Medical Ethics and the Life of the Church
Dates: April 8th, 15th, 29th, and May 6th
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Location: The Centre (777 Homer Street)
Cost: $15.00
Westside is hosting a four evening class this April and May, written and taught by Dr. Quentin Genuis.
Course Overview:
What features define human life? How do individuals and communities understand and withstand suffering and pain? What is good dying? In our time, these essential human questions are often viewed primarily as medical-ethics issues. In reality, these are not exclusively medical or bioethical enquiries. Rather, they are questions that all human individuals and societies ultimately wrestle with.
This four-week course seeks to address these issues, bringing theological and medical ethics, as well as different views on what it means to be human, into conversation with each other. We will first consider key theological foundations that will allow us to address individual ethical questions with grace, humility, and precision. We will then consider some specific issues, notably including death-and-dying and the beginning of life, in order to apply Christian frameworks to some of the difficult issues of our time.
Recommended Reading: Bioethics: a Primer for Christians by Gil Meilaender
Course Details:
- Week 1: Foundations: The Ordering of Loves
- Week 2: Hard Questions: Death and Dying
- Week 3: Hard Questions: Beginnings and the Value of Human Life
- Week 4: Application and Conclusions
Registration will close one week prior to course start date. No refunds will be issued for this class.
Quentin is an Emergency Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, and the Physician Ethicist for Providence Health Care. He holds a Master of Letters in Theology from the University of St. Andrews. He teaches in academic, clinical, professional, and lay-settings on a variety of issues related to bioethics, compassion, addiction, and theological anthropology. He enjoys drinking Scottish whiskey, reading Dostoevsky, and slacklining. He loves his wife, Kalyn, and their four children: Lila, Rowan, Elias, and Junia.
For more information on Dr. Quentin:
Discussing bioethics with Dr. Quentin Genuis
Discussing Death, Dying, and Suffering with Dr. Quentin Genuis
If you are looking for biblical counsel, prayer, or benevolence, please see the Care Ministry.
Questions? Email office@wchurch.ca.