Do you want to know the latest information and news about today's important healthcare topics? Join the conversation with The Point, CMDA's blog focusing on breaking news stories in bioethics and healthcare. CMDA's experts contribute to the blog and also recommend additional resources and information.
The purpose of this blog is to stimulate thought and discussion about important issues in healthcare. Opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of CMDA. We encourage you to join the conversation on our website and share your experience, insight and expertise. CMDA has a rigorous and representative process in formulating official positions, which are largely limited to bioethical areas.
Archived Articles
There is a Better Way
By Nicole D. Hayes |
“For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:19a, NIV 1984).
We have seen the devastation, societal decay and moral rot caused by the perpetuation of human wisdom and reasoning. Many in the world call what is “evil, good” and what is “good, evil.” Such reasoning creates a propensity for lawlessness and disintegration. People reject the truth and divine guidance, while also truly casting off restraint (Proverbs 29:18). If such actions lead to decay, what then leads to life?
Part 2: Answering Contemporary Challenges to Christian Sexual Morality
By Steven Willing, MD |
In Part 1 of this series , we looked at two common objections to a traditional Christian view of sexuality: “What about other Old Testament rules we don’t keep?” and “The New Testament teaching on sexuality was socially constructed and not intended for universal application.” In this second part, we will examine two more recent arguments that have become quite popular and, to some, deceptively persuasive.
Part 1: Is Christian Sexual Morality a Matter of Ancient Cultural Bias?
By Steven Willing, MD |
What is the foundation of your moral principles?
If you consider that a simple question, you’ve never really thought about it much.
The gut reaction of most Protestants would be “Scripture”—certainly a fitting place to begin—but when one drills down into the details, things get complicated rather quickly. For decades, theological liberals have dismissed biblical teaching on sexuality because they dismiss the Bible. In more recent years, a newer contingent rejects traditional Christian teaching on sexuality arguing that “the Bible never taught it in the first place.”
Addressing Race in Healthcare Through the Faith and Through the Law
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA) has tackled race issues in healthcare proactively, gathering members together for prayer and fasting, webinars, public policy statements, articles, discussions, video presentations and more while pledging to "continue seeking to oppose racism in healthcare and society and pursuing justice in access to healthcare and equitable outcomes."
The New Subjective Reality of Transgenderism
By Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA (Bioethics) |
Is reality subjective or objective?
A new hermeneutic of reality is arising: converting objective physical reality into subjective reality.
The rapid rise of the transgender movement and the denunciation of physical reality inherent in that movement has stunned countless conservatives and especially evangelical Christians. Transgender ideologues are not interested in prioritizing one aspect of physical reality over another. Instead, they want to subvert objective reality to a new subjective reality defined by the individual and the movement.
Virtual Doctoring, Virtual Church, Virtual Life
By Amy Givler, MD |
When this pandemic started, I, at least, had heard of Zoom. My husband Don, also a family physician, had no clue. We’re both in our 60s and feel simultaneously confused and outdated whenever a new form of technology emerges. Picture a donkey leaning back on the rope held by someone trying to drag it forward. You get the idea.
Being Refined After the Fire
By Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD, MBA |
I love the opportunity to write for CMDA on a regular basis. I always sit down at the computer and words flow out of my heart and out of whatever I am experiencing at that point in time. It has been a new experience to struggle so much with my blog entry this month. I have written four or five entries—and every single one of them is depressing and discouraging, and also very similar to the one I wrote on my last assigned blog date. I keep trying, and I keep coming up pretty empty. It’s only after attempt number four or five that it occurred to me to think about the emptiness itself.
HHS Addresses “Transgender Mandate” in New Rule…but Supreme Court Redefines “Sex Discrimination”
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on June 12 that it had "finalized a rule under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that maintains vigorous enforcement of federal civil rights laws on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, age, and sex, and restores the rule of law by revising certain provisions that go beyond the plain meaning of the law as enacted by Congress."
Medical Conscience Rights, Part II: Sexual Minority Conflicts
By Andrè Van Mol, MD |
Conscience rights are constitutional priorities as well as professional and personal necessities for free people, and these enjoy strong and historic support from the legislature, executive branch and judiciary. They are worth defending, especially when misrepresented and misunderstood.
Stand in the Gap: A Summons to Healthcare Professionals
By Steven Willing, MD |
OK. The ad is hypothetical, I’ll admit. But only a little. A just-released report on human sexuality issued a clarion call for Christian apologists to step up and counter the increasingly toxic cultural narrative on human sexuality. That narrative—or perhaps narratives, since some are severely at odds—has led to increasing radicalism and polarization, leaving a tide of refugees in its wake.
Heroes, Wistfulness, Roles and Faithfulness
By Robert E. Cranston, MD, MA (Ethics) |
The viral attack hit especially in the major metropolitan epicenters, and many doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and other healthcare professionals stayed at work in the trenches, came out of retirement or traveled long distances to volunteer their services to aid those in distress.
Responding to Anti-Christian Animus Revealed in the Pandemic
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
In New York City, pronouncements against the volunteer work of the Christian relief group Samaritan's Purse revealed venomous anti-Christian attitudes. Because Samaritan's Purse, led by Franklin Graham, the son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, adheres to a biblical view of marriage, some New Yorkers would have had the group kicked out of the city rather than allowed to help save lives.