In both society and in our personal lives, either the Christian perspective on bioethics will achieve a dominant level of acceptance or the secularist view will win, slowly but assuredly, by default. Each path will lead to sharply different results. The Christian approach leads to freedom, equality and respect for all humanity. Basing bioethics on utilitarian and emotive values, however, results in the degradation of human dignity. Which path we choose will determine the fate of bioethics. And the choices we make in bioethics will largely determine the outcome of our earthly future.

Abortion. Euthanasia. Surrogacy. Cloning. Some of the most contentious and disputed issues of our day are matters of bioethics, an interdisciplinary field that addresses what we should and should not pursue in matters of life and health. These issues touch on the very core of our humanity: dignity and worth, sickness and health, life and death. Yet the harsh reality is that while bioethical concerns are increasingly confronting us in the media, in the public square and in our personal lives, few people grasp the science involved in the “bio,” or the moral dilemmas involved in the “ethics” of bioethics.

To encourage Christians to reflect on these advances, changes, and controversies and to show how they are changing the way we live, I plan to dedicate this column (which will appear every Thursday for the next several months) to exploring a broad range of bioethical issues.

But before we begin, let’s examine five reasons why Christians have a particular responsibility to understand and be involved in bioethics.

1. First is what can be called the “It can’t happen to me” syndrome. The situations that arise in bioethics are often considered to be concerns that affect other people but have no bearing on our own lives: Other people must make painful decisions about the dying process; other people suffer from the problems associated with infertility; other people must make decisions about “spare” embryos.

Yet even when we are not directly affected, our role as “neighbors” to people in a fallen world will lead us to face these concerns. A friend may experience an unexpected pregnancy and seek our advice about abortion. A parent’s health may deteriorate to the point where decisions must be made about feeding tubes or respirators. A friend may find they are unable to have children and will seek technological solutions to cure their infertility.

2. The pace and proliferation of biomedical advancement also compels our involvement in bioethics.

3. A third reason for our necessary involvement in bioethical issues relates to our rights and responsibilities as citizens. As Americans, we have a right to participate in the political processes of our country and the corresponding responsibility to inform ourselves on the issues.

4. Additionally, our responsibilities as Christians have bearing on our involvement in bioethics. Bioethics affects us not only on a personal level as individuals but also on a corporate level as members of the body of Christ.

5. Finally, wisdom demands that we be prepared, that we develop a carefully reasoned, biblically based approach to bioethics before it is needed.

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