At Newcastle CMF there are two things we love: God and cake. Incidentally, we also love Norwich City (but I get the feeling that one might be edited out!) Cakes are a great way to reach people with the gospel; I mean can you think of somebody who does not...
tell us how you became a Christian? I grew up in a strong Christian family in Manchester and as a child you absorb all that you're taught. Then I went through a rather difficult period where I was questioning a lot, challenging what I'd been taught, and thought I'd...
What is our motivation for living differently amongst our friends and course-mates at medical school? What is the vision towards which we strive? Whom do we serve and why do we serve him? Amidst the busyness of any medical student's life, as we juggle study, placements, friends, church life and...
On 18 September 2007 Kerrie Wooltorton, a 26- year-old woman, was rushed into Norwich University Hospital A&E department having called an ambulance after drinking lethal antifreeze in an attempt to commit suicide. What happened next turned what is, tragically, a fairly common occurrence into headline news. Kerrie was well known...
Relativism, pluralism, scepticism, exclusivism … all of these are interesting academic concepts, but surely have no real use when talking to your average student colleague? I beg to differ. How many times have you heard the phrase, 'your faith is so lovely, but it just isn't for me' or 'you...
Ethics is far more than the life and death issues currently popular in the media. It's about every decision we make; 'I should do this' or 'I shouldn't do that'. This article introduces the sorts of questions that ethics is concerned with, the answers that humanist frameworks offer, and a...
In Angola, 180 out of every 1,000 children die before the age of five – nearly 20%; in Britain, four out of every 1,000 children die before the age of five – barely 0.5%. In Zambia, life expectancy is 40 years; in Australia, life expectancy is 81 years – double....
Dave had just started medical school. He didn't know many people, and was keen to find a lively and welcoming church. Ideally with free food. He soon found a large, student church near campus, with achingly cool people and awesome worship music. The viral video loops they used instead of...
You've just enjoyed a discussion about patient autonomy in an ethics seminar, and on the way to coffee before the next lecture, your friend Steve walks with you. He says 'you Christians seemed to have a lot to say in that session. What do you actually believe?' There's only five...
The Holy Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. CMF doctrinal basis the basic tool - choosing a good translation This series is summarised from Fee G, Stuart D. 'How to read the Bible for all its Worth' (3rd ed). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003 ...
HERO: Dr Luke - a doctor who wrote the highest impact text of all time The author of the third gospel is an obvious hero for medics. The 'beloved doctor' (1) wrote a gospel and Acts, accounting for about 30% of the New Testament. His training as a Greek physician prepared...
Other choices may be thought through in minute detail. How much time did you spend deciding where to go to medical school? Or whether you wanted to be a doctor in the first place? Or whether you would believe in Jesus? Choosing which church to attend is often a hard...
the main themes The unifying ideal throughout the proposals seems to be a patient-led NHS with all three parties putting a great deal of emphasis on patient preference and the 'right to choose'. In addition, the recent buzz around the issue of health inequalities has resulted in every party paying...
Bradley Cooper from East Yorkshire has become the youngest person to be accepted for an NHS sex-change operation in Britain. 'People might think I'm too young to make such a huge decision but I know my own mind and this is what I want.' The trainee hairdresser, who calls himself...
Hours spent inside by children playing computer games or watching television are thought to be contributing to the resurgence of rickets in the UK. Associated with poverty in Victorian Britain and malnutrition in developing countries, rickets is caused by chronic vitamin D deficiency, resulting in abnormal growth and 'bow legs'....
A nurse in Glasgow has been suspended after claims that she uploaded photos of patients onto Facebook. The photos, reportedly of individuals being operated on in theatre, were thought to be taken using a camera phone without the knowledge of other staff; patients are said to be unidentifiable in the...
A 57 year-old mother was given a life sentence in January after killing her son as an 'act of mercy'. Frances Inglis from Dagenham, Essex, was found guilty of murder after injecting heroin into the thighs and arms of her 22 year-old son, Thomas Inglis. Mr Inglis had long-standing brain...
A mother was recently sentenced to 39 months in prison after fabricating her son's lifelong illness. Lisa Hayden-Johnson's son spent the first six and a half years of his life being investigated by specialists from Bristol to Great Ormond Street; his supposed illnesses included cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, an allergy...
Kay Gilderdale, a 55 year-old-woman, has been cleared of attempted murder after admitting to assisting the suicide of her daughter after a week-long trial. The jury of six men and six women took less than two hours to return their unanimous verdict. Lynn Gilderdale, 31, was said to have suffered...
Figures released in January show that over 7,000 children in Scotland were admitted to hospital after self-harming in the last decade. However, individual patients can trigger multiple episodes depending upon the different instances and aspects of health services they presented to. The Liberal Democrats health spokesman, Ross Finnie, who obtained...