Christian Ethics and Nursing Practice. Richard B. Steele
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Название: Christian Ethics and Nursing Practice
Автор: Richard B. Steele
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Религия: прочее
isbn: 9781532665066
isbn:
A second important clarification pertains to the relationship between the books of the Bible and the strands of biblical moral discourse. In the OT and the OT Apocrypha, the relationship is quite close. For example, Strand 1 predominates in the five books of the Law, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. There are no OT books in which Strand 2 is dominant, but there is a long block of holiness material, known as the Holiness Code, found in chapters 17–26 of Leviticus. Strand 3 comes to the fore in a cluster of books known as the OT Writings, which include Job, several of the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song of Solomon, as well as the apocryphal books of the Wisdom of Solomon and Sirach. Strand 4 predominates in the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1–2 Samuel, and 1–2 Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets). We must bear in mind, however, that even when a given strand of moral discourse “predominates” in a given biblical book, traces of the other strands may also be found there. For example, Moses, the lawgiver of Israel, is also called a “prophet” (Deut 18:15–22); conversely, Daniel the prophet gives thanks to God that he has been granted “wisdom and power” (Dan 2:23). With respect to the New Testament, the relationship between the books and the strands is still more complex, and the interweaving of the strands even more pronounced. The Gospels, for example, sometimes feature Jesus as a lawgiver (Strand 1), sometimes as a sage (Strand 3), and sometimes as a prophet (Strand 4); and his Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) quite explicitly harkens back to the Levitical Holiness Code (Strand 2). Again, the letter of James, which represents the wisdom strand in chapter 3 below, also has many features of biblical prophecy (D. Nienhuis, personal communication, July 9, 2018). It is important, therefore, not to overidentify any one strand of biblical moral discourse with any one book or group of books in the Christian Scripture.
This leads to a third clarification. Not only are multiple strands sometimes found together in a given biblical book, but the simultaneous presence of multiple strands in many biblical books, taken one by one, and in canon of sacred Scripture, taken as a whole, provides a depth and richness of ethical insight that none of the strands by itself could offer. True, the representative texts we have chosen for each strand differ markedly in literary form and even to some extent in religious outlook. Yet these differences do not reflect contradiction. On the contrary, they demonstrate the variety of ways in which the Bible, in its rich diversity-amidst-unity, seeks to shape the lives of its readers. The four strands supplement, reinforce and enrich each other, and each strand helps to correct the excesses and deficiencies to which each of the others, taken by itself, might be prone. One way to visualize this is shown in Figure 0.2, which illustrates the technique of braid-making:
Figure 0.2. Four-strand braid
Strand 1: Law
Strand 2: Holiness
Strand 3: Wisdom
Strand 4: Prophecy
We start, as shown in step 1 above, with four colored strings or strands—purple, green, red and gold. When we interweave those strands, as shown successively in steps 2 through 5, we get a braid. Now the canon of Christian Scripture is like the completed braid. If we then ask how it tries to shape the character and conduct of its readers, we discover that it does so in four somewhat different ways. Sometimes the Bible lays down laws (Strand 1). Sometimes it promotes virtuous habits or morally praiseworthy character traits (Strand 2). Sometimes it recommends sensible strategies for making decisions, solving problems and interacting with others (Strand 3). Sometimes it sharply criticizes behaviors and social institutions that cause people to forget God or oppress others (Strand 4). Different as these modes of moral instruction may seem, however, they all serve a common purpose: to increase readers’ love of God and neighbor. To grasp the Bible’s overall moral vision, therefore, we must not merely analyze its separate strands of moral discourse: we must correlate and coordinate their respective concerns and insights. We must let the Bible’s rich complexities, subtle nuances and diverse perspectives all have their say in shaping our character and conduct. In chapters 1–4, we take the four strands one by one; then, in chapter 5, we put the four strands into direct conversation with each other. We argue that people attain moral maturity when they hold the distinctive approaches of all four strands in dynamic tension, allowing each strand to have its say, and braiding them together into a strong, supple, integral whole.
Fourth, we sometimes distinguish between the ethics of conduct and the ethics of character, as shown in Table 0.2 below. Strands 1 and 4, which emphasize what people should do and how they should act, represent conduct-focused ethics. In contrast, Strands 2 and 3, which emphasize who people are as moral agents, represent character-based ethics. This distinction between conduct-focused and character-based ethics is also discernible in the Code (ANA, 2015). Thus, Provisions 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9 (which correlate with Strands 1 and 4, as shown in Table 0.1 above) stress the personal and professional conduct of nurses, whereas Provisions 4, 5, 6, and 7 (which correlate with Strands 2 and 3) focus on their moral virtues and professional skills. Yet it is important not to push the distinction between conduct-focused and character-based ethics too far. People’s behavior usually reflects their selfhood in its entirety, and their selfhood is only knowable to others (and often to themselves) by their concrete actions in the world. We may distinguish character and conduct for purposes of ethical analysis, yet we recognize that they are really aspects or dimensions of the moral life in its entirety.
| Table 0.2. Conduct-Focused Ethics vs. Character-Focused Ethics | |
| Conduct-Focused Ethics: Emphasis on laws, regulations, rules, policies, procedures or protocols | Character-Focused Ethics: Emphasis on virtues, habits, skills, disposition, motives, moral sentiments, emotional intelligence |
| Strand 1: Law | Strand 2: Holiness |
| Strand 4: Prophecy | Strand 3: Wisdom |
Fifth, as previously noted, we argue in this book that ethical nursing practice involves obedience to laws, regulations and protocols; the cultivation of virtuous habits; decision-making procedures based on evidence, insight and experience; and advocacy for the rights and needs of patients, and that these differing emphases parallel the dominant themes of the four strands of biblical moral discourse, respectively. True, the Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements (ANA, 2015) does not explicitly invoke the Bible as a moral authority, nor does it imply that a person must be a Christian in order to practice nursing ethically. Yet the norms for the character and conduct of nurses set by the Code do correspond closely to the overall picture of godly living delineated in the four strands of biblical moral discourse, and our task is to explore these parallels. The way in which the four biblical strands and the major objectives of the corresponding provisions in the Code collectively contribute to moral maturity in Christian nurses is illustrated in Figure 0.3.
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