In Defense of Paul Tillich: Toward a Liberal Protestant Bioethics
With H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., I believe a Christian bioethics that can be collapsed into a rationalistic ethic fails to be authentically Christian. In apparent opposition to Engelhardt, however, I believe that the theologian Paul Tillich would echo the necessary distinctiveness of a Christian me...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2014
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2014, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 260-271 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | With H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., I believe a Christian bioethics that can be collapsed into a rationalistic ethic fails to be authentically Christian. In apparent opposition to Engelhardt, however, I believe that the theologian Paul Tillich would echo the necessary distinctiveness of a Christian metaphysics and morality. In what follows, I will argue that Tillich offers liberal Protestants an entry point into conversing with bioethics through his method of merging metaphysical claims with the Christian message. In defense of Tillich’s theological method in bioethics, I will first explain why he should not be considered “post-Christian” in the sense Engelhardt implies. Next, I will explicate Tillich’s correlational method and compare it with the methods of more conservative theologians whom Engelhardt appears to favor. Finally, I will describe how Tillich’s insights might be helpful in constructing a distinct liberal Protestant bioethics. To remain distinct in the field of bioethics, liberal theologians need to reconnect with the vision of the world that made them unique in the first place, and in so doing, we will see the difference that liberal theologies can make to the field of bioethics. |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbu016 |