« Back to Issue 37

A Pocket Guide to Ethical Issues

Reviewed by Alun Brookfield.

How do Lion do it? How do they produce a book with a full colour glossy cover enclosing 220 pages of highly useful material for a mere £6.99? I don’t know the answer, but I’m glad they’ve done it with this particular volume.

Obviously it’s not profound, but if you want a concise overview of the issues involved with ethical decision-making in these thirteen areas, you’ll not find better than this. It covers: Artificial reproductive techniques; Embryos; In Vitro Fertilization; Abortion; Genetics; War; Punishment; Animals; Environment; Asylum and immigration; Marriage and sex; Poverty; and Euthanasia.

Given the current media interest over the Church of England’s difficulties over homosexual ordination and episcopacy, I turned to the chapter on marriage and sex to see what it had to say on the matter. It explores the medical, genetic and biblical issues, even giving proper weight to the view held by many that the Bible does not explicitly condemn homosexuality - only certain perversions of it. It makes no attempt to draw conclusions, being content with setting out the facts and the arguments and leaving the intelligent adult reader to make their own decisions.

In the autumn, I will be teaching a course on Christian ethics to a group of adult lay men and women. This will undoubtedly by one of the main course books. I commend it warmly.