Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=6122
I am writhing on the floor. The deep pain in my legs is hitting level four out of five, one notch higher and yelling would be inevitable. My 'prayers' come moaning rhythmically, 'Oh God, oh God, oh God...' and later - much later - I discover the Spirit of God...
What is gay 'Conversion Therapy'? A debate this summer in the Church of England's General Synod concluded it 'has no place in the modern world', and called upon the Government to ban it. In the 1940s, psychiatrists offered 'curative' aversion therapies to homosexuals hoping to convert them to heterosexuality....
A momentous day back in September 1971 saw 35,000 Christians gather in London's Trafalgar Square for the Nationwide Festival of Light. It was the largest outdoor gathering of Christians ever recorded in the UK. They gathered together, as a grass roots movement, to stand for God's righteousness and grace. They had...
There is a general perception that the bad old days of genetic determinism belonged to the earlier decades of the twentieth century. For more than half a century (roughly 1880-1940) it was widely believed that heredity determined race, class, mental health, and intelligence. Eugenic legislation ensured the compulsory sterilisation of...
Seamus O'Mahony Head of Zeus, 2016, £14.99, 292pp, ISBN 9781784974268 Reviewed by Claire Stark Toller, a Consultant in Palliative Medicine based in Southampton Written by a consultant physician, this erudite but readable book explores the philosophical, cultural and medical influences that mould our Western view of death. O'Mahony starts with a personal overview...
Karen Murphy and Bob Wharton (eds) Jessica Kingsley, 2017, £18.99, 208pp, ISBN 9781785920684 Reviewed by Jeff Stephenson, Medical Director, St Luke's Hospice Plymouth In the evolving context of multiculturalism, secularisation, and outcome-driven healthcare, the role of hospice and palliative care chaplaincy faces enormous pressure, not least to justify its continuance as what...
Lynda Rose (ed) Wilberforce Publications, 2016, £12, 354pp, ISBN 9780957572584 Reviewed by Paul Malcolm, Clinical Radiologist based in Norwich This is a collection of essays by authors with experience of teaching, politics, the law and the history of child education. As Tim Dieppe of Christian Concern comments in his review, 'The education of...
Ken Yeow Createspace, 2014, £7.99, 204pp, ISBN 9781505415742 Reviewed by Andrew Sims, Emeritus Professor in General Psychiatry, based in Shropshire Living the Christian life and walking daily with Jesus is Ken Yeow's theme. The author is a practising Christian and a consultant psychiatrist. He links working out the Gospel in everyday...
Martin Luther did not do anything particularly unusual when he nailed 95 'debating points' to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. In those days it was the way to trigger debate in university towns and most such endeavours ran their course and were quickly forgotten. Martin Luther's...
Colorado's gay cake case The Episcopal Church USA (TEC) is often regarded as a byword among the nations for liberal theology and a 'progressive' agenda on social questions. Eutychus notices that its Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has joined with other religious leaders in signing an amicus brief supporting the Colorado...
A non-medical friend approaches you, pointing to a part of their body. 'I've got a pain here - what is it?' You smile and inwardly sigh. Some people seem to think that doctors just know everything. Many don't realise the methodology of history, examination, investigations. Or even that after this,...
It is 20 years this autumn since the new-look Triple Helix first came out. As its first editor, I have been asked to review what led to its production. Let's begin at the real beginning. Christian Medical Fellowship came into existence in 1949 when the historic Medical Prayer Union merged...
Hyderabad, India's City of Pearls, will host the 2018 ICMDA World Congress. The chosen theme echoes words from Isaiah's first Servant Song, the role of God's people as 'a light for the Gentiles' partnering in God's work to 'open eyes that are blind.' (Isaiah 42:5-7). For the prophet's original hearers,...
Medics are often placed ina position of leadership. Depending on what paths we take and what responsibility we take on, the extent of this may vary. As Christian doctors and medical students, it is sensible then to take some time to be intentional and reflect on what kind of leadership...
Before the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2003, it was thought there were around 80,000 coding genes for proteins. One of the big surprises of the mapping was the actual number turning out to be around 25,000, and the rest of the DNA was initially written off...
50 years; 8.8 million abortions; 550 every day; 3,800 every week; 16,000 each month; 200,000 every year. One in five pregnancies ends in abortion. One in three women has cooperated in the death of her son or daughter. One in three men has fathered, and abandoned, an aborted baby. Or...
The media has been full of stories recently about the shortage of nurses and midwives faced in the UK. In November, the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) released a report showing that the number of EU nurses on the register has declined by 2,700 in the last year. This is...
Geoffrey Robinson MP wants to bring in an opt-out system for organ donation in England. His Organ Donation (Deemed Consent) Bill [1] is due its second reading (debate stage) on 23 February 2018. In 'deemed' (presumed) consent, a person, unless he or she specifically 'opts out', is assumed to have...
Sustainable Development Goals (or SDGs) are the new, globally agreed targets for developing poor, middle income and rich nations between 2015 and 2030. 1 There are seventeen goals in total with the aim of significantly reducing poverty, inequality, injustice and environmental damage around the world. The international community (including the...
