Christianity
Facing the new normal
As I start to write this article, the news of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 virus is the main news in media. By the time this article reaches you, the context of COVID-19, might have changed, for better or worse, I do not know. But one thing is sure, we are living in uncertain times.…
Read MoreEnd of year wisdom from Samuel’s calendar
Samuel took a stone and set it up, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the LORD has helped us.’ Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. He went from year to year on a circuit to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah, and judged Israel in all those places. But he always returned…
Read MoreCovid vaccination and the church
An Ethicentre Briefing Paper The recent announcement by the Australian government that increased freedoms would be available to citizens who were double vaccinated for COVID-19, or have exemption on medical grounds, has caused significant consternation in the Christian community. Issues of conscience and concerns about exclusion have been raised as reasons why such measures should…
Read MoreThe growing weight of evidence for the effectiveness of Christian whole person healthcare
For the last several years I have been receiving monthly email alerts from three medical education journals: Medical Teacher, Medical Education and Academic Medicine. These provide hyperlinks to the latest publications in the respective journals, either giving free access to a title and abstract, to a whole paper, or to a paper that requires Athens…
Read MoreThe importance and credibility of Jesus’ resurrection
Nearly one in four ‘Christians’ in the UK do not believe in the story of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, according to a recent ComRes poll. But actually, as Ludwig Kennedy once claimed in a radio debate with Lord Rees-Mogg, ‘Christianity stands or falls on the claim that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.’ The Apostle Paul…
Read MoreThe real meaning of Easter: Why did Jesus have to die?
‘Agnus Dei’ (literally Lamb of God) is an oil painting of a bound lamb upon an altar by Francisco de Zurbarán which was started in 1636 and completed in 1640. The version opposite is one of six painted by the artist and hangs in the San Diego Museum of Art, USA. It represents the teaching right at the very heart of…
Read MoreHow Christianity Transformed Healthcare
Today we all regard compassion, justice and freedom as fundamental to human flourishing. These ideals are based on the biblical worldview: every person has been created in the image of God. Supremely, Christians affirm the dignity of every human life because God himself, in Christ, became flesh. Christ was incarnate from the moment of conception.…
Read MoreLooking death in the eye – reflections of a Christian doctor
Death is an infinite mystery. There are few who can speak of it in the first person and few accounts of those who have recovered from a confirmed diagnosis of clinical death. Billy Graham said, ‘I am convinced that only when a man is prepared to die is he also prepared to live.’ My personal…
Read MoreIntegral mission through palliative care in Nepal
When the first mission workers arrived in Nepal in 1954, Leprosy was endemic and caused much suffering with high levels of disability, social stigma and ostracism from the community. With its mission to serve the poorest and most marginalised, International Nepal Fellowship (INF) opened Green Pastures Leprosy Hospital in 1957. Whilst Leprosy remains an important…
Read MoreFaith, health and collaborative love – Pandemic partnership for health professionals and the church
This article is republished with kind permission from the Lausanne Movement website where it is also available in French, Spanish and Portuguese. The impact of the church on health and development is much greater than it appears. There are two main reasons for this: First, Christians working at the front line are so busy that…
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