As Peter May says in his contribution to this issue which marks our entry to the third millennium, 'there can be little doubt' that the most important 'global figure' of the last two millennia is the 'person of Jesus Christ'. Longfellow, who is best known for his trilogy 'Christus' reminds us...
It seems strange that the birth of any individual should become the internationally agreed pivotal point for counting history. How did this come about? Last year, BBC Radio Four carried out an opinion poll to name the most important English man or woman of the last millennium. A shortlist of...
Health has been defined by the WHO as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being: not simply an absence of illness or disease. This definition understands health as involving the whole person. It's holistic, even if it fails to mention the need for spiritual health! But what did...
We all enjoy a good case report with accurate clinical detail, a problem which is none too easy to solve and, finally, a clear explanation of everything. This short and very readable book has just such reports, as remarkable today as they were at the beginning of the first millennium...
Jesus of Nazareth taught: 'Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' (Matthew 25:40) The hospital movement Before Christianity emerged, there were several hospital-like centres in Buddhist regions. The ancient Greeks practised a very simple form of medicine and Greek temples included places...
Childhood illness was common and healing and compassion were an important part of the ministry of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago. Just two hundred years ago, under five mortality rates were over 300 per 1000 live births in the UK and probably even higher among children in poor countries. In...
At the turn of the millennium most of us have been eating, drinking, spending and celebrating. Some financial traders have received multi-million pound bonuses. For two thirds of the world, about four billion out of six, most stomachs have been full and there is money in the bank or under...
It was the summer of 1968, high in the mountains of Afghanistan, in the valley of Bamiyan. Mongol horsemen led by Genghis Khan had swept into this valley 800 years earlier, killing everyone, 'even the rats and the flies'. Jock Anderson FRCS had organised an eye camp and our tents...
Two great revolutions will dominate the first two decades and beyond of the third millennium: digital and genetic. Both will profoundly affect every aspect of human existence including medicine. The digital revolution changes what we do, the genetic revolution changes who we are. The combination of the two will result...
10. CHRISTIANS IN CARING PROFESSIONS Christians in Caring Professions. Aside from providing minimal information about this group, this site is mainly interesting for its links page. Even this is not extensive. The internet is treated by too many as a flyer advertising a group. Most surfers are looking for a little...
The trouble with ethics is that it has acquired a spurious shell of academic protection and an associated scholastic mystique. It is a subject supported by specialist journals, statutory committees, and an obligatory slot in the medical curriculum. We now have professional ethicists to advise us and teach our students....
This book is written with the aim of maintaining Christian vitality in the newly qualified doctor. It is well recognised that the early days after qualification are very busy and the young doctor often lacks sleep and gets exhausted. This may also be a time of separation from friends, family...
Bernard Palmer has produced a most compact and readable account of the essentials of the Christian faith - even a slow reader will not take more than four or five hours. The content is derived from a Christian basics course that the author and others have run over many years....
'Change is the only certainty' is a popular but erroneous catch phrase. The changes in medicine over the last century have indeed been dramatic, but what has actually changed? We frequently change the organisation of the UK National Health Service (and sometimes appear to be going round in circles) and...
Christian Choices in Healthcare is an outstanding collection of essays by senior Christian doctors, that has been widely distributed. Divided into two parts, Christian Vocation in Healthcare and Medical Ethics, the essays are solidly written and most are deeply grounded in Scripture. Surgeon Alan Johnson writes an open letter from...
Fetal screening, abortion, reproductive technology, genetics, infanticide, euthanasia and physician -assisted suicide. Today's healthcare dilemmas raise fundamental questions about what it is to be human. This thoroughly researched book comes at a crucial time in the fast -changing climate of contemporary medicine. John Wyatt presents a credible and challenging Christian...
This special edition of Triple Helix comes to you as part of CMF's contribution to the British Medical Association's Millennium Festival of Medicine; under the twin theme 'Celebrating the Past - Shaping the Future'. There would, of course, be no millennium festival without Jesus Christ. Christian doctors motivated by his teaching...
Most people who know London know about Cleopatra's Needle. It's an ancient Egyptian obelisk that stands proud on Westminster embankment, a massive but carefully fashioned shaft of granite, on which an ancient potentate proclaims his great deeds. Now if you visit historic Luxor in Egypt, you may stumble on a weathered,...