Document Detail


The significance of the concept of sin for bioethics.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16266971     Owner:  KIE     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
After a period during which the theological categories of sin and forgiveness were ignored or trivialized, presently these notions are being rediscovered. What could their impact be on bioethics, either in the narrow sense of medical ethics, or in the more encompassing sense of the ethics of the life sciences? This essay begins with describing the processes of transcending and ethitization, which gave rise to the biblical notion of sin. It portrays the theological foundation of sin in terms of a twofold refusal of proper relations to God and other humans. Through the practise of confession in the face of God (coram deo), sin is placed into a horizon of hope for forgiveness and reconciliation. The heuristic and hermeneutical significance of these categories results from their introducing a "surplus value," which transcends biological and ethical considerations. This additional dimension is illustrated in view of care (cura) for the injured, and in view of individual as well as collective willingness to forgive.
Authors:
Michael Sievernich
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Christian bioethics     Volume:  11     ISSN:  1380-3603     ISO Abbreviation:  Christ Bioeth     Publication Date:  2005 Aug 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-11-03     Completed Date:  2006-02-03     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9507416     Medline TA:  Christ Bioeth     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  189-99     Citation Subset:  E    
Affiliation:
Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Bioethical Issues
Bioethics*
Christianity*
Humans
Theology*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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