End 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 More‘Fixing’ the Patient
The common experience during most medical training is the emphasis placed on diagnosis and treatment of illness, rather than understanding the way that illness moulds and changes the life of the patient. It is only after we spend some time with our patients that we appreciate the opportunity and privilege we have of sharing in…
Read MoreCapturing the language of (assisted) death
Those promoting the agenda that, in plain speaking, wants the UK to legalise doctors to be able to provide a prescription for a lethal draught with which patients can kill themselves, have a long history of shape-shifting their language. Morphing from the Voluntary Euthanasia Society to Dignity in Dying in 2006 was a smart – if…
Read MoreWhat is caregiver burnout?
Cleveland Clinic describes Caregiver burnout as: ‘…a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that may be accompanied by a change in attitude from positive and caring to negative and unconcerned. Burnout can occur when caregivers don’t get the help they need, or if they try to do more than they are able either physically…
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 MoreCoronavirus vaccines – Frequently Asked Questions
Is there any scientific possibility that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will change human DNA? No. Both these vaccines employ molecules called messenger RNA that have been synthesised in laboratories. After immunisation the molecules are designed to enter into cells within the body where they give the molecular instructions for those cells to produce the…
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.…
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