Title: The nature of our humanity : ethical issues in genetics and biotechnology /
Authors: Jersild, Paul T., 1931-
Publisher: Fortress Press,
Year: 2009
Subjects: Theological anthropology Christianity; Bioethics Religious aspects Christianity
Contents: Introduction -- Part I: Christian faith and our biological past -- The emergent human being -- Relating faith to evolutionary biology -- Relating evolutionary biology to faith -- To be human is to be in relationship -- Biological evolution and human nature -- Reconceptualizing the soul -- Concluding thoughts -- Human nature and biological reductionism -- Scientific materialism -- The response of intelligent design -- A critique of scientific materialism -- Searching for the biological basis of religion -- Concluding thoughts -- Human nature and the gene -- From Mendel to Watson and Crick -- Structure and function of DNA -- Continuing questions about the gene -- The human genome project -- Interaction of organism and environment -- A God gene? -- Genes, culture, and faith in God -- Part II: Christian faith and our biotech future -- Human nature and the impact of biotechnology -- Theses concerning human nature -- Defining biotechnology -- Developments in biotechnology -- Creating a superior human being -- The human machine? -- Scenarios of the future -- Concluding thoughts -- Human nature and genetic engineering -- What is genetic engineering? -- From therapy to enhancement -- The enhancement argument -- The anti-enhancement argument -- Human nature and human future -- Concluding thoughts -- Human nature and the quest for immortality -- Living with the prospect of death -- The controversial embryonic stem cell -- Stem cells, telomeres, and the lifespan -- Other aging factors -- Biblical insights on human mortality -- A critique of the immortality quest -- Concluding thoughts.