All Matters of Life and Death articles
-
ShowsIs Christianity bad news for women?
This classic episode features Ellidh Cook, a student worker and theologian, discussing the perception of Christianity as “bad news for women.” She explores how faith can be life-giving for both sexes, the church’s challenges in supporting women, and what hope the gospel offers to modern, stressed, and exploited young women.
-
ShowsApocalypse: Why do so many feel like the world is coming to an end?
It’s hard to escape the fact that we live in gloomy, despairing times. Whether it is economic stagnation, pandemics, democracy under attack, unending wars or the climate crisis, more and more people feel like things are falling apart. That maybe even the world is coming to a depressing end. How did things get this hopeless, given the relatively recent optimism and energy of the past? Must Christians by default oppose this kind of despair, and what does the Bible have to say about watching the signs of the times? And given apocalypse literally means a time of uncovering and revealing, what should we have our eyes open to in this season of revelation?
-
ShowsSex, dinosaurs, bodies and climate change: Parenting children in our confusing and confused world
Today we’re sharing an episode of the Faith in Parenting podcast, run by the Faith in Kids team, which we took part in some months ago. We were kindly asked on to chat about being Christians and being parents, and in particular how we handle sometimes tricky questions and issues that come up from the natural world and in science. And Tim got to share the good and the bad bits of being raised by John, and how science and sex and bodies and dinosaurs and everything else got handled in the home.
-
ShowsCan we treat Parkinson’s disease without destroying embryos?
This episode explores a breakthrough in Parkinson’s treatment using lab-grown stem cells, potentially avoiding the ethical issues of embryo use. We also tackle why overtreatment of the elderly is common in medicine and how Christians can make wise end-of-life choices.
-
ShowsShame, Honour & the Gospel: Recovering What We’ve Missed
Have we overlooked the gospel’s answer to shame, not just guilt? This episode explores how Jesus addressed both in an honour-based culture, and what Western Christians might miss as society shifts towards new forms of public shaming.
-
ShowsWhat is a woman?
This episode delves into two UK Supreme Court rulings: one on doctors’ anonymity in life support disputes with parents of severely ill children, and another defining ‘woman’ in the 2010 Equality Act as biological sex, affecting trans women’s access to single-sex spaces. We explore the implications of these judgements.
-
ShowsDementia: Listening to bodies and the sacramental ministry of touch
Jess Wyatt, vicar and theologian, delves into the complexities of dementia, challenging the notion that personhood diminishes with the disease and exploring how Christian beliefs in embodiment and identity shape compassionate care. This podcast episode offers insights into nurturing those with dementia.
-
ShowsCultural witness and the purpose of theology, with Graham Tomlin
Graham Tomlin has been a vicar, a theologian, a college principal, a bishop and now spearheads a project dedicated to trying to re-enchant the UK with Christian faith. In this episode we reflect with him about his ministry, the current state and status of theology in the church, the struggles of the Church of England where he served as a bishop until recently, and why he’s now focusing on helping non-churchgoers begin to see the world through ‘Christian spectacles’.
-
ShowsAntinatalism: Should we all stop having children?
The antinatalist movement, advocating against childbearing for reasons ranging from climate concerns to philosophical debates on consent, challenges traditional pro-natalist views within Christianity, prompting discussions on voluntary childlessness and celibacy in a contemporary context.
-
ShowsIs this the end? Plummeting birth rates, the future of humanity and the meaning of children
Global birth rates are declining across the globe, raising concerns about societal impacts and the sustainability of populations. This episode explores potential causes and the Christian perspective on the value of having children in light of this trend.
-
ShowsSpiritual, but not religious: What do people actually believe these days?
The non-religious are an ever-increasing segment of the population, in the UK, the United States and across the Western world. But what do they actually believe, and indeed not believe, in?
-
ShowsArrested for praying in your head? Abortion clinic buffer zones and 21st century thoughtcrime
The UK’s new buffer zone laws around abortion clinics challenge religious freedoms, leading to arrests for silent prayer and preaching. Are we compromising fundamental liberties for security, unnoticed by the church?
-
ShowsWhat is the Trump government doing to medical research and international aid, and why should we care?
An under-reported story of the tumultuous first months of the second Donald Trump administration is how his team are brutally cutting back long-established federal institutions.
-
ShowsWhat are chatbots doing to us? Personhood in an age of AI
AI-driven chatbots are becoming a major industry, with hundreds of millions of people spending hours every day talking to non-human personas. They can be friends, therapists, lovers, work colleagues or fantastical invented characters. Or even an uncanny replica of an actual loved one who has died.
-
ShowsCo-operation with evil
Can a pro-life Christian anaesthetist take part in surgical abortions, even if they are simply ensuring the mother is safely put under and do not do the actual abortion? What about the nurse checking blood pressure earlier on the ward?
-
ShowsCryptocurrency: Financial liberation for the masses or pyramid schemes for the gullible?
Revisiting a standout 2023 episode: Explore the cryptocurrency phenomenon with Chris Goswami. From the rise of memecoins to the ethical dilemmas of bitcoin investment, discover a Christian perspective on navigating this rapidly evolving tech landscape
-
ShowsShould we fear our new social media overlords in the age of Trump?
Elon Musk, the mercurial billionaire who owns Twitter, is increasingly wielding his enormous political power via his social media network, interfering in politics in America and far beyond.
-
ShowsKnowing our own bodies: Fertility apps and the pill, with Dawn McAvoy
In this episode we revisit our last conversation on contraception (linked below) with Dawn McAvoy from the “pro-women pro-life” movement Both Lives, and reconsider why so many women today are turning away from hormonal contraception.
-
ShowsShould we try to save every one? Ethical dilemmas and Christian values when treating very premature babies
A recent Guardian article looked in depth at advances in neonatology – the care of extremely premature babies – and the complex ethical challenges now faced by parents and doctors alike. Modern medicine can now save the lives of babies born at just 21 or 22 weeks old, but does this come at too great a cost?
-
ShowsWho do children belong to in an era of surrogacy and reproductive technology?
In this episode we consider a provocative essay by a legal philosopher who explores the troubling implications of this new reality, and ask as Christians where do we stand on the question: who do children belong to? What is lost when children come into the world not inescapably rooted in one family, but as the result of a commercial transaction?
