Matters of Life and Death

Today we are delving into a complex and sensitive topic – infertility and IVF. The statistics suggest about one in seven couples will be unable to conceive without some kind of medical intervention, and the most popular form of reproductive treatment is in vitro fertilisation – IVF. Partly because infertility is such a painful time for many of those experiencing it, we don’t talk about it much. The same is also true of IVF, even though today in some places the procedure now accounts for as many as five per cent of all births. In this episode we wanted to consider how infertility interacts with both church culture and broader society, for good or ill, and then examine the complicated ethical questions raised by IVF treatment. Some links which may be helpful for Christians who are experiencing infertility: Saltwater and Honey - a collection of voices sharing their stories about infertility, miscarriage, childlessness and faith, plus lots of resources The Rhythm of Hope - an annual retreat and community for Christian couples Waiting for Children - a course which many churches around the UK run, including HTB who are running it online John's book Matters of Life and Death also has several chapters exploring infertility and reproductive technology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we’re digging into assisted dying. A bill to legalise it in England has been introduced to parliament – what does it propose and how likely is it to actually become law? And zooming out a little, what are the social factors behind this renewed push to introduce a form of euthanasia to Britain, and in particular via the House of Lords of all places? Finally, we discuss what we could learn from Canada – which has brought in its own form of assisted suicide, with some alarming consequences, since we in the UK last debated it six years ago. You can find more information on Canada's Medical Assistance in Dying programme here: https://www.betterwaycampaign.co.uk/canada John's article unpacking the Meacher Bill is here: https://johnwyatt.com/2021/07/08/whats-wrong-with-the-assisted-dying-bill You can also find lots more material and resources on the topic on this page on his website: https://johnwyatt.com/medical-ethics/euthanasia-and-palliative-care See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today’s episode is a little hard to sum up – we begin by reflecting on the recent series of scandals around abusive church leaders, before going to discuss how contemporary culture thinks about sex and power (and in particular how they are exploited) in human relationships. And then we consider to what extent Christians should become as suspicious of our leaders and their relationships, as it seems wider society is. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast (which we both strongly recommend) can be found here - https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode was inspired by John’s new book – The Robot Will See You Now – which was published last week. It’s a multi-author volume he has co-edited with the theologian Stephen Williams, where they have gathered an array of theologians, academics and thinkers to explore how upcoming advances in robotics and artificial intelligence will revolutionise society, from healthcare to employment, from art to sex. And, perhaps more critically, how we as Christians should engage with and respond to these developments in cutting-edge technology. Excitingly, we have been able to invite our first guest onto Matters of Life and Death to discuss this - Nathan Mladin. Nathan is a researcher with the religion thinktank Theos and has written a chapter for The Robot Will See You Now. With his help we bat around some of the big ideas from the book and then look in more detail as his specialism - the concerning rise of 'surveillance capitalism'. Find out more about The Robot Will See You Now, including how to pre-order it, on John's website - https://johnwyatt.com/2021/07/01/the-robot-will-see-you-now/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today’s episode we’re returning to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been almost six months since we last dedicated an episode to covid, and since then a lot has happened. Hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been delivered around the world, but are they going to the right people at the right time? We now know the vaccines increase by a tiny amount the risk you might experience a dangerous blood clot in the brain – how have we done at understanding that risk and putting it in its proper context? We’re also sadly much more familiar with long covid– what’s going on there and how should we as a society look after those suffering these symptoms? And finally, does the way we count – or rather, significantly undercount – deaths caused by coronavirus really matter? Please take our three-minute listener survey to help us improve the podcast - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdJjFoI3G6a-5lJ07S7vBm_yxOkDVoDQXQfI6RnrZSJNI2zuw/viewform The ONS report on how many people in the UK have long covid - https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/bulletins/prevalenceofongoingsymptomsfollowingcoronaviruscovid19infectionintheuk/1april2021 The BBC Radio 4 programme on long covid - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w4t4 The Sun's front page on the blood clot risk - https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/14589798/brilliant-front-page-oxford-astrazeneca-vaccine/ The government's information page on the blood clot risk with the covid vaccines - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting/covid-19-vaccination-and-blood-clotting See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week marked 100 years since the late John Stott was born and there has been a flurry of events to mark the centenary of this highly influential vicar, Bible teacher and evangelical leader. He also had a huge impact on John's own life and career and in this episode we wanted to talk about not just the legacy of Stott’s many decades of ministry, but whether his vision for how Christians can engage well in the public square is still relevant and meaningful today, more than 60 years after he began making the case. Has society long since moved on, or are there still things to learn and challenges to heed from Stott? John's talk and discussion on Stott at LICC - https://johnwyatt.com/2021/05/03/talk-and-discussion-the-life-and-legacy-of-john-stott/ Sermon on lay ministry inspired by Stott at All Souls Church - https://johnwyatt.com/2021/04/26/interview-and-talk-the-john-stott-centenary-biblical-convictions-for-the-contemporary-church/ A Glen Scrivener interview with John about his friendship with Stott - https://johnwyatt.com/2021/04/29/interview-the-life-and-legacy-of-john-stott/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Today’s topic is simulation. We live in an era when digital technology is making it increasingly easy and cheap to create fake but compelling images or videos of people, or even entirely artificial human-like personalities. Machine learning tools and progress in artificial intelligence software means we are closer than ever to things previously only imaginable in science fiction: computer programs which can speak to us like a human or androids which are indistinguishable from real people. In this episode we discuss examples of this kind of tech already in the world, what impact it may have in the future, and how we as Christians should think about these forms of simulated images, relationships and personalities. Tom Cruise deep fakes on TikTok Synthesia - the company offering deep fake videos as corporate communications MyHeritage Deep Nostalgia - a family history DNA company will now use AI to animate your old photos of dead relatives, 'bringing them back to life' Affectiva - who claim to use AI to analyse human emotional states from looking at their faces Simulation and Simulacra - the seminal work by Jean Baudrillard The Truman Show film The Matrix film See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This episode explores one of the most significant and potentially long-lasting ways the covid pandemic has affected church life – the shift to digital. Ever since the first lockdown began almost a year ago, churches of every shape and size and from every denomination have been forced to offer worship online. And even though it has been legal to re-open buildings since last summer, most have continued to livestream, pre-record or video conference their way through the pandemic alongside some physical gathering. Will this continue indefinitely even when covid is long gone? Are we really seeing digital church spark a revival among non-churchgoers? And what implications for our worship and our theology does this brave new online world pose? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today’s episode we’re taking a sideways step from the covid pandemic and instead are discussing social media and free speech. The banning of Donald Trump from every social media platform following the deadly riot earlier this month at the US Capitol building has prompted fierce debates, not only about free speech and censorship online, but also the role of social media in fostering hate and lies. Why is it that so much horrendous stuff accumulates and spills out of social media, from deranged conspiracy theories about coronavirus all the way up to the violent and often racist political rhetoric which inspired the Capitol insurrection? Do we need more regulation and moderation of what people are saying online, or less? What are the implications of unaccountable tech CEOs barring anyone they choose from the world’s dominant communications networks? And how should we, as Christians, think about the ethics of free speech and censorship in our always online 21st century world? Our previous episode on conspiracy theories and misinformation online about coronavirus - https://shows.acast.com/matters-of-life-and-death/episodes/coronavirus-misinformation Research on the spread of false and true news online, published in Science - https://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6380/1146 'Information Overload Helps Fake News Spread, and Social Media Knows It', published in Scientific American - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/information-overload-helps-fake-news-spread-and-social-media-knows-it/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Microchips. Bill Gates. The mark of the beast. 5G cell towers. False positive rates. Big pharma. DNA alteration. It’s been hard to avoid the swirling morass of misinformation and conspiracy theories around the pandemic. And this confusion and fear have surged in recent weeks as the first covid vaccines have begun to be rolled out. But why have so many people, including many in the church, fallen for untruths about coronavirus? Where has all our trust – in government, in science, even in doctors – gone? How can we steer a clear path through the toxic brew of lies and misinformation swamping the internet and social media? Read the World Health Organisation's guide to navigating the 'infodemic' and verifying online information here: who.int/news-room/spotlight/let-s-flatten-the-infodemic-curve See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.