I started off this part of the interview by asking Daniel about his own journey through life and faith. His early love was history, despite having a father who was also a doctor and an academic. His interests only turned to medicine after a time in Peru and exposure to brutal poverty, and then like many of us, he drifted into an academic career. Later in life he has been able to return to that original motivation.
Daniel and his wife were brought up in the Seventh Day Adventist faith, and still greatly respects the grounding in charitable work and the Bible he received then. Eventually he and his wife got the Newman bug and had to go deep into history and join one of the apostolic churches; they joined an Eastern Orthodox church.
In that context, Daniel laments the drift of the modern hospice movement away from Christian spiritual roots and into a secular, palliative mindset, and the broader question of what is missing from the often uttered or thought statement, "if it's legal, it must be moral."
"We confuse technological prowess with being deeper and more thoughtful."
An interesting consequence of our medical progress is that we now face a future where, for the first time, across the world, most people will die of conditions derived from aging rather than contagious diseases, accidents, childbirth, etc.
We discuss a bit the golden mean to be found, steering clear of euthanasia on the one hand, and of resorting to excessive means to stay alive in the face of a fatal illness.
Bonus Episode - WOFI Faith & Science Summit
Bonus Episode July 2021
Episode 129 - Economics of Higher Purpose with Anjan Thakor
Episode 128 - Radio Astronomer Signals Wonderment of ET Life
Episode 127 - SCS Meeting 2021
Episode 126 - Society of Catholic Sciences Preview with Stephen Barr
Episode 125 - Chris Baglow and Jay Martin (rerun, full episode)
Episode 124 - Geology of the Holy Land
Episode 123 - Jean-Pierre Isbouts Brings Us Down to Earth with Jesus of Nazareth
Episode 122 - Original Sin and Mental Unhealth
Episode 121 - Megan Levis, full interview (rerun)
Episode 120 - Wyoming Catholic College
Episode 119 - Evolution in Christianity and Geology (rerun)
Episode 118 - "I Know What You're Thinking"
Episode 117 - Aida Ramos on Debt and Spending
Episode 116 - Paying Attention or Paying a Price
Episode 115 - Aida Ramos: How the Big Picture Sheds Light on Economics
Episode 114 - Aida Ramos and A Church Where Economics Counts—For People
Episode 113 - US Election 2020
Episode 112 – A Happy Medium: By What Means?
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