"Christian ethicists writing on professional life or biotechnology seldom clarify their theological stance as carefully as does Gilbert Meilaender. A classical Lutheran, he stands between the updated traditionalism of Pope John Paul II and the postmodern Calvinism of Karl Barth. One may echo of legalism and the other tempt to antinomianisin, but he argues for the dialectic of simul justus et peccator, which shapes an ethic of freedom and obedience. Then, he takes up issues of vocation in relation to the love of family and country, plus those of genetic engineering, stem cell research, and decisions the end of life. As some Lutherans bend toward Rome and others toward Geneva, Meilaender makes the case that Catholic and Reformed Christians, as well as Lutherans, would be wise to heed the Evangelical witness ofWittenberg in an ethics for today."
Max L. Stackhouse, Princeton Theological Seminary
"These essays are the work of a theological master. With clarity and sometimes elegant beauty, Gilbert Meilaender offers a healing balm for those who bear wounds afflicted by life in a world where freedom is increasingly seen as nothing more than an autonomous will in the service of untutored desire. W/hether he is wrestling with perennially difficult questions at the foundation of historical Christianity: or challenges brought to bear by recent developments in biotechnology, Meilaender reminds us that we belong, in life and in death, to the holy God who is sovereign over history and loves us even in the midst of our sin."
Joel James Shuman, coauthor of Reclaiming the Body:
Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine