Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions

“Bioethics and the Christian Life provides a much-needed guide to the difficult area of Christian clinical bioethics. While many well-meaning Christians present bioethics for marionette puppets (with God pulling the strings) and secularists claim that we are the masters of our fate and captains of our soul, VanDrunen does the hard work of guiding his reader to exercise autonomy responsibly within God's revealed will in the Bible. Here is rich guidance to help the patient, family member, pastor, or clinician to think Christianly and find biblically sound answers to the vexing problems of bioethics.”

“Dr. VanDrunen adds significantly and positively to the bioethical conversation in ways that will help every pastor and every thoughtful Christian to think through issues of life and death. He interacts with contemporary biotechnology and bioethics and asks the difficult questions, giving thoughtful, nuanced answers based on sound orthodox theology and Christian virtue. What distinguishes this book is that particular issues are not approached in isolation from the biblical goal of a well-lived Christian life. Fixed moral truths of God's law do not always yield clear answers to every ethical question, but biblical wisdom enables the Christian to navigate the difficulties and avoid facile answers. VanDrunen is firm in his conclusions when scripture speaks clearly, but he is wisely wary of being dogmatic where scripture is silent. I highly recommend this book. As a primer in Christian ethics it should be the text for a required Christian education course in every church.”

“David VanDrunen's stimulating book on bioethics is a great help to us as we wrestle through some very difficult issues in our day. Discussing everything from cloning, contraception, and stem cell research to health care for the incapacitated and how to decide if treatment should be pursued, VanDrunen shows himself an able guide and wise mentor. These are difficult issues, but he addresses them in a thoughtful and accessible way. One of the most promising aspects of this book is VanDrunen's consistent engagement in fresh biblical exegesis, while also drawing from a natural law tradition, all the while maintaining a focus that is both churchly and relevant for today.”