Ken Myers
September 30, 2005
Faithful Stewards or Terrestrial
Gods? Christianity and the Chief End of Science
This lecture was given by Ken Myers,
Host and
Producer of Mars Hill Audio
Journal, at a faculty and graduate student luncheon at
Vanderbilt University on September 30, 2005. The lecture was
sponsored by The Humanitas
Project and co-sponsored by
InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries, Presbyterian Student
Fellowship, Campus Crusade, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, Reformed
University Fellowship, Every Nation, and Medical Campus Outreach.
The modern West is defined in large
part by the cultural role played by science and technology. Western
institutions are formed around the axiom that more extensive
application of scientific knowledge will inevitably lead to greater
social progress and personal fulfillment. Behind this guiding
principle, which is explicitly and consciously held by many
Westerners, is a matrix of implicit assumptions about human nature,
the nature of creation, and divine purpose. In this lecture, Ken
Myers argues that while some of these assumptions have resonance
with the biblical account of human history and purpose, others are
more dubious, though they are widely held by many contemporary
Christians. In light of questions now being discussed in bioethical
debates, Myers traces some of the sources of these ideas and
suggests ways in which faithful Christians must challenge aspects of
Western life.
[download
as PDF]
Word Made Flesh, Flesh Made
Whole: The Embodied Character of Salvation and the Basis of
Bioethics
This lecture was given by
Ken Myers, Host and Producer of Mars Hill Audio
Journal,
on behalf of The Humanitas Project on September 30,
2005. The lecture was delivered at Belmont Church in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Much discussion about bioethical issues
is based on principles rooted in the “rights” of “persons.” While
such principles are useful for protecting some important ethical
boundaries, they are often employed in a way that values human
autonomy more than divinely established order in matters of human
life and death. In this lecture, Ken Myers argues that the
incarnation and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the redemption
that they accomplish, have deep implications for how we should think
about bioethical responsibility for issues ranging from cloning to
fertility treatments to embryonic stem cell research.
[original
announcement]
[download
as mp3 audio]
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