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Audio Recording

Video Recording

American culture, influenced by the Internet, television, and a “sound bite” mentality, fails to embrace many issues in the complex arena of bioethics. The attention span of our citizens is proportional to their patience for critical discourse; today many Christians seek out entertainment in lieu of serious debate. Churches streamline their services to satisfy short attention spans, and one-page devotions discourage deep thinking. In an era of complex medical technologies, many observers question “is there any hope to engage the culture in a serious discussion of bioethics?” Leveraging the popularity of film and television, and the explosion of markets for e-books available over the Internet, an alternate approach exists to engage the culture and create a broad understanding of bioethics. A fiction series, produced by a major publisher, distributed widely in print, audio, and e-book, could spark understanding of complex issues through the powerful medium of a good story. Following Jesus’ example as a storyteller, and addressing a strong market for Christian fiction, Zondervan Publishers will launch a new series targeting bioethics issues. The first novel of The Pandora Files series, entitled Nobody’s Child, will explore reproductive ethics and the exploitation of women for their ova, along with the physiological and emotional impact of egg harvests. In this presentation, the author will explore opportunities available today in the Christian fiction market (print, e-book, video, audio book) to engage the culture in a discussion of bioethics. Responding to the question “is there any hope to inspire a wider cultural discourse?” the author proposes that, using the power of story, complex issues can be explained in an uncomplicated way. Fiction is a penetrating yet simple strategy to engage the culture in a broad understanding of bioethics.

Keywords:
entertainment, film and television, Christian fiction