deontological and consequentialist. The deontologist judges an action right or wrong on the basis of whether it conforms to a set of rules or principles. Immanuel Kant was one of the...
Understanding God's word is a life-long task and we are all on a journey in our understanding. But there are some general principles, which will help us not to make too many errors. 1. Scripture is authoritative as originally given. Translations which distort the original meaning of the text do not...
