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The Soul of the Embryo: An Enquiry into the Status of the Human Embryo in the Christian Tradition
We are delighted to announce that this book has been short listed for the prestigious Michael Ramsey prize for the best in theological writing. For more information please www.michaelramseyprize.org.uk
A radical examination of the Christian tradition relating to the human embryo and how this relates to the debate today.In recent years, the moral status of the human embryo has come to the fore as a vital issue for a range of contemporary ethical concerning the over-production, freezing and discarding of embryos in IVF; concerning the use of 'spare' embryos for scientific experimentation; and finally, concerning the prospect of producing clone embryos. These debates have involved not only general philosophical arguments, but also specifically religious arguments. Many participants have attempted to find precedent from the Christian tradition for the positions they wish to defend.It is therefore extraordinary that until The Soul of the Embryo there has been no significant work on the history of Christian reflection on the human embryo. Here, David Albert Jones seeks to tell the story of this unfolding tradition - a story that encompasses many different medical, moral, philosophical and theological themes. He starts by examining the understanding of the embryo in the Hebrew Scritpures, then moves through early Christianity and the Middle Ages to the Reformation and beyond. Finally, Albert Jones considers the application of this developed tradition to contemporary situation and questions which contemporary Christian view or views are best regarded as authentic developments of the tradition and which should be regarded as alien to the tradition.
A radical examination of the Christian tradition relating to the human embryo and how this relates to the debate today.In recent years, the moral status of the human embryo has come to the fore as a vital issue for a range of contemporary ethical concerning the over-production, freezing and discarding of embryos in IVF; concerning the use of 'spare' embryos for scientific experimentation; and finally, concerning the prospect of producing clone embryos. These debates have involved not only general philosophical arguments, but also specifically religious arguments. Many participants have attempted to find precedent from the Christian tradition for the positions they wish to defend.It is therefore extraordinary that until The Soul of the Embryo there has been no significant work on the history of Christian reflection on the human embryo. Here, David Albert Jones seeks to tell the story of this unfolding tradition - a story that encompasses many different medical, moral, philosophical and theological themes. He starts by examining the understanding of the embryo in the Hebrew Scritpures, then moves through early Christianity and the Middle Ages to the Reformation and beyond. Finally, Albert Jones considers the application of this developed tradition to contemporary situation and questions which contemporary Christian view or views are best regarded as authentic developments of the tradition and which should be regarded as alien to the tradition.
272 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2004
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February 26, 2016I saw the word "Christian" on the book cover, but I hoped for the best. It starts well enough, but by the end of the thing the author does end up advocating an anti-abortion position.
All of the voices are men's until the 20th Century and the women's voices, when they show up, call for abortion rights. There are, of course, a few exceptions to this, but that's the overall arrangement. It occurred to me that it was easy for these men to sit around and contemplate the nature of life and the soul never having had to actually bother with a pregnancy themselves.
There is a lot of fuss about the nature of souls and at what point we get them. I had not thought about the problem of identical twins (that is, if each twin has its own soul, at which point is it received), but he lays out several possibilities. What he does not address, however, and what I think betrays his amateur medical status, is genetic chimeras. If two embryos smoosh together to create one person, how many souls does does that person have? If only one, was there ever another? I mean, if we're going to insist on demanding to know by what metric the all powerful God of All Creation imbues souls on people, I think we should investigate every possibility. Because screw trusting an omniscient being to do its job, am I right?
Of course, if you believe life begins at birth or, at the very least, viability, you have none of these problems.
I had also never heard of the embryonic Jesus argument and people having conniptions about the idea that Jesus's body might have existed for a few months without a soul. "WHAT IF SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED?" they worry, seemingly forgetful that when your dad is God, and is super concerned with you living long enough for him to see you murdered, I'm pretty sure he would have installed a top notch embryo and kept an eye on it, you know?
This talk of how innocent embryos are, how powerless they are, and how this makes them the most deserving of protection irritated me. Will I claim an embryo is sinful? No. An embryo is innocent. Is it powerless? Hell no. It has the power to radically alter its mother's body in ways that will not revert even long after its left her body. It wreaks havoc on her way of thinking, her sense of self, the very position of her organs. Sometimes, it kills her. What's more, if anti-abortion activists have their way, it can do this to her against her will. Then who is more powerless? At the beginning of the book, the author mentions the Jewish idea of treating an embryo like an invader and I think it's an apt metaphor.
Finally, I see you, David Albert Jones, scaring the reader with the word "eugenics" without ever once addressing the very real fact that access to abortion has a revolutionizing effect on the poor. Jesus didn't say word one about embryos, but he had a hell of a lot to say about the poor.
All that being said, if you just want to know what Christian theologians have said on the subject, go nuts.
All of the voices are men's until the 20th Century and the women's voices, when they show up, call for abortion rights. There are, of course, a few exceptions to this, but that's the overall arrangement. It occurred to me that it was easy for these men to sit around and contemplate the nature of life and the soul never having had to actually bother with a pregnancy themselves.
There is a lot of fuss about the nature of souls and at what point we get them. I had not thought about the problem of identical twins (that is, if each twin has its own soul, at which point is it received), but he lays out several possibilities. What he does not address, however, and what I think betrays his amateur medical status, is genetic chimeras. If two embryos smoosh together to create one person, how many souls does does that person have? If only one, was there ever another? I mean, if we're going to insist on demanding to know by what metric the all powerful God of All Creation imbues souls on people, I think we should investigate every possibility. Because screw trusting an omniscient being to do its job, am I right?
Of course, if you believe life begins at birth or, at the very least, viability, you have none of these problems.
I had also never heard of the embryonic Jesus argument and people having conniptions about the idea that Jesus's body might have existed for a few months without a soul. "WHAT IF SOMETHING HAD HAPPENED?" they worry, seemingly forgetful that when your dad is God, and is super concerned with you living long enough for him to see you murdered, I'm pretty sure he would have installed a top notch embryo and kept an eye on it, you know?
This talk of how innocent embryos are, how powerless they are, and how this makes them the most deserving of protection irritated me. Will I claim an embryo is sinful? No. An embryo is innocent. Is it powerless? Hell no. It has the power to radically alter its mother's body in ways that will not revert even long after its left her body. It wreaks havoc on her way of thinking, her sense of self, the very position of her organs. Sometimes, it kills her. What's more, if anti-abortion activists have their way, it can do this to her against her will. Then who is more powerless? At the beginning of the book, the author mentions the Jewish idea of treating an embryo like an invader and I think it's an apt metaphor.
Finally, I see you, David Albert Jones, scaring the reader with the word "eugenics" without ever once addressing the very real fact that access to abortion has a revolutionizing effect on the poor. Jesus didn't say word one about embryos, but he had a hell of a lot to say about the poor.
All that being said, if you just want to know what Christian theologians have said on the subject, go nuts.
October 27, 2008
An exhaustive, well-written, well-documented account.
April 3, 2018
What is an embryo?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews