The Tension between Ethical Issues and Christian Principles

This paper scrutinizes the decision that Mike took concerning James' sickness and states some of the ethical issues alongside the Christian principles that guided Mike and Joanna in making their decisions.

Running head: THE TENSION BETWEEN ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES 1
The Tension between Ethical Issues and Christian Principles
Name
Institution

THE TENSION BETWEEN ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES 2
Christian beliefs and values are ways of life based on teachings and inspirations from the
Christians’ traditions and scriptures. Christian ethics makes use of such scriptures to develop
critical ethical norms as well as theories as well as consequently applying them to solve ethical
issues. Christian principles are unique because religious revelations shape them. Ethical issues,
on the other hand, refer to a conflict between what is right to do and what is not ethical
(Klugman, 2018). One of the most core aspects of bioethics is autonomy which restricts medical
practitioners from allowing their patients from making diseases regarding their sickness (Dana &
MMedEd, 2007).
Many of such ethical actions have moral implications. Human behaviors do not elicit
moral issues. Some of this ethics generate the opinion of whether such human behavior is of
positive value or negative value. It is good for one to judge themselves on whether their actions
are of any advantage or not. This paper tries to scrutinize if the decision that Mike took
concerning James' sickness was of any advantage to his life or not. It as well tries to state some
of the ethical issues alongside the Christian principles that guided Mike and Joanna in making
their decisions.
In most cases, patients tend to forego medical recommendations in pursuance of divine
help. Mike decided to forego James' dialysis believing that spiritual help was better. He was in
line with the Christian principle that Jesus Christ is the only savior of souls in the universe.
Christianity teaches that he (Jesus) Christ is the only savior for humanity (Arny, 2017). Mike
decided to seek spiritual help concerning James's sickness. Their attending physician never
objected to Mike's decision. The attending physician should not have allowed Mike to continue
with his decisions. This is because, saving life is more important than one’s faith in the deities.
The physician should have continued with the dialysis first.

THE TENSION BETWEEN ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES 3
Once someone is faced with a difficult situation, it is his or her duty to look for what to
do to solve the situation. He or she is also supposed to ascertain why they choose that particular
decision and why. In the case study, it was the duty of Mike as the head of the family to look for
a balance between autonomy and spirituality regarding James' sickness (Biomedical Ethics in the
Christian Narrative, 2016). As the medical engineers argue, there is a great need for one to seek
medical assistance whenever they fall sick. Medicines help our bodies to fight diseases. In this
case study, Mike and Joann were faced with difficult decisions of deciding whether to seek
spiritual help or medical help. Secondly, they were also confused on whether to allow their other
son donate his kidney to his brother.
Miracles do happen to signify God's mightiness. However, it is rare for them to happen.
According to Christian teachings the healings of Jesus Christ were exclusively given as
legitimacy of his Messiahship claim since the Old Testament times. Thus a proper ethical
decision is required on matters spirituality and medical help (Rae & Scott, 2009). In addition,
some of the writers in the bible also acknowledged physicians, for example, Luke. Jesus as well
once quoted from a proverb "Physician, heal yourself” this shows that physicians of that time
also healed people. Therefore, Mike as a true Christian could have given the medicinal help first
priority. This is because; medicines were introduced to help humanity encounter diseases
(Wrenn, 2018). From this teaching, it was clear that people should seek medical help in addition
to the spiritual help.
In conclusion, God calls people from different disciplines to help others. It would be
difficult for God himself to be seen elevating people from their current problems. Instead, he
bestows knowledge to others so that they can helps over the problems they are facing. For
example, calls and blesses individuals like doctors so that they can heal the sick. Therefore it is

THE TENSION BETWEEN ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES 4
advisable for everyone who is sick to seek medical help. In the same light, Mike should
understand that, doctor is a God-send healer and therefore he has the Gods power to heal the
sick. Through the doctor, patients have been healed and it is also evidenced that in most cases
patients who lack healthcare professional due to healthcare inaccessibility or financial constraints
have ended up dying. Medical intervention helps in strengthening the human's white blood cells
which do help in fighting diseases. Mike should adhere to this advice.

THE TENSION BETWEEN ETHICAL ISSUES AND CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLES 5
References
Arny, G. (2017, January 15). Bioethics for Every Generation. Retrieved from Presidential
Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues:
https://bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/pcsbi/studies.html
Biomedical Ethics in the Christian Narrative. (2016, August 2). Retrieved from Essay Zoo:
https://essayzoo.org/case-study/apa/health-and-medicine/phi-413v-rs-t3-healing-
autonomy.php
Dana, J. L., & MMedEd, D. (2007). The Four Principles of Biomedical Ethics: A Foundation for
Current Bioethical Debate. Journal of Chiropractice Humanities, 34-40.
Klugman, C. (2018, July 11). Secret Twin Experiment and Bioethics.Net 15 Seconds of Fame.
Retrieved from American Journal of Bioethics website: http://www.bioethics.net/
Rae, & Scott, B. M. (2009). Moral Choices: An Introduction of Ethics. Grand Rapids: MI:
Zondervan.
Wrenn, C. B. (2018, July 21). Naturalistic Epistemology. Retrieved from The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy: http://www.iep.utm.edu/bioethic/