In our “Big Issues” series which ran in Sunday morning services in Autumn 2020, we looked at four big issues that both Christians and wider society are concerned with at the moment:
- The beginning of life
- The end of life
- Male and female in creation
- Male and female in the church
Some resources on these topics are below.
The Beginning of Life
Issues connected with the beginning of life can be complex ones with the potential to stir up deep feelings and possibly past hurts. As we address some of these matters in our programme of teaching at St John’s, we also want to offer some information to enable people to access help or to delve deeper into the issues. There are some brief details below, with more information and helpful links available in a help-sheet that can be downloaded here.
HELP FOR UNPLANNED PREGNANCIES:
There is a network of Christian centres throughout the UK with trained counsellors, providing free and confidential counselling in a caring & non-judgemental environment for unplanned pregnancies. Details of the services offered and the locations of the different centres can be accessed here.
The closest is Choices, located in Islington.
HELP FOLLOWING AN ABORTION, MISCARRIAGE OR BABY LOSS:
The network of centres mentioned above also offer free and confidential counselling following an abortion, or following a miscarriage or baby loss. In addition, the Open initiative offers post-abortion recovery weekends retreats and ‘Loved’ miscarriage healing retreat days.
FURTHER INFORMATION ON THESE MATTERS:
Books:
Abortion by Dr Lizzie Ling with Vaughan Roberts. This is a short introduction to the subject in the ‘Talking Points’ series published by The Good Book Company.
Matters of Life & Death by John Wyatt. This is a comprehensive book written by a Professor of Ethics who is also a specialist in the medical care of newborn babies.
Pregnancy and Abortion – Your Choice by Dr M. Houghton. This book considers the different options available following an unplanned pregnancy.
Organisations:
CARE is a Christian agency conducting research and advocacy in a variety of areas including abortion and end of life issues. CARE also seeks to support churches in providing practical care for those facing unintended pregnancy or needing help following abortion or miscarriage.
Life is a charity offering counselling, support and advocacy on pro-life issues.
Other resources and films:
- A beautiful video that shows the stages of human development over the 40 weeks of pregnancy in just 6 minutes.
- Current UK abortion statistics (including the reasons for those abortions) can be found here.
- The pro-choice documentary film Hush honestly investigates the effects of abortion on women.
The END of Life
There are some brief details below of where you can find further information on this issue, with more details available in a help-sheet that can be downloaded here.
Books:
Assisted Suicide by Vaughan Roberts. This is a short introduction to the subject in the ‘Talking Points’ series published by The Good Book Company.
Matters of Life & Death by John Wyatt. This is a comprehensive book written by a Professor of Ethics.
Live and Let Live by Dr Peter Saunders. This booklet by Dr. Peter Saunders explores what the Bible has to say about euthanasia and assisted suicide, and can be downloaded here.
A Biblical Discussion for End of Life Issues by Chris Buttenshaw. This booklet gives an in-depth Biblical discussion of suffering, life and death and is available to download here .
Articles:
The article referenced in the sermon about a journalist’s account of euthanasia in the Netherlands, Death on demand: has euthanasia gone too far?, can be found here.
Organisations:
CARE is a Christian agency conducting research and advocacy in a variety of areas including end of life issues. Their webpage on the issue has a wealth of resources.
Care Not Killing is a UK-based alliance of individuals and organisations with the aims of promoting better palliative care and ensuring that existing laws against euthanasia and assisted suicide are not weakened or repealed. The website has a very good summary of the humanitarian arguments against euthanasia.
Hospice UK has helpful links for locating hospice care and finding further information about the hospice movement.
Male and female in creation
There are some brief details below of where you can find further information on this issue, with more details available in a help-sheet that can be downloaded here.
Books:
Transgender by Vaughan Roberts. This is a short introduction to the subject in the ‘Talking Points’ series published by The Good Book Company.
Transformed by Peter Lynas. This is a very helpful downloadable booklet on the subject from the Evangelical Alliance, available here.
Gender: A Conversation Guide for Parents and Pastors by Brian Seagraves & Hunter Leavine. This short book seeks to equip parents and others teach children Biblical principles and a Christian worldview on this issue.
Articles:
Gender Dysphoria is a helpful article from the Christian Medical Fellowship, looking at the issue from more of a medical point of view.
The organisation the Christian Institute has produced a guide on the teaching of relationships and sex education in schools: Relationships and Sex Education – a Guide for Christian Parents in England . It provides helpful information on what schools are and are not required to do in this area, including teaching about transgender issues. A supplement available issued in September 2020 is available here.
Organisations:
The Evangelical Alliance has a range of information and resources on the subject, including interviews with those who have had personal experiences of transgender issues. The information is available here.
Male and female in the church
There are some brief details below of where you can find further information on this issue, with more details available in a help-sheet that can be downloaded here.
Books:
Two books written by women who are all complementarian in stance are as follows:
Jesus, Justice, & Gender Roles by Kathy Keller. This is a short and clear book on the subject. “In this unapologetic but nuanced piece, Keller presents a caring and careful case for biblical gender differences and the complementarian view of women in ministry. At the same time, she encourages women to teach and lead in the church in ways that may startle some complementarians.”
Different by Design by Carrie Sandom. You may not agree necessarily with all of the assumptions or conclusions in this book, but it is refreshing and easy to read.
Articles:
The Gospel Coalition website has numerous articles on male and female in church from a complementarian perspective.
Other resources:
The podcast Male and female he created them is an hour-long discussion: “Panelists Tim and Kathy Keller, John Piper, Don Carson, and Kathleen Nielson discuss how they each came to a position of complementarianism, what complementarianism is not, and the enormous implications of moving away from the clear teachings of Scripture on gender roles.”