Changing Human Nature: Ecology, Ethics, Genes, and God

by James Peterson

Overview

Nature around us and indeed, our own human nature are constantly changing. The question before us then is not if there will be change, but rather whether we will be conscious and conscientious about the course of that change. In Changing Human Nature, James Peterson helps us to think through what our part should be from a Christian perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802865496
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/22/2010
Pages:	267
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

James Peterson is professor of theology and ethics and Roy A. Hope Chair in Theology, Ethics, and Christian Worldview at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario. His other books include Genetic Turning Points: The Ethics of Human Genetic Interventi

Read an Excerpt

Sister Annabel Laity (Chan Duc, True Virtue) was born in England, and studied Classics and Sanskrit before going to India to study and practice with Tibetan nuns. She has been a disciple of Thich Nhat Hanh since 1986. In 1988, in India, she became the first Western European woman to be ordained as a nun by Thich Nhat Hanh. Sister Annabel was director of practice at Plum Village for many years. She travels widely, leading meditation retreats and inspiring many with her unique teaching style throughout the world. In 2000, she became the first Western/European nun to teach Buddhist Dharma in Thailand, and is currently head of practice at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism in Germany.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Our Changing Nature 1

I Called to Shape What Is Entrusted to Us

1 God's Garden 15

2 Using Tools 52

3 Body and Soul 65

II Three Helpful Cautions, but Inadequate Guides for Shaping Human Nature

4 Cure versus Enhancement 101

5 Welcoming versus Making 126

6 The Present versus the Future 142

III Four Standards for Shaping Human Nature

7 Safe 163

8 Genuine Improvement 171

9 Increase Choice for the Recipient 190

10 Best Use of Always Finite Resources 197

IV Who Applies These Standards"

11 The Devastating History of Coercion, Racism, and Eugenics 207

12 Checks and Balances 220

Expectations 239

Acknowledgments 241

Author Index 243

Subject Index 250

Scripture Reference Index 258

Editorial Reviews

Perhaps the most important contribution of this book is Peterson’s retrieval of a strand of Christian theology that focuses on the human task to sustain, restore, and improve the conditions of our incomplete and damaged creation — including humans as part of creation — rather than to accept as God-given the state of the creation as we find it today. . . . Opens new terrain in bioethics for evangelical Christians. . . . One doesn’t have to agree with every move Peterson makes here to recognize the great significance of this book for the current debate.”
— David P. Gushee
Mercer University

From the Publisher