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The only real significance of the millennium is that it is now 2,000 years since Jesus was born. But so what? What is so important about a carpenter’s son from first century Palestine that we should count our calendar years from the time of his birth? What relevance does he...
Christian doctors motivated by Jesus Christ’s teaching and example have been profoundly influential in shaping the history of medicine. There have been many famous names including surgeon Ambroise Pare, Louis Pasteur (antiseptics), Joseph Lister (who applied Pasteur’s techniques to surgery), James Paget (‘Paget’s disease’), Thomas Barnado (Barnado’s Homes), Edward Jenner...
Truth The truth about life, the universe and everything Non-Christian medical students will most often ask questions such as, ‘aren’t all religions the same?’ or ‘why does God allow suffering?’ They will hardly ever (and never in my experience) ask the most essential question of all, ‘is Christianity true?’ Satan has done...
I honestly thought that there was no power in Jesus since nothing happened when I called him. I now know that those times when I called on him to help me, I was not prepared to repent from my old way of life, and to trust and follow him. Eventually...
Jesus the healer Following Jesus’ example As health professionals we frequently come into contact with strangers who are facing tragedy. Yet emotional involvement is something which is not encouraged within the health professions. Even in the face of tragedy, any display of emotion is undesirable. The image that the modern health professional...
Putting principles into practice Autonomy: rights balanced with responsibilities I believe Christians can give considerable support to autonomy in so far as it endorses the unique value of each human being - someone created in the image of God (Gn 1:26-7) and for whom alone Christ died (Jn 3:16). However, Christians would...
Suffering Our response to suffering When we see suffering, our first response should not be, ‘Why has this happened to him or her?’ Rather we should wonder at the amazing grace of God that he has not already judged the whole world - that we are not already all condemned. There are...
Maintaining spirituality Spiritual schizophrenia Everyone agrees that schizophrenia is very serious disorder. Splitting one’s thoughts, emotions and actions is bad for you. The end result can be confusion, emotional blunting and apathy. Yet the world encourages us to show spiritual schizophrenia. It’s fine to be a Christian as long as you keep...
Why should we evangelise? The greatest discovery Nobody, and certainly no doctor, is exempt from the injunction openly to acknowledge Jesus: ‘Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven’ (Mt...
Mission Building the kingdom of God What is the primary reason for my or your existence on this planet? I believe it is to be involved in building the kingdom of God, in our own lives, in our communities and to the ends of the earth. I define ‘kingdom of God’ as...
Have you ever wondered what has been happening in the field of genetics recently, but not had the time or energy to do a literature search? Have you ever needed information on an ethical issue, or wondered about the Christian perspective? Are you trying to plan an elective, but having...
Answer When the Roman soldiers approached Jesus on the cross intending to break his legs, they found he was ‘already dead’ (v33). Indeed, he had been observed to die by eye- witnesses a short time before (v30). Seasoned executioners such as these were unlikely to be mistaken in their diagnosis and...
If this is the first time you have picked up a copy of Nucleus, then welcome! However, we must warn you that the format of this special issue is considerably different from normal. To mark the millennium we have compiled numerous soundbites from the past decade of Nucleus articles, and...
I thought I would be prudent When I first became a student And I felt I should be seen and never heard So I didn’t share my views Or the meaning of Good News The truth is that I hardly said a word When a houseman I became I began to feel the same For there never was...
