Zadok Catalogue 2007

Ethics, bioethics and law

Freeing speec (part 1)
Andrew Cameron and Tracy Nodder
Zadok Perspectives 92, Spring 2006
From the beginning, freedom was to find its fulfillment in community.

Ethics as apologetis for modernity and postmodernity: CS Lewis' linking of Natural Law and narrative
By Gordon Preece
Zadok Paper S147 Winter 2006
C S Lewis knows the power of a story, but he also knows the pull of natural law. This paper draws from a wide range of his fiction and non-fiction to discuss the way C S Lewis has provided, both in content and more accessible form, a bridge between natural law and narratival (virtue) ethics as a guide to our ethical voyage.

The debate about religious freedom.
Rebecca Monson
Zadok Perspectives 88, Spring 2005
Factual accuracy has never been a priority in the debate regarding Victoria's Religious and Racial Tolerance Act.

Wise leadership to an important goal.
Andrew Cameron and Tracey Gordon
Zadok Perspectives 88, Spring 2005
NSW Premier Bob Carr's decision not to support the extension of vilification laws to religion is to be commended as good thinking by a wise leader.

A life worth living.
Fred McArdle
Zadok Perspectives 82. Autumn 2004
Whatever he (Singer) proclaims in his game of being the self-appointed new guru in thics is an opinion of a particular time, and changeable. Fred McArdle reflects on the views of Peter Singer from the perspective of being the father of a child with Downs Syndrome..

Bioethics and the Threat to the Human.
Graham Cole
Zadok Paper S124, Autumn 2003
This paper addresses key issues raised by a particular threat to human life that arises from our human inability to name who we are and why we matter in the scheme of things – reducing human life to having only instrumental value. This threat is compounded by the power of technological innovation and application, and its associated profits. Developments in biomedical science exemplify this power for example, the human genome project with all it portends for good (the treatment of disease) or ill (ideologically driven eugenics).

Attacking the Clones.
Denise Cooper-Clarke
Zadok Perspectives 75, Winter 2002
An ethicist provides an assessment of the human cloning debate, pointing out that not enough attention is being given to so called “therapeutic” cloning (or spare part cloning), often seen as the benign cousin of ‘reproductive’ cloning.

Singer Out of Tune.
Gordon Preece
Zadok Perspectives 75, Winter 2002
Singer’s universal, inhuman and infinitely guilt-inducing demands undermine our ability to invest in our own lives and those of our loved ones.

The Significance of Christianity in Reforming Prisoners.
Arthur Bolkas
Zadok Paper S119, Winter 2002
This paper details the impact of Christianity on prisoners, both during and after release. It includes original research conducted by the author in several Victorian prisons. Due to the positive impact of Christianity the author discovered, he calls for radical change to how the church, government and prison operation approach the issue of religion in prisons – and after the prisoner is released.

Some Reflections on Christianity and Law Reform.
Michael Adams
Zadok Paper S105, Autumn 2000
Why is it that, as a whole, Christians are not active in law reform and those in active political life as Christians usually represent the most conservative and often primitive view of the role of the law as an element of the social order? Any account of the relationship between the church and the wider community over the centuries will demonstrate similar features. The notion that witches were burnt by the authorities without the support or even initiative of the ordinary people is a myth, as is the same supposition about the Inquisition or its equivalents among the Reformed churches. The question which must be asked is how it came to be that this culture of stupidity, superstition, gross injustice and cruelty was so actively participated in by the Christian Church, both as one of the most significant elements of the social order and as the body of Christ? This paper is adapted from lecture presented under the auspices of the Zadok Institute in May 1999. Although the history is somewhat idiosyncratic and much has changed since the days of the abuses which the author briefly sketches, the general outline is painfully clear.

Mr Singer goes to Princeton.
Deidre King Hainsworth
Zadok Perspectives 65, Spring / Summer 1999/2000
Peter Singer’s appointment as Professor of Bioethics at the Princeton University Center for Human Values was a controversial choice producing conflict among the university community. The word from Princeton seems to be that Singer, while on the nose in many quarters, is there to stay.

When Zero is Number One.
John Kleinig
Zadok Perspectives 63, Autumn 1999
Is zero policing the answer for Australia's rising crime rate? What do New Yorkers think of Mayor Giulliani’s crack-down on crime?

Ethics and the Adversary System.
Ken J Crispin
Zadok Paper S95, Autumn 1998
Is the adversary of the judiciary comparable to Winston Churchill's appraisal of democracy: that it was "the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time"? Or, as Ken Crispin QC argues, have the archaic ethical foundations of the adversary system compromised the pursuit of justice and truth. After all, he says, we are "the only profession in which its practitioners regularly regard it as their ethical duty to harm the interests of others"

The ACT heroin trial
Max Neutze
Zadok Paper S92, November 1997
A specially commissioned ANU team of researchers recently proposed that a trial be conducted in which heroin addicts would be provided maintenance amounts of heroin under controlled conditions. The aim of these trials would be to contribute towards the minimisation of harm of addicts and those in their networks, and to test the possible advantages of the decriminalisation of heroin use. The proposals have met with vigorous opposition and debate. This paper gives a reasoned and cool account of the arguments surrounding the controversy. It provides an invaluable historical and sociological context which clarifies these important issues which will continue to be pressing ones as long as heroin usage is prevalent in our community. The paper explores some of the values which lie at the basis of the debate about drugs and tellingly demonstrates how fundamental Christian perspectives can be applied.

Does technology debase humanity?
Michael Lawrence
Zadok Paper S88, Winter 1997
This paper explores the nature of technical progress and reflects on the public discussion of technical progress. It presents an example to illustrate the interaction of technology and people and finally asks what can be done about the problems created by technology.

From dissent to civil disobedience: why a Christian crossed the line
Rena Pritchard
Zadok Perspectives 54, Spring 1966

Looking at Death: euthanasia
Various authors
Zadok Perspectives 50, October 1995
This issue of Perspectives tackles the question of euthanasia from various angles - medical, legal, theological and personal. Articles include: Looking at death, Death and dying: too much to bear, Euthanasia: a moral dilemma, When grandad died, Death by starvation: a nurse's struggle with the ethical dilemmas.

The Professional Worker's Vocation: loving service versus self-interested idolatry as illustrated in the legal profession.
Christine Parker
Zadok Paper S77, October 1995
This paper is a reflection on daily work - in the sense of paid employment. It focuses particularly on those occupations which have come to be called professions, and is illustrated by examples taken from the legal profession. The paper argues that the notion of loving service is essential to any Christian approach to daily work. While this is consistent with the rhetoric of professionalism, there are many potential hazards in professional occupations such as the dangers of self-interest, misuse of power and the enslaving pressures of employer expectations. The most insidious danger is how easy it is to slip from a position of seeing work as vocation to one which idolises work. While this paper is of particular relevance to those involved or about to become involved in a profession, the issues outlined are applicable to all forms of work - professional or otherwise, paid or voluntary.

Towards a Healthy Basis for Bioethics: a dialogue
Ian Barns, with a response from Max Charlesworth
Zadok Paper S72, December 1994
How in our pluralistic society should we approach bioethical decisions? Some questions, such as whether a person has the right to take their own life, may be forthright ones. Others, such as those involving genetic reengineering, are increasingly complex. In this paper Max Charlesworth summarises the liberal ideal which is expounded in his book, Bioethics in a Liberal Society. According to this ideal, persons should have maximum liberty to exercise personal autonomy. Ian Barns challenges this view, claiming that the common good will not be achieved by maximising personal freedom to the exclusion of the other considerations. Finally Charlesworth replies to Barns' critique.

Christian Perspective on Intelligent Robots
Phillip John McKerrow
Zadok Paper S70, September 1994
The goal of current robotics research is to develop an intelligent robot with sufficient dexterity and autonomy to move freely in a human environment working independently or in cooperation with people. For some, the ultimate goal is to produce a robot person. Scientists may indeed create intelligent, dexterous, autonomous machines. They will never, however, create a human person.

Forgiving Sin and Punishing Crime
Keith Mason QC
Zadok Paper S58, 1992
Should the concepts of repentance and forgiveness find expression in the law courts? What are the purposes of punishment, and how is punishment justified? Of what relevance is God's law, his punishment, his forgiveness and, finally, his atonement to these questions? In this fascinating discussion of the subject, Keith Mason commences with a case of an undetected murderer who, ten years after committing his crime, was converted to Christianity, repented, and confessed all to the authorities. Using a biblical framework, this paper explores the concepts of law, sin, punishment, restoration, deterrence, retribution, forgiveness and mercy. Keith Mason QC is the Solicitor General for New South Wales.

Issues in Biomedical Ethics
D Gareth Jones
Zadok paper R26, 1989
One of the foremost Christian thinkers in the field of biomedical ethics provides a guide to the growing literature on abortion, in-vitro fertilisation, genetic engineering and other related issues which challenge Christian thinking today.

Law Reform: the struggle for righteousness in Australia
John Wade
Zadok Paper S31, 1987
An important Christian contribution to the discussion on law reform during a controversial period for the legal system.

Bioethical issues at the Beginning of Human Life
D Gareth Jones
Zadok Paper S23, 1984
A brief discussion on issues raised in in-vitro fertilisation and therapeutic abortion.

Violation or the Power of Powerlessness: the ethical choice confronting the christian in the search for peace
Clive Harcourt-Norton
Zadok Paper S17, 1981
The understanding of power revealed in the life and teaching of Jesus and the problems of applying it to the contemporary world are discussed in a readable and challenging way.

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