| Abstract: | The intimate connection, within Christianity, of theology andethics is invoked, and the ethical differences between Christiandenominations are exposed, as they present themselves inMellon'scase studies, in order to call attention to the unsolvable dilemmain which hospital chaplains find themselves, if they understandtheir role in a merely conciliatory fashion as that of a "comforter,mediator, educator, ethicist, and counselor". As witnessed bythe Calvinist and Anabaptist traditions Mellon introduces, conceptssuch as "the patient's good" can mean radically different thingsin these theological contexts. Attempting to merely mediatebetween such positions in a spirit of merely generic prayerand on the basis of a merely psychological notion of well-beingposes a risk to chaplains' spiritual integrity and faithfulnessto their mission. |
