“It becomes every person who purposes to give himself to the care of others, seriously to consider the four following things: First, that he must one day give an account to the Supreme Judge for all the lives entrusted to his care. Second, that all his skill and knowledge and energy, as they have been […]

With gratitude to God, faith in Christ Jesus, and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I publicly profess my intent to practice medicine for the glory of God. With humility, I will seek to increase my skills. I will respect those who teach me and who broaden my knowledge. In turn, I will freely impart my […]

Listen to Dr. Daniel Sulmasy’s September 25, 2013 lecture at Harvard Divinity School. Dr. Sulmasy, Kilbride-Clinton Professor of Medicine and Ethics at the University of Chicago, engages the intersection of health, medicine, and the academic study of religion to provide an answer to the question, “Is Health Care a Spiritual Discipline?” Review by The Initiative […]

Medicine is a genuine ministry. All one need to do is to read the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles to know that the ministry of Jesus and his early disciples was a ministry of preaching and healing. Similarly, St. Francis of Assisi and the early friars preached in city squares and cared for […]

Robert D. Orr “How do we make ethical decisions within a health-care context which are both faithful and compassionate? Robert Orr provides us with a vital map of the ethical terrain and guides us carefully and sensitively into the complex area of theology and health-care ethics. Deep, practical, and theologically informed, this book will be […]

Hans S. Reinders Does what we are capable of doing define us as human beings? If this basic anthropological assumption is true, where can that leave those with intellectual disabilities, unable to accomplish the things that we propose give us our very humanity? Hans Reinders here makes an unusual claim about unusual people: those who […]

Gilbert Meilaender In Should We Live Forever? Christian ethicist Gilbert Meilaender puzzles over the implications of the medical advances that have lengthened the human life span, wrestling with what this quest for living longer means for our conception of living well and completely. As he points out in his introduction, “That we often desire, even […]

Gilbert Meilaender Now in its third edition, Meilaender’s Bioethics covers abortion, assisted reproduction, genetic research, suicide and euthanasia, human experimentation and much more in language that is theologically informed, straightforward, and clear. A perfect resource for those investigating these issues. From the Publisher. Get this book.

Christina Bieber Lake Prophets of the Posthuman provides a fresh and original reading of fictional narratives that raise the question of what it means to be human in the face of rapidly developing bioenhancement technologies. Christina Bieber Lake argues that works by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Walker Percy, Flannery O’Connor, Toni Morrison, George Saunders, Marilynne Robinson, Raymond […]

Mark Lazenby, Ruth McCorkle, and Daniel Sulmasy, eds. The study and practice of end-of-life care has seen an increasing understanding of the need for care that integrates clinical, psychosocial, spiritual, cultural, and ethical expertise. Yet, no one existing volume pulls together perspectives from a diverse array of religions with ethical dilemmas and clinical problems in […]

Amos Young “Yong has done nothing less than provide the most comprehensive analysis we have of the philosophical issues surrounding Down syndrome. But more importantly, drawing on an account of the Holy Spirit, he helps us better appreciate how focusing on disability makes us re-think fundamental theological categories. I highly commend this book not only […]

Edwin C. Hui A lucid, nuanced assessment of the theological implications of beginning-of-life ethical challenges by a Chinese-Canadian physician-turned-theologian. From Ed Get this book.

In recent years, a movement stressing a causal relationship between spirituality and good health has captured the public imagination. Told that research demonstrates that people of strong faith are healthier, physicians and clergy alike urge us to become more religious. The religion and health movement, as it has become known, has attracted its fair share […]

In print for more than two decades, On Moral Medicine remains the definitive anthology for Christian theological reflection on medical ethics. This third edition updates and expands the earlier award winning volumes, providing classrooms and individuals alike with one of the finest available resources for ethics-engaged modern medicine. From Publisher Get this book.

Nigel M. de S. Cameron. “The argument of the book is, in short, that the incipient collapse of the Hippocratic tradition is leading to the development of a ‘new medicine’ in which the moral vision that has driven medicine is being displaced… The life issues encompass both the old questions of abortion and euthanasia – […]

Gene Outka Outka uses agape as his fundamental principle while examining abortion. His compassionate writing attempts to transcend the typical pro-life, pro-choice debate. From Ed.

This is the original version of the famed Hippocratic Oath, which physicians 2500 years ago took. While we no longer swear by the Greek gods, notice the deeply religious overtones of this oath. In addition, one can see how in the second paragraph, medicine is very much a carefully guarded body of knowledge. Finally, notice the emphasis […]

Although hospitality was central to Christian identity and practice in earlier centuries, our generation knows little about its life-giving character. Making Room revisits the Christian foundations of welcoming strangers and explores the necessity, difficulty, and blessing of hospitality today. Combining rich biblical and historical research with extensive exposure to contemporary Christian communities — the Catholic […]

Paul Tournier Tournier was a Swiss physician and author of over twenty volumes on the interface of medicine, theology, and personhood. A contemporary of C.S. Lewis, he has a similar combination of evangelical piety, brilliance, and sacramental mindset. From Ed. Get this book.

Compare to the ancient version of this oath. From Ed. I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant: I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow. I will […]

Mary Eberstadt A must-read for non-catholics. Forty-years after Humanae Vitae, Eberstadt shows the prophetic voice of this important work. From Ed. That Humanae Vitae and related Catholic teachings about sexual morality are laughingstocks in all the best places is not exactly news. Even in the benighted precincts of believers, where information from the outside world […]

Charles Williams C.S. Lewis said that this book helped him understand pride like no other.  Since pride is a malady that many of us struggle with, this little novel is particularly important. From Ed Novelist, poet, critic, and dramatist Williams uses fiction to explore how people react when the supernatural enters their lives, and how then […]

Christopher West The Catholic Church has done the heavy lifting when it comes to thinking about the body theologically. This book helps decipher some of Pope John Paul II’s influential work in this area. Should especially be required for all non-Catholics.  From Ed. Get this book.

With this new book Verhey brings the biblical tradition to bear on contemporary bioethical concerns. Drawing on an unmatched depth of insight in these two realms, Verhey explores how the Bible can illuminate and guide medical ethics. He argues that churches are called to think and speak clearly about bioethical concerns, and he lays out […]

The Hebrew prophets described the flourishing that God intends for creation as shalom, which we could today translate as health in the deepest and most holistic sense.  And nowhere is the lack of shalom more evident today than some of the most broken and economically-deprived places.  We would do well to work toward to health […]

Daniel Sulmasy In this careful examination of the relation between spirituality and health care, Sulmasy explores the nature of illness and healing, describes empirical research on the effects of spirituality on health, and devotes special attention to the care of people at the end of life. From the publisher.  Get this book.

Walker Percy A mock self-help book that pokes fun at the genre, all the while inviting us to think about our place in the universe. From Ed. Walker Percy’s mordantly funny and wholly original contribution to the self-help book craze deals with the Western mind’s tendency toward heavy abstraction. This favorite of Percy fans continues […]

In celebration of Mother Teresa’s beatification in October of 2003, HarperOne is proud to present a new edition of the classic work that introduced Mother Teresa to the Western world. Something Beautiful for God interprets her life through her conversations with Malcolm Muggeridge, the quintessential worldly skeptic who experienced a remarkable conversion to Christianity because […]

In this classic work, Alasdair MacIntyre examines the historical and conceptual roots of the idea of virtue, diagnoses the reasons for its absence in personal and public life, and offers a tentative proposal for its recovery. While the individual chapters are wide-ranging, once pieced together they comprise a penetrating and focused argument about the price […]

Aldous Huxley Huxley’s renowned novel examines what happens to a society of endless plenty where human desires are endlessly indulged. The thoughtful picture that he paints is far more disturbing than one might think at first glance. From Ed. Get this book.

Leon Kass, ed. New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Inc., 2004. Get this book This book, curated by the President’s Council on Bioethics, is a helpful introduction to major literary works that help readers to think about bioethical issues in an accessible way. Each reading comes with a useful introduction and thought-provoking questions to spark further discussion. From Ed.

©1991 Taskforce of United Methodists on Abortion and Sexuality, Inc. Downloaded Nov 26, 2012 from lifewatch.org/abortion.html Foreword Serious theological and moral reflection during a session of a United Methodist annual conference is about as rare as a March snow at Cape Hatteras. The word is rare, not impossible. During the l990 meeting of the North […]