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....
Spiritual insights and practical advice Louise Morse Monarch, £7.99, 2015, 160pp, ISBN 9780857216557 Reviewed by William AM Cutting, an Oxford-based paediatrician, carer and writer encouraging senior citizens. In a world where the word 'dementia' brings dread and despair, Louise Morse is a shining herald of hope in a book loaded with information...
Why we can't stop talking about science, faith and God Alister McGrath Hodder & Stoughton, 2015, £9.99, ISBN 9781444798463 Reviewed by Peter May, retired GP based in Southampton The author considers big questions raised by science and religion and how they mutually enrich one another. There is a tendency among Christians to reduce...
Separating biblical truth from myth Scott Blackwell Matthias Media, 2014, £8.99 Pb 199pp, ISBN 9781922206565 Reviewed by Peter May, retired GP This thoughtful, theological reflection on healing is written in the light of personal illness and pastoral experience. Christcentred, caring and well written, his motivation to write came from being told...
Science and the Changing Face of Humanity John Bryant Lion Hudson, 2013, £9.99, Pb 253pp, ISBN 9780745953960 Reviewed by Peter May, retired General Practitioner The author is Professor Emeritus of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Exeter. He is also an accomplished writer. His detailed research...
Peter May surveys the role of ideology in the debate over homosexuality. The RCPSych appears to have locked itself into a 'born gay' ideology by ignoring the evidence to the contrary. A Private Members' Motion to regulate psychotherapy includes a highly illiberal clause outlawing psychotherapy for people...
Peter May looks at what is involved in changing someone's mind Day by day, as doctors we try to persuade our patients about health matters, while patients and drug companies try to persuade us. As Christians, we try to persuade others...but what actually is involved in persuasion? Firstly, it is a...
Children & pain or disability Gordon W. Kuhrt Morse-Brown, 2011 £7.00 Pb 60pp ISBN 978 1 90761 505 4 Available from bookshops and email: omkuhrt@tiscali.co.uk Gordon Kuhrt writes for children on the problem of suffering. In Part 1 the author tells his own story of long periods in hospital...
David Powell qualified in medicine in 1952. He was awarded the MD (Commend) Ed 1959, FRCPath 1974 and FRCP 1981. I say this to make the point that David is not a new boy to medicine. He has been around a long time and has given very careful consideration to...
The making of a Saint? In September 2010, at a much publicised ceremony during the British visit of Pope Benedict XVI, the late Cardinal Newman was beatified. There are two stages in the making of a Catholic saint, beatification and canonisation, and each stage requires evidence of a miracle resulting from...