Papers by Dennis Hollinger
Journal of Religious Ethics, 1989
There have been various ways to sort out the diversity of Christian expressions down through the ... more There have been various ways to sort out the diversity of Christian expressions down through the centuries. In order to examine that diversity social scientists have often resorted to ideal types as a heuristic device that enables understanding and comparison. Ideal types as a sociological construct have their roots in the work of Max Weber and Ernst Troeltsch. As they and fellow sociologists have put it, ideal types are not identical to reality, but are mental constructs to help us understand the complexities and varieties of reality. Thus, one strand or expression of religion never fits perfectly into a given type.
The birth of Siamese twins in Manchester England on August 8 has generated significant moral and ... more The birth of Siamese twins in Manchester England on August 8 has generated significant moral and legal debate around the world. Conjoined twins occur in approximately one of 200,000 live births and can often live fairly normal lives whether they remain in a conjoined state or are surgically separated. In this case, however, the girls are joined at the lower abdomen and share a heart and lungs. Mary (the twins' real names are not being used, as their identities remain hidden) is entirely dependent on her sister Jodie for life since she has no functioning heart or lungs of her own. Doctors predict that if the twins remain joined together both will die within six months, as Jodie's heart will eventually fail. They are therefore encouraging a separation of the two, which means of course that Mary would die since she does not have her own vital organs. The girls' parents, who came to England from an undisclosed country for expert medical help, are opposed to the medical separ...
In the midst of the debate over using embryonic stem cells in research, a more fundamental issue ... more In the midst of the debate over using embryonic stem cells in research, a more fundamental issue has often been overlooked. It is a reality that will not only affect the outcome of this debate, but of numerous moral quandaries in the days ahead. It is the issue of our moral culture--that is, how we think about and seek to resolve moral issues. Our moral culture is ultimately more significant than is a given moral issue because it directly influences the decisions that are made regarding all such issues. It serves as the lens through which we understand much of life and our sense of goodness, justice and the morally right. It impacts not only individuals' thinking, but the larger cultural ethos and its perspectives on a myriad of moral issues.
The Journal of religious ethics, 1989
A lack of theological reflection in bioethics raises the question, ''Can bioethics be the... more A lack of theological reflection in bioethics raises the question, ''Can bioethics be theological?" as necessarily prior to the narrower question, "Can bioethics be Evangelical?" Bioethics abounds with descriptive analysis, but normative analysis especially such analysis based in theological concerns is much less frequent and is not at the center of focus. Given this tangential relationship of theological inquiry to bioethics, how can a highly confessional movement like evangelicalism contribute to it? In this essay I contend that evangelical theological reflection can contribute to debate concerning bioethics, but only by modifying some of its past styles of ethical discourse among both the intellectual and the popular evangelical com-
Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground, 2018
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 2013
For most of its history the Christian church has viewed the use of contraceptives in family plann... more For most of its history the Christian church has viewed the use of contraceptives in family planning with moral suspicion. The arguments against contraceptives varied, but the church’s stance was quite clear, though the issue was never paramount in the church’s thought. All of that changed in 1930 with the Anglican Lambeth Conference giving qualified ethical sanction for contraceptive use under certain conditions. Within a matter of several decades most of Protestantism followed the Lambeth trajectory. With the arrival of the Pill in 1960 the shift became complete. What is most significant about this change is not that it happened, but that there was so little theological reflection in the process. Winds of change regarding family planning in general began to blow in the late 19th century with the revival of Malthusian sentiments regarding world population: “The basic proposition of Malthus that population tends to increase faster than food resources was frequently repeated.”1 By th...
The context of preaching has changed. Of course this is nothing new. Historical processes, sociol... more The context of preaching has changed. Of course this is nothing new. Historical processes, sociological realities, and human thinking are constantly changing and as such call for continual assessment of the context in which we preach the gospel and God’s Word.
The Annual of the Society of Christian Ethics
Ethics & medicine : a Christian perspective on issues in bioethics, 2003
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Papers by Dennis Hollinger