Download Genetics! Where Do We Stand As Christians?

Genetics! Where Do We Stand As Christians? The exclamation point and the question mark in the title alert readers that this study explores new and challenging developments. Our society is in the process of trying to understand what the rapidly expanding knowledge about human genes means and to discern what we should do about it. Because we have the scientific and technological ability to do something does not mean we should do it or should not do it. Christians in company with others need to appraise this new knowledge and power to manipulate genes in light of who we are, what we believe, and what we hold to be good and right.

This study prepares Christians to take on this task in an informed and faithful way. It provides reliable knowledge about genetics, highlights areas of impact and controversy, draws upon the Christian tradition for its perspective, clears away mistaken alternatives, and presents options we face. It helps readers take a stand on genetics as Christians.

Genetics! Where Do We Stand As Christians? is meant to encourage learning and moral discourse among members in our church as well as in other church bodies. It is intended for use in congregational forums and other settings where Christians explore the relationship of their faith to everyday life. It also may be used profitably as a resource for individual study. It is not a church policy statement on genetics. The study expresses the commitment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) to promote open-ended deliberation on specific contemporary social concerns without the pressure of legislative decision or community consensus. (See Policies and Procedures of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America for Addressing Social Concerns, 1997).

This study follows upon and draws considerably upon a book on genetics authorized by the board of the ELCA's Division for Church in Society (DCS). Readers are encouraged to consult that book, Genetic Testing & Screening: Critical Engagement at the Intersection of Faith and Science, edited by Roger A. Willer (Minneapolis: Kirk House, 1998), for more extensive treatment of many of the issues in this study. Readers may also want to consult another related study produced by DCS: Human Cloning: Papers from a Church Consultation (2001), also edited by Willer.

Ordering Print Copies
Single, complimentary printed copies of this resource are available by calling the Division for Church in Society's Resource Line at 800-638-3522 ext. 2996 and requesting it by title. Multiple copies of this resource may be ordered from the ELCA Resource Catalog.