Printed from: https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=issue&id=6153
As a child growing up in the 1960s, I was an avid reader of science-based predictions of the future. By the year 2000 we would all be travelling in hover-cars, there would be colonies on the moon, nuclear fusion would provide free power, robots would do all the work and...
Have you ever gone to a seminar on how to read a paper? If your medical school is anything like mine, these seminars are held all the time. You start with a system: read the abstract, read the conclusion then the introduction, look at the figures. You learn the pitfalls...
In this delightfully different film, molecular biologist Michael Pitt and his lab partner Brit Marling make an unexpected discovery. In an escalating plot, we see two main themes: the young researcher's romantic endeavours with a woman who is quite his opposite, and his on-the-cusp-of-greatness ophthalmic research on mice. The film...
The Latin term (in full) Deus Ex Machina translates as 'god from a machine' and instantaneously introduces the perceived dichotomy between religion and science. In harmony with its title, Ex-Machina cleverly explores some of our fears surrounding the exponential growth of technology in recent years. Released in 2015, this sci-fi...
'She was always hungry but they wouldn't let her eat… the forces inside of her, the demons'. (1) Based on the true story of Anneliese Michel who died aged 24 in 1976 in Germany, (2) The Exorcism of Emily Rose revolves around a charge of negligent homicide after an 'exorcism...
'Science and religion cannot be reconciled,' Peter Atkins, an Oxford Chemistry Professor boldly pronounced. How we need to rebut this view with good arguments to help those who think that science and the Bible are in conflict! An Orthodox Jewish scientist was living in a village near Mount Carmel in Israel....
The climate crisis is arguably one of the greatest threats to human health this century. (1) In our future practice, we are likely to be dealing with the consequences to health in the UK, mainly from heatwaves and flooding (based on current evidence and if we do not take sufficient...
With researchers continually pushing forward the boundaries of biomedical science, what we know and how we use that knowledge is growing. Almost every month there is a new advancement or innovation that hopes to impact positively the health and well-being of humans. As Christian doctors, nurses and midwives, how does...
It's Sunday morning. You have had a busy week. The world outside your duvet is cold and all you want in life right now is another few hours of sleep. Yet your alarm is summoning you to get up for church, so why should you bother? Surely, you could listen...
How many times do we read the exploits of some leaders in the Bible and ask ourselves, what were they doing? King Saul, Israel's first king, can fall into that category. In 1 Samuel 15, we see God give Saul clear instructions to thoroughly defeat the Amalekites (a nation that...
At the Freshers' Fair recently, I seem to have signed up for dozens of different clubs and societies. Now I'm on all their mailing lists and just don't know what to commit to and what to say no to... HELP! Your student years are full of wonderful opportunities for exploring different...
Congratulations on making it through your first term. I hope you have had a lovely Christmas! The unique challenges of being a Christian medic may take time to adjust to. Here are some practical tips to help you deal with them, which I hope support and guide you throughout the...
'Truth comes as a revelation from God, not man.' That was just one profound piece of learning from my trip to Belgium in May 2019. Being my first ICMDA conference, I didn't know what to expect, but a medical student from the year above assured me that he had enjoyed...
'But the Lord stood at my side and strengthened me' (2 Timothy 4:17) The Sydenham 2 Conference 2019 saw 13 delegates from many corners of the globe gather in the UK for a week of engaging talks and activities. Named after the Puritan doctor Thomas Sydenham, the conference aims to...
Starting back at university at the beginning of September was a strange experience. Guy's quad was empty; there was hardly anyone in the student union café and even fewer in the library. Then suddenly, with the newfound chill in the air, our university campuses had come to life again -...
Am I Just My Brain? Sharon Dirckx 143pp, The Good Book Company, 2019. ISBN: 9781784982751 paperback £8.00 Perfectly balancing an introduction and an explanation of one of the most topical issues in neuroscience. The book not only helped me understand the topic, but left me with a refreshed viewpoint on such matters as free will,...
Miracles CS Lewis 304pp, Collins ISBN: 9780007461257 paperback £8.99 Mediaeval literature expert CS Lewis was no stranger to science, having written the Planetary Trilogy (1) describing voyages to both Mars and Venus and the perils of the National Institute of Co-Ordinated Experiments. (2) Published in 1947, Miracles deals with philosophical...
Seven Days that Divide the World: The beginning according to Genesis and science John C. Lennox ISBN: 9780310494607 Zondervan, 2011 £10 I bought this book in my second year of medical school following a series of lectures on evolution and anthropology. It unnerved me how they revealed my limited knowledge of the subject...
'God is dead! God remains dead! And we have killed him!'Friedrich Nietzsche (1) Perhaps one of the most famous quotes of all time, Nietzsche's view is pretty absolute. But did Nietzsche have a point? Since the Age of Enlightenment and the valuing of scientific reason over religion, it really does appear...
RCP neutrality vote on assisted suicide challenge approved by the High Court Three doctors, including two CMF members, took the Royal College of Physicians to court in 2019, after the RCP adopted a neutral stance on assisted suicide. The judge agreed that the RCP had acted irrationally; in fact, the judge...
