OYEKAN, OLUFEMI .T.
APRIL, 2010
Davis, John Jefferson. Issues Facing the Church Today: Evangelical Ethics. P&R Publishing. New Jersey. 2004.
BOOK REVIEW.
Introduction
Dr. Davis is an ordained Presbyterian minister, professor of systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South HamiltonMassachusetts. He was a former president of evangelical philosophy society. He attempted in this book of twelve chapters and 359 pages, to deal with contemporary issues facing the church today. Issues like abortion, capital punishment, genetic revolution, civil disobedience and so on were discussed from sound biblical and evangelical perspective.
DIMENSIONS OF DECISION MAKING.
Davis attempted to address pressing issues which are likely to confront the pastor and the Christian lay person today. He examined the issues in the light of scriptures, human reason, and the empirical data of medicine, law, and the social sciences. In his opinion, human reason, church tradition, and the natural and social sciences can aid moral reflection, but the bible is the final court of appeal for ethics.
He viewed ‘situation ethics’ as an unsuccessful answer to the problem of conflicting moral obligation, rather he advocated ‘contextual absolutism’ this holds that in every ethical situation no matter how extreme, there is a course of action that is morally right and free of sin. Christians who believe in the bible and live in a pluralistic society which does not recognize the authority of the bible should recognize both the value and limitations of civil law as an instrument of social change. He submitted that only the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can produce a radical transformation in the human heart.
CONTRACEPTION
The author traces the use of artificial means of contraception far back into the records of human history. Initially this practice was illegal; about a century ago the government gave it official sponsorship. The different methods of contraception discussed includes; “the pill”, IUD, condom, diaphragm, spermicides, sterilization, natural family planning.
From the moral point of view the Roman Catholic officially accepts the natural method of family planning. The Protestants believe the use of contraception is not forbidden provided the motive is for it, is in total revelation of God for married life.
Pre marital sex
Pre marital sex is wide spread today and is almost taken for granted. The biblical teachings on the illicitness of sexual intercourse outside of marriage are clear and unequivocal.
Sex Education
Experiences have shown that nations that promote sex education programmes and abandon biblical values exacerbate the problem of illegitimacy rather than solve it.
World Population
Davis challenged Christians of the need to rediscover the relevance of cultural mandate to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen.1:28). God wants his kingdom to expand through evangelism and through the raising up of godly seed. (Mal.2:15).
REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
Artificial insemination: the history of artificial insemination dates back to the latter part of 18th century for humans and possibly as far back as 14th century for animals. Artificial insemination raises complex legal questions which are yet to be resolved, from the Christian perspective, an analysis of the morality of artificial insemination must take seriously the divine purpose for human sexuality and the institution of marriage. Catholics see it as morally illicit. Davies concluded that though artificial insemination by husband can be consistent with the divine outlook on marriage, it must be concluded that artificial insemination by donor is not.
Surrogate Mothers – Wombs for rent.
Surrogate parenting can degenerate into commerce in human souls, and that among other reasons is sufficient to make it an illegitimate solution to one’s fertility.
Sex Selection
Christian parents are advised to approach this entire area with great caution he opined that conclusive information regarding the long term safety of such methods is not yet available.
In Vitro Fertilization
Many childless couples today are seeking solutions through IVF. In his view, IVF has proved to be a helpful technique in the treatment of infertility, and it promises to be a source of valuable scientific information about human reproduction.
DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE
Divorce can be defined as the legal or customary decree that a marriage is dissolved. There are diverse views presented in relation to divorce. Every Christian must note that God hates divorce. (Mal.2:16). Divorce should not be encouraged or promoted by any Christian leader. Divorce should be seen as a measure of last resort, to be accepted only when all reasonable attempts at reconciliation have been exhausted. The divorced person through repentance, forgiveness, and the transforming presence of the Holy Spirit may likewise transcend the failure of the past and win acceptance in the eyes of God’s people for a fruitful ministry of leadership and service.
HOMOSEXUALITY
A homosexual is understood as one who in adult life is motivated by “a definite preferential erotic attraction to members of the same sex and who usually (but not necessarily) engages in overt sexual relations with them. Homosexuality is a very ancient phenomenon, some secular psychiatrist see it as being biologically deviant.
Causes
- Genetic and chromosomal factors.
- Imbalance in the sex hormones.
- family psychopathology
- multifactoral in nature –biological, cultural, psychodynamic, structural and situational.
Some argue such sexual orientation are innate and are not subject to change. Current clinical data does not support this view. He concluded that churches must reject this sin, but must be willing and ready to be used of God in the reclamation of the sinner. Christians should not support making a civil right of what scriptures teaches to be morally wrong.
ABORTION
Abortion was a common practice in the ancient world. Early Christianity resolutely opposed abortion, which was common in the Roman World. Abortion has been legalized in some countries of the world; abortion has both medical and psychological repercussions. Analysis of the morality of abortion tends to cluster around three major positions namely;
a) Abortion on demand – sees abortion as acceptable under almost all circumstances.
b) Abortion on “indication” – assigns value to the life of the unborn child. Danger to mother’s social, economic, or emotional life will justify abortion.
c) Abortion only to preserve life of the mother – occurs only in rare cases where continuation of pregnancy will endanger the mother’s life.
Of the three approaches, the ‘life of the mother’ position appears to have the most support from scriptures. The church should endorse it and back up those women who are facing difficult pregnancies up with tangible spiritual, emotional, and financial help.
INFANTICIDE AND EUTHANASIA
This has to with expression of disregard for the lives of handicapped infants. The debate on ethics of infanticide has been posed in terms of a “sanctity of life” versus a “quality of life” perspective.
A consistent Christian ethic will oppose both abortion and infanticide, the sanctity of life ethic must be affirmed both prior to and subsequent to birth. There is no moral obligation to provide useless treatment to a genuinely terminal patient, there is no moral necessity to extend an irreversible process of dying. All human life is sacred to God.
Death, Dying, and Euthanasia
Some persons have proposed voluntary euthanasia as a legal and moral option for the terminally ill. This will raise a lot of questions for everyone concerned. When a disease has advanced to the point where no known therapy exists and death is imminent despite the means used, then forms of treatment that would secure “only a precarious and burdensome prolongation of life” may be discontinued or not instituted. However, one has an obligation to show love to a patient in his dying.
Euthanasia may be defined as “the deliberate killing of a person suffering an illness believed to be terminal, ostensibly out of ‘mercy’. Euthanasia violates the biblical command “you shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Life is sacred before God; we are not the lord of our lives, our life is a gift from God. (1 cor.6:19b – 20).
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Capital punishment can be defined as “the execution of a criminal under death sentence imposed by competent public authority.” Capital punishment has been practiced since the beginning of recorded history. Davis, summed up the biblical evidence thus; “ while the civil laws of Israel regarding capital punishment are no longer binding in the new testament age, the mandate given through Noah (Gen.9:6) is still valid sanctions the capital penalty for the crime of murder.” The New Testament, including the teaching of Jesus, does not overturn this basic mandate, but presupposes its continuing validity for non theocratic societies.
The death penalty protects the society from the hardened murderer and is an appropriate and fitting punishment for the most wicked of crimes. It underscores man’s accountability for his actions; it serves as a grim reminder of the need to make peace with God while that opportunity remains.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND REVOLUTION
Civil disobedience has been defined as “ a public, non violent, and conscientious act contrary to law, usually done with intent to bring about a change in the policies or laws of the government.” There are clear precedents for civil disobedience in the bible. The Christian understanding of the authority of the state recognizes that no human authority is absolute, and all authority are subject to God.
The following are criteria for justified acts of civil disobedience;
- The law being resisted must be unjust, immoral, and clearly contrary to the will of God.
- Legal means of changing the unjust situation should have been exhausted.
- The act of disobedience must be public rather than secret.
- Those who consider civil disobedience should be willing to accept the penalty for breaking the law.
- There should be some likelihood of success.
As Christians our moral obligation is to obey the existing authorities; but when the will of the state conflicts with that of God, we should rather obey God rather than men.
WAR AND PEACE
From the beginning of the Christian era, there have been some people who believe that the use of deadly force is inconsistent with the ethics of Christ. This is known as pacifism. The tradition that holds that under some circumstances the Christian may participate in war for the sake of preservation of justice is known as “The Just – war” tradition. Those who truly desire peace must be willing to defend life against those who would destroy it unjustly.
War and peace in a nuclear age
Christians agree that a nuclear weapon war will be a tragedy for the human race, but they disagree about the policies and strategies that can bring about such event.
Quite a number of people are raising issues about nuclear pacifism in the face of recent realities like September11, 2001 bombing of the world trade centre.
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS
In the face of challenges to biblical teachings on the environment and the current environmental concerns across the globe, pastors and teachers need to develop biblical teachings more energetically to equip God’s people to take care of God’s creation in ways that are more consistent with our most fundamental biblical conviction.
THE GENETIC REVOLUTION
This part discusses the ethical implications of genetic research and technologies. Ethical issues on genetic testing, genetic therapies, human enhancement, and cloning were discussed.
The term “genetic engineering” is now used broadly to refer to a number of techniques used to measure or modify the genetic characteristics of a living organism. The term “genetics” refer to the scientific study of heredity and variation was coined by the biologist William Baleson in 1905.
Genetic engineering is understood to refer to a range of intervention that would include the following; genetic testing and screening, genetic therapy, genetic enhancement, and cloning. Genetic engineering is filled with potentially enormous consequences, since it promises to give humanity the power to alter human nature itself. Evangelical Christians need to contribute to the conversation on genetic revolution in significant ways, or else the biotechnology revolution will be driven primarily by scientific and business elite with little accountability to the general public.
REFLECTION
John Jefferson Davis in this work shows a strong biblical depth on contemporary ethical issues. He discussed issues ranging from, homosexuality, genetics, abortion, euthanasia, war and peace, divorce and remarriage, to civil disobedience in a way that brings clarity and better understanding to ethical issues that face Christians today. He approached these issues against the background of social, legal, medical, and biblical perspectives before arriving at a conclusion. His views on issues not clearly specified in the scriptures did not contradict Christian teachings. He has proved to be a true evangelical and a defender of the biblical position on issues.
The author however, discussed these contemporary ethical issues having only Americans in mind. He did not consider other cultures and nations of the world who could benefit from these issues. Subsequent work of this nature should bear in mind other nations people of other nations and cultures who could equally benefit from issues of these nature.
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