Modern technology and modern health care are about overcoming limits. Both promise unlimited mastery and abundance, and both presuppose certain values and promote certain ways of thinking. It is no surprise that many people have an attitude of deep reverence for technical, medical and scientific authorities. We often embrace the latest advancements as unblemished goods for humanity and creation. New discoveries accompanied by such adulation have the potential to alter the very nature of both our personal lives and our social relationships. This raises important questions for families, communities and societies around the world about human dignity, human personhood and human flourishing.
Recent Projects
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The National Clergy Project on End-of-Life Care
This project aims to facilitate clergy education in understanding the theological issues surrounding spiritual care within terminal illness and the medical decision-making process faced by patients, families, and religious communities in the United States. The project also enables Michael Balboni, Ph.D., and Patrick Smith, P.h.D., to co-author a practical-theological book for clergy.
Duke University
The Fellowship in Theology, Medicine, and Culture Program
Directed by Dr. Farr Curlin and Dr. Warren Kinghorn, this project aims to provide theological formation for the church’s health practitioners. As part of its commitment to creating innovative approaches to theological formation, Duke Divinity School already provides several paths for health professional students and practitioners to work alongside students who are training for vocations within the church. The new Fellowship program aims to deepen theological formation with respect to the practices of health care, and to make the Divinity School more visible and accessible to health professional students and practitioners, both nationally and globally. Combining academic study with prayer, mentorship, seminars, practicums, and retreats, the Fellowship will equip the church’s healers with an imagination for new ways of faithfully engaging their vocations in health care.
Cardus, Inc., Comment Magazine
Healthcare, Social Architecture, and the Common Good
This is a themed issue of Comment magazine exploring why Christians who care about justice and the common good should care about the renewal and reform of healthcare systems in their countries. It focuses specifically on the United States and Canada. This issue, published in Fall 2015, featured articles by engaged theologians, ethicists, and reflective practitioners.
Goshen College
The Amish, Technology, and the Rest of Us
In this project, historian Steven Nolt looks at how Amish people negotiate the use and influence of technology in their individual and collective lives. By bringing those practices and insights into conversation with the best contemporary Christian reflection on technology, Nolt advances a wider Christian discussion by raising new questions, exposing assumptions, and suggesting new possibilities for community practices. The project will result in two journal articles.