Editorial (Winter 2023)

This final Dignitas issue of 2023 is our open issue for the year. Even so, each article aptly supports CBHD’s 2024 conference theme: The Future of Health: Faith, Ethics, and our MedTech World. Patricia Engler’s piece thoroughly overviews artificial intelligence (AI) and key theological and anthropological issues related to its ever-expanding development. James Gould responds to the current state of medical technologies and their ability to potentially prolong a person’s life beyond what is fruitful, examining key theological convictions for how Christians can respond. Taejung Eric Kim provides the book review for this issue of Dignitas, examining Foreman and Leonardo’s Christianity and Modern Medicine: Foundations for Bioethics (2022). As usual, Heather Zeiger has collected critical bioethics news updates and global health headlines.

Patricia Engler investigates advancements in AI and its potential for changing the course of our future as humans. To do so, her “discussion examines past, present, and prospective applications of AI, identifies theological principles for thinking about AI, and applies these principles to consider AI’s bioethical implications for human futures.” After clarifying definitions of such terms as “AI” and “intelligence,” she synthesizes the past, present, and future of such technology. Throughout this section, she highlights the advancement of new technologies and some ethical concerns with their development.

Turning to a biblical response, Engler suggests that humankind’s relationship as a creature to the Creator must prove foundational. From this, she opines that we can use technology as long as it honors human creatureliness and embodiment, fulfills our role as stewards of creation, and follows God’s lead in restoring the fallen world. She cautions that AI may pose spiritual dangers if we allow it to replace genuine study of Scripture or answer moral conundrums. In addition, religious movements around AI are even developing, some encouraging outright worship of AI and others seeing it as a kind of transhumanist savior.

AI also poses threats to humanity. Engler focuses on its effects on humankind’s higher reasoning skills, economic stability, privacy, and societal control. She highlights ways in which some of these effects have already begun.

With all this in mind, Engler concludes her article by asserting that our ultimate hope should be in God alone, not in the doomsday ideology surrounding AI or in viewing it as our savior. Instead, we should traverse the world of AI with wisdom, remaining firm in truth and active in our calling as humans created in the image of God.

James B. Gould advocates doxological dying, which contrasts with aggressive end-of-life care. The person pursuing doxological dying does not deny fruitful and necessary medical treatment but finds ultimate hope in the resurrection of the body and the soul. In addition, he or she rejects any kind of medically aided dying centered on futile treatment. Building on the work of Bonnie Miller-McLemore, Gould explores how religious faith correlates with aggressive end-of-life care.

Gould raises four key questions regarding such aggressive treatment for religious patients: “What is going on?” “Why is it happening?” “What should be done about it?” and “How should the church respond?” Exploring the current state of affairs, he provides evidence that aggressive end-of-life care leads to diminished wellbeing, and that religious patients are more likely to choose such aggressive care. To explain this occurrence, Gould integrates the data with an examination of three theological areas that may mediate such a decision: (1) divine sovereignty, (2) sanctity of life, and (3) suffering. He then counteracts possible areas of problematic theological thinking with more exact theological affirmations: (1) trust in God instead of medicine, (2) human responsibility, (3) care for others, (4) sanctity of life and death, and (5) the dual meaning of suffering. Finally, the church should respond by shaping public worship around these theological affirmations, for how we worship directly affects how we live.

Gould concludes by affirming the positive place that religious affiliation can have as we all face death as human beings. He further highlights the relative neglect of spiritual care in the medical setting. Thus, the church must play a crucial part in building a robust account of doxological dying, which cares for people nearing the end of their lives.

As we close out Dignitas for 2023, we welcome article submissions for our 2024 issues. You can email article abstracts or drafts to research@cbhd.org. We are grateful for the careful research and argumentation our authors have employed for the 2023 publication year.

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