Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=25
Breakdown of family life Not long ago I attended a GP refresher course lecture, in which we learned about a study in Exeter investigating the effect of divorce or separation on children. The study has confirmed what I think most people could deduce by common sense - the effect is...
During a quiet tea-break as a surgical house officer, I was summoned to the medical superintendent's office. My O&G colleague was busy. Would I please admit some patients for elective termination of pregnancy? In accepting my appointment I had signed a form saying that I would be willing to take...
Despite improvements in sex education and an increasing awareness of methods of contraception, over 170,000 terminations are carried out each year in England and Wales. Doctors who are faced with women experiencing unplanned or 'crisis' pregnancies often find themselves in a dilemma. Do they sign the authorisation form and ignore...
Thomas Sydenham was born at Wynford Eagle, Dorset in 1624. He was an outstanding pioneer of clinical medicine, an ideal General Practitioner and has been called 'The Father of English Medicine'. He came from a Puritan family and was himself a man of deep Christian faith in the Puritan tradition....
'Straight and Narrow?' was the first book my mother ever publicly censored. We had met for a coffee and doughnut in Liverpool Street Station when I placed it on the table. Suddenly, without any warning, she pounced, snatched and turned it face down. I was shocked. She was clearly worried...
With approximately a quarter of the population using at least one form of alternative therapy, it is important that as Christians in the medical profession we know something about the treatments available and the theories behind techniques used. Reading 'Alternative Medicine - Helpful or Harmful?' by Robina Coker is an...
The language used implies Uzzah's death was immediate, suggesting a cardiovascular cause. His youth (he was still living in his father's house) and fitness (he was chosen to perform a manual task), would make ruptured aneurysm, brain stem infarction and massive pulmonary embolism unlikely explanations. There is also no history...
The tenth commandment Nitpickerus: What is the tenth commandment? Dionysius: 'You shall not covet.'[1,2] Nitpickerus: That's just Christian jargon to me. What is covetousness? Dionysius: Essentially it's distorted desire: either inappropriately focused (hamad)[1] or selfishly directed (awa).[2] Nitpickerus: So what can't we covet? Dionysius: Our neighbour's house, land, wife, servants, livestock....
It has been the season for intense activity under heaven - and finally the time for the new Nucleus layout has arrived. (Ec 3:1) We hope that its outward renewal is not a sign of inward wasting! So, let us continue to fix our eyes, not on the temporary gloss...
Answers When Barak was reluctant to pursue Sisera, Deborah prophesied that the honour of victory would go to a woman. It did. Jael drove a tent-peg through the enemy commander's head while he was asleep. (Jdg 4:21) Aeneas, the bedridden paralytic of Lydda, recovered immediately on hearing the words 'Jesus Christ...
The Hospital Board had it sussed The matter was briefly discussed And seeing the chance for a rapid advance They formed a self-governing trust They hired some business recruits Attired in pale grey suits Who, with time to dream, concocted a scheme To generate forecast 'green shoots' They ordered the closure of beds Replaced the departmental heads Established...
