Neil Messer, Ph.D.
Professor of Theological Bioethics
Education
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PhD, University of Cambridge
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MA, University of London
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BSc, University of Bristol
Biography
Neil Messer joined the Department of Religion at Baylor in Fall 2023 as Professor of Theological Bioethics. He came to Baylor from the United Kingdom, where he had taught theology and ethics at several institutions, most recently the University of Winchester (2009-2023). Prior to his theological studies, Dr Messer had a research background in molecular biology, and throughout his theological career his academic interests have focused on the intersections of theology and ethics with the biosciences and medicine. His main research and teaching area is bioethics, while some of his work is in the science and theology field, and some brings these two fields together. This range of interests is illustrated by his two most recent books: Theological Neuroethics: Christian Ethics Meets the Science of the Human Brain (Bloomsbury, 2017) and Science in Theology: Encounters between Science and the Christian Tradition (Bloomsbury, 2020). Much of his current research engages theologically with neuroethics, a growing field encompassing theoretical and practical ethical questions raised by neuroscience and neurotechnology.
Dr Messer is an ordained minister of the United Reformed Church in the UK. He served in pastoral ministry before embarking on his academic theological career, and has done a wide range of church-related theological and educational work in the UK and Europe. This included editing and lead-authoring the volume “Before I Formed You in the Womb…”: A Guide to the Ethics of Reproductive Medicine (2017) for the Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe.
Academic interests and research
Christian ethics; bioethics; neuroethics; theology and science.
Publications
Publications are single-authored except where stated.
Books
Science in Theology: Encounters between Science and the Christian Tradition, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark (xii + 191 pp.). 2020
Theological Neuroethics: Christian Ethics Meets the Science of the Human Brain (Enquiries in Theological Ethics), London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark (x + 207 pp). 2017
Flourishing: Health, Disease and Bioethics in Theological Perspective, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (xvii + 238 pp.). 2013
Angus Paddison and Neil Messer (ed.), The Bible: Culture, Community, Society, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark (xiv + 255 pp.). 2013
Respecting Life: Theology and Bioethics, London: SCM Press (xi + 236 pp). 2011
Selfish Genes and Christian Ethics: Theological and Ethical Reflections on Evolutionary Biology, London: SCM Press (viii + 280 pp). 2007
SCM Study Guide to Christian Ethics, London: SCM Press (xiii + 242 pp.). 2006
(Ed.) Theological Issues in Bioethics: An Introduction with Readings, London: DLT (x + 286 pp.). 2002
Selected articles and book chapters
“What (if anything) should Christian theology learn from the cognitive science of religion?” Theology and Science 21.3, doi: 10.1080/14746700.2023.2230435. 2023
“Providence and Neuroethics,” in The Routledge Companion to Christian Ethics, ed. D. Stephen Long and Rebekah L. Miles, Abingdon: Routledge, 81–94. 2022
“Disease,” in Encyclopedia of Religious Ethics, ed. William Schweiker et al., Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, vol. 3, 1077–83. 2022
“Human Flourishing: A Christian Theological Perspective,” in Measuring Well-Being: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Social Sciences and the Humanities, ed. Matthew T. Lee, Laura D. Kubzanzsky, and Tyler J. VanderWeele, New York: Oxford University Press. 2021
“Beyond ‘Science and Theology’: How Science Might Contribute to Theological Understanding,” Modern Believing 62.2: 136–46. 2021
“Neuroethics,” in The T & T Clark Companion to Christian Ethics, ed. Tobias Winright, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark. 2021
“Judging the Secret Thoughts of All: Functional Neuroimaging, ‘Brain Reading,’ and the Theological Ethics of Privacy,” Studies in Christian Ethics 34.1: 17–35. 2021
Editorial: “Pandemic Theology: Christian Theology in the Midst of COVID-19,” Crucible (October): 3–6. 2020
Tyler J. VanderWeele, Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, Paul Allin, Colin Farrelly, Guy Fletcher, Donald E Frederick, Jon Hall, John F Helliwell, Eric S Kim, William A Lauinger, Matthew T Lee, Sonja Lyubomirsky, Seth Margolis, Eileen McNeely, Neil Messer, Louis Tay, Kasisomayajula Viswanath, Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska and Laura D Kubzansky, “Current Recommendations on the Selection of Measures for Well-being,” Preventive Medicine 133. 2020
“‘Wissenschaft und Theologie’ oder ‘Wissenschaft in der Theologie’? Neue Wege der Begegnung von Theologie und Naturwissenschaften” (tr. Wolfgang Neumann), Oekumenische Rundschau 69.1: 17–29. 2020
“Christos Yannaras’ The Freedom of Morality and Western Christian Ethics,” in Christos Yannaras: Philosophy, Theology and Culture, ed. Andreas Andreopoulos and Demetrios Harper, Abingdon: Routledge. 2019
“Evolution, Animal Suffering, and Ethics: A Response to Christopher Southgate,” in The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Animal Ethics, ed. Andrew Linzey and Clair Linzey, Abingdon: Routledge, 337–46. 2018
“Evolution and Theodicy: How (Not) to Do Science and Theology,” Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, 53.3: 821–35. 2018
“Bioethics and Practical Theology: The Example of Reproductive Medicine,” International Journal of Practical Theology, 21.2: 291–314. 2017
“What Should Theology (Not) Learn from Science? The Case of the Human Brain,” in The Limits of Science, ed. Gillian Straine, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Press, 80–100. 2017
“Cognitive Science, Moral Reasoning, and the Theological Suspicion of Ethics,” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 36.1: 51–68. 2016
“Determinism, Freedom and Sin: Reformed Theological Resources for a Conversation with Neuroscience and Philosophy,” Studies in Christian Ethics, 28.2: 163–74. 2015
“Contributions from Biology,” in The Oxford Handbook of Theology, Sexuality and Gender, ed. Adrian Thatcher, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 69–87. 2014
“Religion and Bioethics: Human Genetics and Embryo Research,” in Controversies in Contemporary Religion: Education, Law, Politics, Society and Spirituality, ed. Paul Hedges, 3 vols., Westport, CN: Praeger, vol. 3, 91–123. 2014
“Sin and Salvation (Or, Salvation and Sin),” in Systematic Theology and Climate Change: Ecumenical Perspectives, ed. Michael S. Northcott and Peter M. Scott, London: Routledge, 124–40. 2014
“Christianity and Genetics” (version 2.0), in Encyclopaedia of the Life Sciences (eLS), Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, published online 15 November, doi: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0005884.pub2. 2013
“Human Genetics and Theological Ethics,” Expository Times, 124.12: 573–81. 2013
Neil Messer and Angus Paddison, “The Bible and Public Policy: What Kind of Authority?” in The Bible: Culture, Community and Society, ed. Angus Paddison and Neil Messer, London: Bloomsbury T & T Clark, 189–207. 2013
“Introduction: Theological Anthropology and Human Germline Genetic Modification,” Christian Bioethics, 18.2: 115–25. 2012
“Toward a Theological Understanding of Health and Disease,” Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 31.1: 161–78. 2011
“Natural Evil and Theodicy after Darwin,” in Theology after Darwin, ed. Michael Northcott and R. J. Berry, Carlisle: Paternoster, 139–54. 2009
“Humans, Animals, Evolution and Ends,” in Creaturely Theology, ed. David Clough and Celia Deane-Drummond, London: SCM, 211–27. 2009
“Christian Engagement with Public Bioethics in Britain: the Case of Human Admixed Embryos,” Christian Bioethics, 15.1: 31–53. 2009
“’Ethics,’ ‘Religious Ethics’ and ‘Christian Ethics’: What Are Scholars For?” in Theology and Religious Studies: An Exploration of Disciplinary Boundaries, ed. Maya Warrier and Simon Oliver, London: T & T Clark, 149–65. 2008
“Medicine, Science and Virtue,” in Future Perfect? God, Medicine and Human Identity, ed. Celia Deane-Drummond and Peter Scott, London: T & T Clark, 113–25. 2006
“Healthcare Resource Allocation and the ‘Recovery of Virtue’,” Studies in Christian Ethics 18.1: 89–108. 2005
“Professional-Patient Relationships and Informed Consent,” Postgraduate Medical Journal, 80: 277–83. 2004
“The Human Genome Project, Health and the ‘Tyranny of Normality’,” in Brave New World? Theology, Ethics and the Human Genome Project, ed. C. Deane-Drummond, London: T & T Clark, 91–115. 2003
“Human Cloning and Genetic Manipulation: Some Theological and Ethical Issues,” Studies in Christian Ethics, 12.2: 1–16. 1999
Professional awards and activities
President, Society for the Study of Christian Ethics (2021-2024).
Convener, Neuroethics and Theology Interest Group, Society of Christian Ethics/Society of Jewish Ethics/Society for the Study of Muslim Ethics.
PI, “Methodology in Science and Theology” (Templeton World Charity Foundation, 2017-2020).
Courses Taught at Baylor, Fall 2023
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REL 4395 Bioethics