Bridges and Bioethics

Bridges are an important part of transportation. They help us get from one place to another over seemingly impassable chasms. You may wonder why I have not just included a list of do’s and don’ts to help in your travels. Well, if you can be aware of the deeper elements of culture and the process through which you will
pass, you are better able to think through some very complicated issues of “Cross-Cultural Adjustment.”

Bioethics is one of the sensitive areas which invites people to seek out the fundamentals of faith, of anthropology and morality. The role of Christians is irreplaceable in forming an ethical social conscience and civil principles, by means of serious but respectful dialogue. This new cultural situation calls for a thorough preparation in bioethics, both for church leaders and for those lay men and women who are working in this crucial area.

"We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too. Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you. You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers. And you know that we treated each of you as a father treats his own children. We pleaded with you, encouraged you, and urged you to live your lives in a way that God would consider worthy. For he called you to share in his Kingdom and glory."                            - 1 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Book suggestions: bioethics, assurance of salvation, purity, Jerry Bridges

The Story

The Bible begins with the story of creation and ends with a vision of God’s recreation. Peppered generously between alpha and omega are a host of other stories. While stories dominate Scripture, they rarely enter the Christian worker’s strategies. Leland Ryken cogently asks:

Why does the Bible contain so many stories? Is it possible that stories reveal some truths and experiences in a way that no other literary form does—and if so, what are they? What is the difference in our picture of God when we read stories in which God acts, as compared with theological statements about the nature of God? What does the Bible communicate through our imagination that it does not communicate through our reason? If the Bible uses the imagination as one way of communicating truth, should we not show an identical confidence in the power of the imagination to convey religious truth? If so, would a good starting point be to respect the story quality of the Bible in our exposition of it?

Is it not time for today’s Christian workers to revitalize one of the world’s oldest, most universal and powerful art forms—storytelling? I believe so. I also believe that Christian workers, with training and practice, can effectively communicate the finished story of Jesus Christ and connect it to the target audience’s unfinished story. Presenting an overview of Old and New Testament stories that unveils the history of redemption will highlight for the listeners the Storyline (Jesus Christ) of the sacred Storybook (Bible). Should this happen, the gospel will be much more easily understood, and more frequently communicated to family and friends.

Dominion Mandate

In order to properly understand the comprehensive nature of the Great Commission one needs to consider the relationship of the Great Commission to the “cultural” or “dominion mandate” given to Adam.

When God created Adam and Eve in the garden He commanded them to have dominion over the whole earth (cf. Gen. 1:26-30). God’s intended purpose for us before the fall was to develop a world-wide godly culture, a culture that honored and glorified God. All of our activities and pursuits were to be done God’s way and for God. All the accumulated labours of people over time: music, art, science, medicine, architecture, economics, infrastructures and so on would be done obediently and would reflect man’s love of God and mankind.

If Adam had obeyed the covenant of works and his descendants had fulfilled the dominion mandate the result would have been a world-wide, obedient, God-loving civilization. This was God’s original preceptive will for us. But our sin, the eating of the forbidden fruit, necessitated the need for a Saviour. God in His kindness and mercy instituted the covenant of grace. God’s original plan for a godly civilization was not set aside. However, because of sin this plan could only be accomplished through Jesus Christ, the second Adam.

Christ’s resurrection is the new beginning, the foundation of the regeneration of the world. The total victory that Jesus accomplished on the cross is to be progressively brought to bear on all nations. “His ‘all authority’ over ‘all the nations’ demands we preach His crown rights over all people and all their institutions, cultures, societies, and nations. The saving of multitudes of individuals must eventually lead to cultural Christianization under Christ’s rule and to His glory by His providence, in conformity with God’s creational purpose. This world order was designed to have us set over it, to the glory of God. This is why at the very beginning of human history unfallen man was a cultural creature.”