The Shape of Theological Humanism
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the wholeness of a form of life, and yet, through technological means, can enhance it, then one is enabled and required so to act. Conversely, if tech-nologies demean or destroy the fragile wholeness of a form of life – say, A focus on the integrity of life means that if one respects the coherence,
reducing a human being to a genetic code that can be cloned, or a specific ecosystem to an economic resource – then it is not permissible so to act. The value of thinking about the integrity of life, rather than sanctity or interests, is that it enables greater precision about what we are to respect and enhance.
It is not biological processes or interests or suffering, but rather the integra-tion of a specific form of life that is the object of responsibility. It is not life quagoods. When that capacity is thwarted or destroyed, it makes little sense to life, the brute fact of a kind of life, but its capacity to integrate various
preserve life a way that places limits on the power of various technologies, but it also specifies when we can and ought to deploy them. This outlook clarifies the Again, theological humanism not only orders duties (respect/enhance) in qua life.
good we should respect and enhance (integrity of life and its many goods) in such a way that we do not make life into a second God or reduce life to instrumental value to serve other purposes. This brings us to a vexing ques-tion. What is the source of value of the integrity of life? Is it human power
and our capacity to control life? Is physical life sacred?life is a gift. A theological humanist needs to respect and enhance the integ-rity of life Life is not a second God. Life as such is not ultimate. By the same token, before God and, conversely, conceives “God” through the integrity
of life. This means that all of finite life has value even if it does not have ultimate value; God names what is supremely important and real but cannot command what demeans or destroys the integrity of life. Further, life is never only of instrumental worth to other human purposes and techno-
logical progress. There are situations in which life can and may and must tragically be sacrificed precisely to respect and enhance its integrity. What an ethics of the integrity of life does is to dignify and yet also to relativize life. Against those who deny the sanctity of life, this ethics insists that life has
great dignity and intrinsic worth. Against those who insist on the sacredness of life, this ethics argues the integrity of life, and not life itself, bears intrin-sic value. Against those who argue that God and God alone is the center of value, this ethics says that religious and moral convictions must be tested by
their meaning for the What is more, this outlook means that in living a responsible life, in respect-ing and enhancing the integrity of life, we are in fact loving and serving the spiritual good. integrity of life, including beliefs about the divine.