April 25, 2009 at 9:00 PM EDT
Corson-Mudd Hall
Health care costs have become an increasingly difficult issue for many in light of the global economic downturn, yet the decisions we make speak loudly about our value system. Medical costs are largest at the fringe of a utilitarian society, the very young, old and sick, which applies tremendous pressure to adjust our values to reduce their significance. Balanced with this is the fact that many of the next generation medical strategies have the potential to extend life and its quality through the manipulation and engineering of living matter far more than any pharmacist has. The more we learn about these processes, the more apprehension we may have for what we can and should do to save and extend lives. As Christians, we may find it difficult to be informed scientifically and faithfully on this critical 21st century issue, yet we will all likely come face to face with its reality in our lifetime. The Bible certainly speaks to God’s power as Creator of life, but is that a quality completely restricted to Him? Perceiving God as the Engineer of Life may in fact provide a powerful analogy to understand His action in the world. I argue we as Christians have divine inspiration to pursue this frontier of knowledge without sacrificing our value foundation.