Complex ethical problems resulting from research andadvances in biotechnologies increasingly confront Christian ministers andtheologians with difficult and complex moral dilemmas. Where do theyturn to in order to give guidance and answer questions concerning practicalbioethical problems? This article argues that Bioethics as the systematicstudy of specific moral dilemmas implies conjoining a variety of ethicalmethodologies in an interdisciplinary framework. In trying to clarify thiscomplex nature of Bioethics when practiced specifically from a ChristianTheological viewpoint, the article examines theoretical considerationsregarding the interface between three contributing disciplines, viz.Theology, Philosophy and Life Sciences. This is done by investigating threequestions: What is the place of Bioethics in the hierarchy of disciplines?In what way do Philosophy, Theology, and Life Sciences contribute tothe theoretical foundations of interdisciplinary Bioethics?, and How dodifferent methodologies relate to one another in order to show the trueinterdisciplinary character of Bioethics? The article concludes that it isvital to re-examine the theoretical basis of Bioethics as a philosophicalgrounding or methodology in order to place moral knowledge within ameta-theoretical and epistemological framework. It is clear that Bioethicsis a complex endeavour served by many disciplines, as well as a complexinterdisciplinary form of knowledge. Scholars, scientists and theologiansmust all learn to transcend the barriers between the multitude ofinterrogational disciplines and endeavour to work towards designing a wellfoundedand meaningful framework within which the methodologicalassumptions and theoretical grounding have been clarified, and one whichalso recognizes the complex interdisciplinary nature of Bioethics.
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