All Matters of Life and Death articles – Page 3
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ShowsHow we all came to think science and religion were at war
This classic MOLAD episode features Nick Spencer, author of Magisteria, exploring the myth that science and religion are natural enemies. The conversation uncovers the complex history behind this idea, asks whether faith and science really need to be kept separate, and reveals the overlooked spiritual lives of some of history’s greatest scientists.
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ShowsA Womb in Limbo: Life Support, Law, and Medical Ethics
This episode of Matters of Life and Death tackles a controversial case from Georgia, USA, where doctors kept a brain-dead pregnant woman on life support for months so her unborn child could be born. We explore the ethical, legal, and emotional dilemmas this raises for families and medics.
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ShowsHealed by prayer: Should Christian doctors believe in faith healing?
A doctor listener has written in with a fascinating question about miraculous healing. It was clearly a major part of Jesus’s ministry in the gospels, and yet she has doubts despite prayer for healing becoming a larger and larger part of her church’s life.
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ShowsConspiracy theories, mRNA, covid and autism: Why do so many struggle to get on board with vaccines?
This episode examines the rise of vaccine scepticism, fuelled by figures like Robert F Kennedy Jr and pandemic-era hesitancy. It explores the evidence for vaccine safety, questions about side effects and rushed COVID rollouts, and asks why mistrust - especially among Christians - remains high, considering whether the church is particularly susceptible to conspiracy thinking.
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ShowsOne in five pregnancies: How we’re talking differently about miscarriage, and what that may mean for abortion
This classic Matters of Life and Death episode explores how society’s approach to miscarriage and baby loss has shifted toward greater empathy, and what that means for parents and churches. The episode also examines the contrasting ways we talk about abortion and baby loss, asking whether Christians should address these inconsistencies in advocacy.
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ShowsAI scepticism and the end of creativity, with Caleb Woodbridge
In this episode, we discuss these ideas with Caleb Woodbridge, an editor and writer who recently published an intriguing manifesto on how to maintain our humanity in the age of AI.
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ShowsThe Enhanced Games: Should we all want to become superhumans?
This episode explores the controversial Enhanced Games, where athletes can use any drugs or technology to boost their performance. As human enhancement moves from sci-fi to reality, the conversation unpacks ethical questions about biohacking, technology, and how Christian beliefs should guide our response.
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ShowsCan Christians work in the arms industry?
This episode tackles whether Christians can work in the arms industry and how to discern God’s will in tricky ethical careers. It also explores the unintended consequences of at-home DNA testing, reflecting on how Christians should navigate a world obsessed with genetics and family identity.
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ShowsThe new Pope, Catholic Social Teaching and a second industrial revolution
On his second day in office, Pope Leo XIV signalled that Catholic Social Teaching may be vital for today’s AI-driven industrial revolution, just as it was during the age of steam. Catholic theologian Luke Arredondo joins us to explore what this could mean for the Church and society.
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ShowsAbortion decriminalised (Part 2)
The rapid liberalisation of UK abortion law was shaped by precedent in Northern Ireland and accelerated by COVID-era telemedicine, leading to increased prosecutions for late-term abortions. As decriminalisation may soon become law, the pressing question is how Christians and the church should respond—through advocacy, prayer, or practical action to reduce abortion demand.
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ShowsAbortion decriminalised (Part 1)
Parliament has quickly passed a major reform decriminalising abortion up to birth in England, with little public debate or scrutiny. This episode explores how we reached this point, the history of abortion law in the UK, and what these changes mean, with insight from Dawn McAvoy of Both Lives.
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ShowsElizabeth Oldfield: Intriguing non-believers and life in intentional community
Elizabeth Oldfield discusses her new book Fully Alive, the growing curiosity about faith in today’s culture, and her experience living in a modern monastic community practising radical hospitality.
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ShowsWhatsApp, social media and smart devices: Persecution of Christians goes digital
This classic MOLAD episode explores how modern technology has added a new dimension to the persecution of Christians, with oppressive regimes and extremists using digital surveillance, social media, and smart devices to target believers.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
