An occasional article by Rod Benson published on EthicsDaily, 18 Dec 2014 The principle of the common good is prominent in Catholic social teaching and applicable to a wide range of social and ethical issues but is not often articulated in Baptist ethical thought and praxis. The notion of the common good appears to have …
On divorce and remarriage
An occasional paper by Rod Benson, 2006 [statistics revised 2014] Up to half of all marriages in Australia will end in divorce, and most divorcees remarry. For people facing the prospect or the reality of divorce and remarriage today, including many Christians, the Bible appears to offer conflicting or irrelevant advice, while the church may …
Racism and reconciliation
NOTE: I preached this sermon at the Murri Evangelical Church (a Baptist church) in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, on the first anniversary of the 1996 Australian federal election which swept Pauline Hanson onto the national political stage. Ms Hanson’s seat of Oxley, since renamed Blair following electoral boundary changes in 1998, included most of the city …
Is conscience a reliable guide for ethics? (part 1 of 3)
As a seven-year-old, Dr David Whitten recalls his family holidaying at Katoomba’s Hydro Majestic Hotel. When the waitress served his breakfast of fried eggs, he noticed “something next to the eggs that looked like thin, crisp meat and was the source of a wonderful aroma.” “We don’t eat bacon,” his father said, and the waitress …
Continue reading "Is conscience a reliable guide for ethics? (part 1 of 3)"
Corrupting technology
Corrupting technology: An integrity check on the organ transplant industry Abstract This paper discusses aspects of organ donation and transplantation (ODT) as an example of technology delivering significant health and longevity benefits to patients, but fraught with ethical challenges and open to incidental or systematic corruption. The paper outlines the main features of current ethical …
