A Christian former GP who entered into church ministry has described how we as a society are becoming trapped by an unhealthy and ungodly 'quest for perfection' that threatens our true sense of freedom.
Rhona Knight is a curate at Sleaford in Lincolnshire who gave up her medical practice two years ago. She speaks from experience.
Knight had been a GP for 25 years, with special interests in medical ethics and education. For many years she has written and spoken on medical ethics to Christian and non-Christian audiences.
She spoke to Christian Today following the publication by Grove Books of her booklet, The Quest for Perfection: seeking to be better than well.
The compelling booklet outlines how the 'quest for perfection' distorts the idea of humanity made in the image of God. It tackles the obsession with perfection with a range of theological themes. And it concludes that true perfection – in the eternal sense – is only possible through God.
What led her to write such a work? 'In a time of increasing global and national health inequality where limited health care resources are under stress, the Western world seems bent on a course not just to prevent and cure disease, but to enhance humanity,' she says.
'As a GP, I would see many patients unhappy with their appearance. Some would worry about being too thin, others about being overweight. Some would be unhappy about the spots on their face, their breast shape or size. Some would be worried about their hair loss.
'Some patients would obviously be keen gym attenders and when asked would admit to using anabolic steroids. Others would come with complications from cosmetic surgery. Some patients would want referral for a nose operation...For some, the request for help with appearance seemed easy to understand, but for others the request seemed to be about something else, something deeper.'
Knight says that another factor that led her to write the Grove booklet was that 'the news was full of stories about the screening of embryos to enable parents to select which embryos to implant in the womb and which to donate, allow to die or be researched upon'.
She describes the practice as 'a slippery slope': 'Embryos could be screened and rejected for an increasing number of attributes. Currently in the UK, for example, embryos can be rejected just because they are at a higher risk than average of breast cancer and a significant number of people support embryo selection on the basis of sex alone... Over the last 20 years I have seen the screening of unborn children for things like Down's syndrome become routine, and parents are now able to abort unborn children up to term if the child has a disability that they subjectively perceive to be serious. The use of abortion had shifted. Abortion is now not just about parents not wanting a baby, it is about parents not wanting that particular baby. The quest for perfection had impacted on child bearing and pregnancy.'
After examining this, and other areas such as brain-enhancing drugs, Knight wanted to get to the bottom of the phenomenon. 'I began to question: what was this quest for perfection about? What place did society play in this? How did all this fit with the good news of the Gospel? While Scripture may not cover designer babies and cosmetic surgery specifically, there is nothing new under the sun. What did the Bible have to say about all of this?'
The resulting booklet 'is rooted in my experience as a GP; was nurtured as I began to speak on these issues, and became deep-rooted when I was asked to write a paper on cosmetic surgery and matured in the development of the booklet,' says Knight.
'It is an issue that resonates with and impacts on young and old alike. To be able to love God, neighbour and self we need to recognise, identify and address societal drivers – like the quest for perfection – that subtly and not so subtly compromise true freedom.'
'The Quest for Perfection: seeking to be better than well' is published by Grove Books and can be bought for £3.95. An accompanying study guide for use in home or in groups can be downloaded for free.
