Though Jonah is famous for his fish, he also provides an illuminating case study of depression and suicidal thought. This Bible study and accompanying article provide a guide to the Scriptural portrait of despair shown in Jonah’s story.
Jonah struggles mightily with forgiveness; in fact, his refusal to forgive the Ninevites is the cause of his despair, the root of why he wishes to die! Yet in this story, God shows us the cure: to forgive again, and again, and again. Refusing to forgive only breeds resentment and depression, and sometimes it could even lead to suicide. But forgiving as Christ forgave us will make us more grace-filled, whole and emotionally healthy.
This is an edited and adapted version of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s Commission on Theology and Church Relations report on “Marriage, Family and Human Cloning.” It speaks not only of cloning but also briefly touches on artificial insemination, surrogacy, and in vitro fertilization.
What Can We Say That Is Lutheran in Bioethics?
A Lutheran response to issues in bioethics is always one of Law and Gospel. Law is necessary to constrain the weak ...
Transhumanism: Humans Without Bodies
Transhumanism puts faith in technology and holds onto the hope that humans can conquer death and become immortal ...
Stem Cell Research: Theology
Christians are neighbors to the unborn embryo. Because we are forgiven by His grace through faith, the ...
Smuggling Theology Into Discussions of Ethics
Ethical relativism in issues of bioethics betrays a serious fault. It does not make allowances for the ...
New Technologies, Old Questions: How to Stay Human in the Post-Christian Church
Developments in emerging technologies will lead to vast changes in the way we live. How do we ensure that ...
Informed Consent
Christians who give informed consent have an opportunity for faith in God’s care through their time of weakness. ...
Genetic Engineering
Respecting the integrity of genetic research and its outcome, as Christians we recognize the limitations God ...
Can or Should?
When questions are raised of abortion, contraception, euthanasia, stem-cell research, in vitro fertilization, we ...
Bios and Biology
In one sense, bioethics is something quite new, a development of the last half-century or so. The term itself is ...
Bioethics! What Is It?
Bioethics is ethics applied to moral concerns arising out of the technology that involves decision-making about ...
An Approach to Bioethics
In our culture, ethical or moral determinations are often based on the sentiments of who makes the decision. In ...
