Flourishing : Health, Disease, and Bioethics in Theological Perspective

We Use Such Words As Health, Disease, And Illness All The Time Without Stopping To Consider Exactly What We Understand By Them. Yet Their Meanings Are Far From Straightforward, And Disagreements Over Them Have Important Practical Consequences In Health Care And Bioethics. In This Book Neil Messer Develops A Distinctive And Innovative Theological Account Of These Concepts. He Engages In Earnest With Debates In The Philosophy Of Medicine And Disability Studies And Draws On A Wide Array Of Theological Resources Including Barth, Bonhoeffer, Aquinas, And Recent Disability Theologies. By Enabling Us To Understand Health In The Wider Perspective Of The Flourishing And Ultimate Destiny Of Human Beings, Messer's Flourishing Sheds New Light On A Range Of Practical Bioethical Issues And Dilemmas. Philosophical Accounts Of Health, Disease, And Illness -- Disability Perspectives: Critical Insights And Questions -- Theological Resources For Understanding Health And Disease -- Theological Theses Concerning Health, Disease, And Illness. Neil Messer. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. We use such words as "health," "disease," and "illness" all the time without stopping to consider exactly what we understand by them. Yet their meanings are far from straightforward, and disagreements over them have important practical consequences in health care and bioethics.

In this book Neil Messer develops a distinctive and innovative theological account of these concepts. He engages in earnest with debates in the philosophy of medicine and disability studies and draws on a wide array of theological resources including Barth, Bonhoeffer, Aquinas, and recent disability theologies.

By enabling us to understand health in the wider perspective of the flourishing and ultimate destiny of human beings, Messer's Flourishing sheds new light on a range of practical bioethical issues and dilemmas.