Introduction: Bioethics and Theology

This chapter reviews the role of religion in bioethics and proposes a new way forward, which, in terms of methodology, will be outlined in chapter 1. What this books adds—how it is different from most accounts of theological bioethics—is that this is a work of what the author calls pastoral aesthetics. Specifically, the distinguishing feature of this book is its employment of pastoral theology (via a distinct interdisciplinary method of correlation) in bioethics. The chapter begins with a review of how bioethics has been defined and then makes an argument for the reintroduction of religion to the field. The author uses Gilbert Meilaender’s Bioethics: A Primer for Christians as an example of religion’s role in bioethics and juxtaposes Meilaender’s view with those of feminist theological ethicists Beverly Harrison and Shirley Cloyes. Finally, the author outlines the structure of the book, which aligns with the four principles in Tom Beauchamp and James Childress’s Principles of Biomedical Ethics.

ABORTION AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: A RESPONSE TO BEVERLY HARRISON

Can one consistently oppose abortion on moral grounds, yet think the death penalty is morally acceptable?

‘Our bodies, our selves?’ The body as source in feminist theology

This article is, in part, an effort to come to terms with the ubiquitous celebration of embodiment in feminist discourse, and particularly within feminist theology. It will begin with a brief introduction to some of the key concepts in feminist theology and its use of the body, beginning with the body theologies of those who might now be called ‘second-wave’ theologians – Carter Heyward and Beverly Harrison. From here, I will consider postmodern feminist challenges to the reified and essentialised body as I examine what I call the subversive body in third-wave or postmodern feminism, both secular and theological. Finally, I shall move from these to an alternative construal of the importance of the body through the consideration of Christian bodily practices. Such an alternative will allow me to reflect upon what it is to become a specifically Christian body through church practices. I shall then endeavour to return to the critical concerns raised by feminism about the subjugation of women's bodies in the church as I consider the resources that might be available within the tradition itself for critical and emancipatory practices toward women and other strangers within the Body of Christ.