This Mortal Flesh

Incarnation and Bioethics

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"An unusually illuminating display of Christian wisdom concerning technological ambitions that puts in question the meaning of humanity itself."--Robert Song, Durham University

We may be entering a golden age in healthcare thanks to dramatic improvements being made in diagnostic procedures and therapies. Many individuals will soon live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. But do these advances also bring the risk of losing one's humanity? Could this progress require the transformation of humans into a new and different species?

In many respects, medicine serves as a surrogate religion in today's societies. Although a proper concern for health is compatible with Christian faith, recent and anticipated advances in extending human longevity are often based on philosophical presuppositions and religious values that are adverse to core Christian beliefs and convictions. In This Mortal Flesh, theologian and ethicist Brent Waters examines the Christian moral life in light of critical bioethical issues, such as biotechnology and physical/cognitive enhancement, reproductive technology, human genetics, embryonic stem cell research, and regenerative medicine. He also examines the "posthuman project," exploring what it means to be human in light of the denial of mortality. Grounding his theological reflections in the doctrine of the incarnation, Waters argues that it is good to be embodied, finite, and mortal.

Endorsements

"This Mortal Flesh represents the distillation of much fine thinking. Brent Waters is concerned less with resolving bioethical dilemmas and more with probing the significance for medicine of the fundamental Christian claim that the Word became flesh. The result is an unusually illuminating display of Christian wisdom concerning technological ambitions that puts in question the meaning of humanity itself."--Robert Song, senior lecturer in Christian ethics, Durham University

The Author

  1. Brent Waters

    Brent Waters

    Brent Waters (DPhil, University of Oxford) is the Jerre and Mary Joy Stead Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where he also directs the Jerre L. and Mary Joy Stead Center for Ethics and...

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Reviews

"Waters warns us not to be seduced by postmodern aspirations. While the healing powers of medicine and biotechnology may be welcome, salvation is not from medicine and biotechnology. His is a powerful warning to Christians not to succumb to idolatry and the worship of false gods."--Agneta Sutton, Ethics & Medicine

"Waters offers plenty of food for thought. . . . For those who teach ethics and would like to introduce students to biomedical ethics, this book offers a fine introduction to a number of contemporary issues. Waters's writing is both scientifically sound and theologically helpful. This book is also a good introduction for pastors who find themselves underprepared for the many difficult pastoral issues that arise in healthcare today. Waters not only considers some of the specific choices in medicine and technology facing people today, but he also offers a systematic way of thinking about bioethics that can help people consider how their choices will affect attitudes about what it means to be human in the future."--Mary L. Vanden Berg, Calvin Theological Journal