Coronavirus 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.…
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…
Read MoreThe lost culture of reading and writing
Being literate, defined as ‘the ability to read and write’, is a grace brought about by education. Prophet Isaiah divided the world into ‘those who know how to read’ and ‘those who do not know how to read’ (Isaiah 29:11,12). This is the reason the ‘Millennium and Sustainable Development Goals’ call for ‘Universal Primary Education…
Read MoreHow do we strengthen church and mission hospitals?
Recently listening to Peter Saunders share about the Mission Hospital (MH) database project in a MedSend conference (see video here), and David Stevens sharing in a webinar on ‘Strengthening Mission Hospitals’ has challenged further exploration of the question, how do we strengthen church and mission hospitals? In this short post, I reflect on some lessons…
Read MoreThe Wounded Healer
The term ‘wounded healer’ is thought to have originated in Greek mythology with the physician Asclepius, a Greek doctor who in recognition of his own wounds, established a sanctuary at Epidaurus where others could be healed of their wounds. In the twentieth century it was taken up by the Swiss psychoanalyst CG Jung and became one…
Read More