Matters of Life and Death

Exploring the origins of evil and human nature. The concept of original sin and behaviors of children. The Christian perspective on sin, suffering, and evil. The paradoxical approach towards evil.

We spoke last week about the hugely welcome shift in how society talks about miscarriage and cares for women (and men) who have experienced it. And yet at the same time in Britain, we desperately avoid using the same language and narrative established in baby loss services when we are in the abortion zone. Now, the fetus is not a much loved, named human baby who is irreplaceable and whose death is a deep bereavement for both parents. Now it is simply a clump of cells inside the woman’s body who can choose for any reason to rid herself of it with no lasting consequences. How have these two mutually contradictory stories about the unborn child developed side by side? Why are abortions – especially medical ones now available at home via the ‘pills by post’ option – increasing in number in the UK? And would it be wrong for pro-life Christians to highlight the incoherent narratives around baby loss in advocacy and campaigning? - Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 - If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com - For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com

We have just finished Baby Loss Awareness Week here in the UK. While the event is not hugely well known, it is indicative of an enormous cultural shift in recent decades around how society talks about miscarriage and stillbirth. Today, the messaging is much more compassionate and empathetic, acknowledging the reality of the baby who has died and the grief their parents will be feeling. What has prompted this sea change in thought? What do we now know about how losing a baby before birth affects both mothers and fathers? And how can Christians welcome this shift in emphasis and language, and bring it into the church context as well? - Find out more about Baby Loss Awareness Week, including lots of first-hand true stories from women, here: https://babyloss-awareness.org/ - You can read the government’s Pregnancy Loss Review here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172417/Pregnancy-Loss-Review-web-accessible.pdf - Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 - If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com - For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com

Christianity is sometimes described as ‘bad news for women’. Clearly we would all disagree with this epithet, but why does it have cultural currency right now for a growing number of particularly younger women? In this episode we’re joined by Ellidh Cook, a student worker in central London whose theological studies focused on violence against women in the Old Testament, to discuss how she goes about showing women our faith is actually lifegiving for both sexes. Where might the church have gone wrong in its efforts to put Biblical teaching into practice? Should believers be feminists? What does that word even mean today? And what hope can the authentic gospel of Jesus Christ offer the stressed, anxious, confused and exploited young women of our 21st century societies? - Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 - If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com - For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com

Explore the origins of COVID-19, including the lab leak theory and gain-of-function research. Uncover the controversy surrounding the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the manipulation of animal coronaviruses. Learn about the timeline of COVID origins and the difficulty in determining the truth. Discover the cultural perspectives on loyalty and truth, with Christianity emphasizing truth-telling. Reflect on the importance of finding and telling the truth amidst competing interests.

The podcast discusses the compatibility of alternative health practices with Christian beliefs, the ethics of selling placebos in homeopathic medicine, the relationship between climate change and wildfires, the biases in scientific journal publishing, the importance of unsexy research, and the compatibility of the scientific method with Christian thinking.

The podcast discusses the theological foundation of creation and its significance in understanding modern issues. It explores the suspicion of the 'world' by the Brethren and the celebration of beauty. The role of music in worship and creation is examined, as well as the story of Eric Liddell and his faith. The Genesis account of creation is highlighted, along with the eternal value of worshiping God through His creation. The tragedy of neglecting creation in modern evangelical churches is also discussed.

The podcast discusses the conflict between the biblical Genesis account and the scientific evidence for an old earth. It explores the historical development of interpretations of Genesis and emphasizes the importance of dialogue between believers and skeptics. The podcast also delves into the contributions and limitations of philosophers and the significance of philosophy in shaping society.

Britain has been gripped by horror by the recent conviction of a neonatal nurse called Lucy Letby, who murdered seven premature babies and attempted to kill six others at the hospital where she worked. In this episode we discuss this horrifying and tragic story and whether Letby could or should have been stopped earlier. Will this case damage trust between parents and patients, and the medical professionals tasked with looking after them? Is it actually possible to prevent the one-in-a-thousand psychopathic killers from getting into positions of power over vulnerable people? What unintended consequences might result in our efforts to protect ourselves from dangerous and rogue individuals like Letby? And how might our Christian understanding of evil help us cope with the horrifying truth that an ordinary and unremarkable nurse could also be Britain’s worst child serial killer? There has been lots of excellent media coverage and investigations into the case for those who would like to read more: - We relied on the Sunday Times investigation in the episode a lot https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lucy-letby-files-nurse-hospital-evidence-rkxchgqh9 - The BBC have also done a thorough investigation https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66120934 - And this Guardian piece digs into the background of Letby https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/18/lucy-letby-the-beige-and-average-nurse-who-turned-into-a-baby-killer - Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 - If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com - For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com

We have another episode of listener questions today. First, we respond to feedback from a listener with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as ME) who queried how we spoke about the condition in our previous episode touching on Long Covid. What exactly do we mean when we talk about some illnesses being ‘psychosomatic’ and how has the scientific method itself started to break down in our efforts to get more insight into what CFS/ME really is? Then, we move on to a question from a listener who works at a university and is curious to know what will happen to academic and teaching assessments in an era when ChatGPT can answer written tasks for students. Will we have to move to in-person, oral examination entirely? Can large language model AI software really come up with genuinely new content, or is it simply a skilful rehash of human creativity? Don’t forget, you can send in your own questions for us to consider by emailing molad@premier.org.uk or tweeting Tim at twitter.com/tswyatt. - Subscribe to the Matters of Life and Death podcast: https://pod.link/1509923173 - If you want to go deeper into some of the topics we discuss, visit John's website: http://www.johnwyatt.com - For more resources to help you explore faith and the big questions, visit: http://www.premierunbelievable.com