Category Archives: Biotheology

Biotheology: ethics and biotechnology

By Brian Edgar | Published: May 22, 2010

By Brian Edgar

The term ‘bioethics’ is usually construed too narrowly (as bio-medical ethics relating to the person) rather than as a parallel to the wide range of issues covered by biotechnology (including gene manipulation, nanotechnology, biodiversity, ecology, biopharming , reproductive medicine and stem cell research etc), and there is a tendency to overlook the significance of the overall connectedness of human, animal and plant life.

Therefore what is required is a new field of biotheology to go alongside the more traditional sub-disciplines of systematic theology such as theological anthropology (doctrine of humanity), Christology, pneumatology, ecclesiology etc. Read More »

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God, persons and bio-machines

By Brian Edgar | Published: May 21, 2010

By Brian Edgar

Humanity has a built in desire to initiate, build and create, and the newer biological sciences revolving around biology, genetics and nanotechnology means that technological tools are emerging which can mean nothing less than the re-creation of the human person. A symbiotic relationship between humanity and machinery already exists and there is now a debate between trans-humanists who are looking towards a shift in human nature, perhaps moving towards a post-human condition and bio-conservatives who see trans-human initiatives as nothing other than de-humanising.  Read More »

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Embryo donation and research

By Brian Edgar | Published: March 5, 2010

By Brian Edgar

Now that “Robert” and “Sue” have three healthy children – all conceived through IVF, what should they do with the four ‘surplus’ embryos which they no longer need?   Should they have them destroyed, or donate them to another couple or perhaps give them to scientists to use for research? Read More »

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Abortion and the Gift of Grace

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 27, 2010

By Brian Edgar

Public debate about abortion generally ends up polarising into pro-life and pro-choice perspectives.  These two views operate on different and apparently incommensurable principles.  One stresses the inviolability or sanctity of life and the importance of love for those unable to defend themselves.  The other focuses on freedom of choice, and the difficult position which conception can bring to women.  Those fully committed to one side or another do not necessarily deny the element of truth in what the other side says, yet are usually unable to integrate them Read More »

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Immortality? genetics and living forever

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 27, 2010

By Brian Edgar

Although medical technology is constantly finding new ways of dealing with various health disorder, maintain general levels of health and delaying death the typical maximum age span has not really changed in a long time. Everyone dies of something, and although good health in old age has significantly improved,  a cure for one disorder simply means that people die of something else. However, it is likely that in the not-too-distant future that we will be presented with the prospect of medical technology which will enable human life to be radically extended by hundreds of years! Read More »

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Theology and genetic engineering

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 24, 2010

By Brian Edgar

The new and rapidly developing rDNA technology which lies at the heart of modern human genetic engineering has provided a new foundation for the science of eugenics which, as a consequence, is now more to the forefront of scientific research and public attention than at any time since it fell into disrepute in the 1940′s. The possibilities inherent in human genetic engineering (GE) now available appear as both amazing and terrifying. On the one hand there is the hope that thousands of inherited defects and illnesses, simple and complex, will be completely eliminated. On the other hand, there are suggestions of the creation of an animal-human hybrid,  a domesticated slave class, or a part human species. Read More »

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The ethics of trans-kingdom gene transfer

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 21, 2010

Is it ethically appropriate to transfer genes from one person to another? Or from one species to another? From humans to animals? From a vegetable to a fish? Does it make any difference how closely related the species are? In the natural world there is a limitation of the transfer of genes – which occurs through sexual reproduction -  to those species which can breed, but in the artificial world of genetic engineering there is no such limitation. Genes from very different species and kingdoms can be mixed.  Read More »

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Ethical principles in gene technology

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 18, 2010

In an area dealing with new and previously unconsidered ethical problems – like gene technology – it is important to establish an ethical  framework which can provide some guidance when dealing with specific issues (such as the appropriateness of genetically modifying crops, animals or people). The National Framework for the Development of Ethical Principles in Gene Technology,   produced by the Gene Technology Ethics Committee, (Commonwealth of Australia: Office of the Gene Technology Regulator, 2006) is one attempt to do this.  I acted as one of a group of twelve to produce this national ethical standard for gene technology. Read More »

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Bioethics: opportunity for the gospel?

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 15, 2010

We live in an age of phenomenal advances in life sciences and their attendant technologies. From the mapping of the human genome to successful cloning of mammals and the harvesting of human stem cells, these advances present both great promise for new medical treatments and profound concerns about the harm they may do to society. Genetics, cybernetics and nanotechnology, for instance, which promise to reverse or eliminate diseases, could also be used to engineer ‘better’ humans, or even ‘trans-humans’ or ‘post-humans’ that render the humans of today obsolete. Read More »

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Stem cells and embryonic experimentation

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 11, 2010

By Brian Edgar

The Lockhart Committee was formed by the Australian Federal Parliament to review the situation with regard to human embryos, stem cell research and cloning.  The review “An Assessment of the Lockhart Review: stem cell research and embryonic experimentation”   (7,500 words) was done for the Australian Evangelical Alliance when I was Director of Public Theology. Obviously, the matter has moved on politically since then, but the issues it discusses remain the same. Read More »

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Ethics, experiments and embryos

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 8, 2010

By Brian Edgar

The debate about the use of embryonic stem cells continues. There is no problem with the value of stem cell research per se.  The potential benefits are well documented, very real and profoundly significant, even if the immediacy of the benefits has been over-stated.  And there are no ethical problems related to research on adult stem cells per se and every reason for it to continue. The ethical dimension of ‘the stem cell debate’ really relates to the moral status of embryos from whom stem cells may be obtained – at the cost of the loss of life of the embryo.

The ethical concerns therefore relate to the appropriateness of experimentation on, and thus the destruction of, early embryos. Read More »

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Cloning and the Trinity

By Brian Edgar | Published: February 5, 2010

By Brian Edgar

Like many of the issues related to reproductive technology and genetic engineering cloning has been seen as more than just another scientific discovery and has widely been recognised as having profound ethical implications. Unlike many of these issues, however, the spiritual dimension of cloning has also been recognised. “Any discovery that touches upon human creation is not simply a matter of scientific inquiry, it is a matter of morality and spirituality as well… Each human life is unique, born of a miracle that reaches beyond laboratory science…” Read More »

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Bioethics: a primer for Christians

By Brian Edgar | Published: November 20, 2009

By Brian Edgar

The rapid growth in biotechnology and the ever increasing complexity of the issues makes it easy to forget just how new the field of bioethics really is. In 1996 Gilbert Meilander wrote Bioethics: a primer for Christians and there is no surprise that a new and revised edition is now needed. Yet despite the changing times the book stands up well. Read More »

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