Ethics and the Elderly: The Challenge of Long-Term Care by Moses Sarah M

Ethics and the Elderly: The Challenge of Long-Term Care by Moses Sarah M

Author:Moses, Sarah M. [Moses, Sarah M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Maryknoll Fathers
Published: 2015-05-21T16:00:00+00:00


Conclusion

In shaping a Christian ethic able to respond to the ethical challenges of long-term elder care, this chapter has demonstrated the importance of the biblical texts as a source of normative ethical insight. We began by acknowledging that the use of the Bible as a normative source must include recognition of the complexity and diversity of the biblical material. For while the Bible does address old age in several texts of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, one must avoid approaching the Bible looking for a unified, systematic “theology of aging.” In addition, the Bible should not be read naively as reflective of the “good old days” in which respect and care for elderly family members were guaranteed. As noted, the prophetic condemnation of neglect of elderly persons reveals that ancient societies, like those of today, were sometimes guilty of injustice toward vulnerable members, which included the aged. With these helpful cautions in mind, this chapter has demonstrated that the biblical witness still yields two relevant norms for shaping a Christian approach to long-term care today: an insistence that care for the elderly is a vital ethical measure of a just society and the theological affirmation of the dignity of older persons as subjects called by God to ongoing purpose.

Analysis of the ethical imperative for care showed that the Hebrew Bible calls for just care of elderly persons, based on a concern for social stability, as an expression of respect and fear of God and as fulfillment of divine justice for the poor and weak. Care and respect for elderly persons included the dimension of material and physical care; and while the family was the primary sphere for such care, there also existed a general moral obligation toward aging members of society. As evidenced by the teachings of Jesus and the charitable practices of the early Christian community, the ethical imperative evident in the Hebrew Bible is also affirmed in the writings of the early church. For although Jesus was critical of traditional norms concerning biological family when these interfered with devotion to God, the New Testament does not present an absolute denial of family responsibility, including respect and care for older persons. The biblical emphasis on elder care as a normative social responsibility intersects with the basic argument found in the Community of Sant’Egidio's practical work and publications and that of the Green House Project. Both organizations, through a long history of involvement with the elderly, have sought to embody and promote long-term care of the elderly as of fundamental moral importance in contemporary society.

The second consistent theme we examined was the biblical vision of older persons as subjects who continue to be addressed by God as members of the community of faith. In this section, the narratives concerning older characters in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament were particularly important for shaping a theological vision of the identity of the elderly in relation to God and the community. Articulating the implications of this theological vision for the contemporary



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