Abortion, Execution, and the Consequences of Taking Life

Author James D. Slack guides the reader through an in-depth examination of policy toward life and death in the United States. Examining human life from the perspective of Imago Dei—the idea of being made in God’s image—Slack argues that the taking of human life is the termination of the image of God. Intended to remind citizens and governments of their obligations to determine moral truth, this volume uses theocentric phenomenology to focus on the intimate consequences of abortion and capital punishment. Abortion alternatives as well as execution alternatives are explored as ways to encourage a policy that affirms life.

This volume intends to reconcile the truth found in the world with the truth found in scripture. To do so, Slack studies the intimate consequences of murder, abortion, and capital punishment. Using a methodology of direct observation and qualitative open-ended conversations, Slack interviewed eighty-one people about abortion and its alternatives, the death penalty and its alternatives, and justice in society. This second edition is completely revised, placing greater emphasis on the thoughts of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and includes a new chapter.