Life, Death, and Family Restoration

The second edition of Abortion, Execution, and the Consequences of Taking Life, by James D. Slack, is a book about the cultures of life and death at war in America.  Dr. Slack is a Professor at the Robertson School of Government and the Director of the Master of Public Administration (MPA) Program at Regent University.  His book is available here.

Providing an in-depth examination of policy toward life and death in the United States, Dr. Slack examines 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, by studying the  intimate consequences of murder, abortion, and capital punishment. Using methodology of direct observation and qualitative open-ended conversations, Dr. 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 on post-abortion restoration.

I have joined colleagues in arguing that a culture of death harms women, even robbing them of happiness (that article can be accessed at SSRN), but this abortion conundrum was developed slowly over time.  Another article (which can also be accessed at SSRN) outlines the legal aspects of abortion, showing that state abortion regulations are the vehicle now to provide for the protection of women. 

Family restoration requires an objective perspective on abortion that protects family members.  Abortion, Execution, and the Consequences of Taking Life, by James D. Slack, seeks to ground public policy and administration firmly in morality, the rule of law, and the restoration of the family.