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| Surrogacy by Megan McDermott, Guest Editor Work on this issue of the Journal of Lutheran Ethics began while I was an intern at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America last summer for the Theological Discernment Team. I was given the task of beginning the editorial process for a future issue. As someone with a strong interest in feminist theology and issues pertaining to women, surrogacy (particularly commercial surrogacy) was a captivating topic. It raised a number of thought-provoking questions, including: Do we speak about commercial surrogacy as a commodification of women's bodies? Is this commodification permissible when the surrogate is a willing participant? Does economic inequality between those using surrogates and those who choose to be surrogates negate the idea of a willing participant? Is it ethical for people from rich countries like the United States and Canada to use those from poorer countries as surrogates? Should people struggling with infertility be encouraged towards adoption over surrogacy? Is it an ethical good of surrogacy that it enable more diverse families—including those with same-sex parents or single parents? | |
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| In her article, Surekha Nelavala compares surrogacy practices in India to those in North America. Writing from a feminist perspective, she contrasts surrogate mothers in North America who give “a priceless gift to the intended parents,” with the Indian fertility clinics, often dubbed “baby factories.” The thrust of the article deals with the dilemma that, while providing much needed income to many Indian families and thereby temporarily empowering surrogate mothers, the practices of the Indian surrogacy industry exploit and objectify surrogate mothers, often having disastrous and life-threatening effects on their lives and their families. Nelavala is a rostered leader in the De-Md Synod, ELCA, serving at Global Peace Lutheran Fellowship and at Harmony Community Lutheran Church. | |
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| Power and Purpose: Paul Ramsey and Contemporary Christian Political Theology by Adam Edward Hollowell Review by Daniel A. Morris In this book Hollowell has set for himself two tasks that are, by his own admission, uphill battles. He wants, in the first place, to argue that Paul Ramsey’s intellectual legacy merits more scholarly attention than Ramsey currently enjoys. In the second place, Hollowell wants to demonstrate that Ramsey was much more than simply a thinker who invoked Christian concepts in order to speak to politics and applied ethics. This book makes a strong contribution to scholarship on Paul Ramsey and American political theology. Scholars and graduate students in these fields will be grateful for Hollowell’s work. Dr. Daniel A. Morris is a lecturer in Religion at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois.
Dialectical Theology and Jacques Ellul: An Introductory Exposition by Jacob E. Van Vleet Review by Clint Schnekloth Pastor, author and blogger Clint Schnekloth reviews this book concerning Jacques Ellul’s dialectics and theology by Jacob Van Vleet. Schnekloth reflects on his previous encounters with Ellul and describes the necessity of approaching both the philosophy and the theology of this dialectician. This conversation is especially poignant when Van Vleet approaches the subject of technology and free will. As the title suggests, this volume serves as an introduction to the complex philosophy and theology of Jacques Ellul. |
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© June 2015
Journal of Lutheran Ethics
Volume 15, Issue 6
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