The Point of Medicine
A forum of Christian Medical & Dental Associations®
The Point of Medicine aims to stimulate thought and discussion on the most pressing issues in healthcare. Through this forum, we hope to educate, encourage, and equip healthcare professionals and the Church to practice and advocate for good medicine – that which is God-honoring and committed to the flourishing of the patient as an image bearer. Articles on this forum are intended to promote scholarship and Biblical wisdom, providing clarity on the issues of the day, to bring glory and honor to God.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are those of the author, and do not necessarily express the views of CMDA. To stimulate thought and discussion, articles will end with questions under the prompt, “What Is The Point?” We encourage you to join the conversation on our website with intrigue and humility and share your experience, insight, and expertise. CMDA has a rigorous and representative process in formulating official positions, which are largely limited to bioethical issues. Those official positions can be viewed here.
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RECENT Articles
Christian Hippocratism and the Healing Relationship
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
Is healthcare simply a collection of services offered by technicians to consumers? Is the clinician an expert who should make decisions for the patient? Or is healthcare a moral practice with a purpose? Christian Hippocratism offers a better answer.
Estrangement
By Robert E. Cranston, MD, MA (Ethics) |
A growing trend is emerging in America for young adults to cancel their parents, opting for “no or low contact” relationships. A recent study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family states, “More than 25% of young adults in the US are estranged from one or both parents, or have been….”
No Communication
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
On July 29, 2026, retired medical doctor Anthony Fauci was brought before the U.S. Senate, in a hearing led by medical doctor turned senator Rand Paul. Dr. Fauci was accused of grave wrongdoings before and during the COVID pandemic. Despite multiple questions and statements from senators, Dr. Fauci refused to answer, citing the Fifth Amendment.
Autonomy, Expertise and Process: A Response to the August 2026 Executive Order
By Richard K. Zimmerman, MD MPH MA (Bioethics) FAAFP FIDSA |
Autonomy is Not the First Principle of Christian Bioethics. The order grounds federal policy in “the fundamental principles of personal autonomy and informed consent.” Both deserve affirmation: autonomy recognizes each person as a moral agent of unconditional worth, consistent with the imago Dei, and informed consent guards against coercion.
Beyond the Front Lines: Medicine Sees Image Bearers, Not Enemies
By Lina AbuJamra, MD |
Our ministry serves through a community center in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, in an area long known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Many of the families who come through our doors have been directly affected by the ongoing conflict. They have lost homes, jobs, and loved ones. They carry the visible wounds of war, but even more often, they carry the invisible ones.
More Than a Conference: A Window into God’s Global Work through ICMDA
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
Our ministry serves through a community center in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, in an area long known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Many of the families who come through our doors have been directly affected by the ongoing conflict. They have lost homes, jobs, and loved ones. They carry the visible wounds of war, but even more often, they carry the invisible ones.
Image Bearers with Down Syndrome
By Kayla Grooters |
The scientific method assumes the natural world is ordered and functions in an organized manner. Rigorous hypothesis testing yields scientific truth. As Christian scientists, we believe God is truth (John 14:6) and that God has created an ordered world (Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1:1-3).
Ben Sasse: End-of-Life Living and Dying Well
By Nicole D. Hayes, MPA |
The scientific method assumes the natural world is ordered and functions in an organized manner. Rigorous hypothesis testing yields scientific truth. As Christian scientists, we believe God is truth (John 14:6) and that God has created an ordered world (Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1:1-3).
What Francis Collins Almost Got Right
By Steven Willing, MD |
The scientific method assumes the natural world is ordered and functions in an organized manner. Rigorous hypothesis testing yields scientific truth. As Christian scientists, we believe God is truth (John 14:6) and that God has created an ordered world (Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1:1-3).
Lessons Learned from the West African Ebola Epidemic
By Richard A. Sacra, MD |
This outbreak is an opportunity—an opportunity for Christian physicians, an opportunity for mission organizations, an opportunity for ordinary believers—to make a difference.
Let’s Be Honest About Reproductive Medicine
By Ward McClellan, MD |
The scientific method assumes the natural world is ordered and functions in an organized manner. Rigorous hypothesis testing yields scientific truth. As Christian scientists, we believe God is truth (John 14:6) and that God has created an ordered world (Genesis 1:1-3 and John 1:1-3).
Who I Am, In Medicine and Beyond: Pro-Love and Pro-Life
By Christian Medical & Dental Associations® |
The pandemic also opened my eyes to the frailty of life and the limitations of modern medicine. It led me to a deeper relationship with God for myself and my patients. I was reminded again patients are more than a body with a condition that needs to be treated, but my patient has a spirit that is reaching out for something higher.
Truth Telling in Medicine
By Robert E. Cranston, MD, MA (Ethics) |
Merriam Webster defines lying as “saying or writing something that is not true in order to deceive someone.” In this article, the “author outlines 12 common types of lies, including bold-faced lies, broken promises, lies of fabrication, lies of deception, exaggeration, plagiarism, denial, omission, minimization, withholding information, and selective memory. It notes that classifications of lies can vary depending on the source, and some lies may fall under multiple categories.”
The Future of Christian Medicine
By Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA (Bioethics) |
The ability to think critically and deeply is crucial for Christian students in healthcare as they face ethical dilemmas that didn’t exist a generation ago. Should a Christian healthcare professional use a patient’s preferred pronouns if the patient identifies as a member of the opposite sex? What advice should they offer to parents of minors struggling with their sexual identity?
AI in Medicine: A Primer
By Steven Willing, MD |
Clinicians have used computerized image analysis for decades, particularly in ultrasound and nuclear medicine. Earlier systems relied on explicit, rule‑based algorithms written by engineers. The transition to what is now properly called “artificial intelligence” occurred when models began learning their own features and decision logic directly from data—most notably with the adoption of deep learning in medical imaging over the last decade.
2026 US Childhood Immunization Schedule Reduction and the Christian Clinician: A Bioethical Analysis of Process and Content
By Richard K. Zimmerman, MD MPH MA (Bioethics) FAAFP FIDSA |
We have major concerns about the comparisons and processes used in reducing the federal number of recommended childhood immunizations and fear the disharmony with professional societies will lead to further confusion and distrust of public health.
The 10 Commandments of Responsible Chatbot Use
By Steven Willing, MD |
Do you remember the Turing test—that computers will have truly arrived when you can’t tell whether you’re talking with a computer or a human? Well, that bridge has been crossed, and now we’re on the other side.
Christians in Medical School: Why Faith Belongs in Medical Training
By Kayla Grooters |
Medical school is a like a marathon, for which you are both grateful and terrified to run. For the first half, you are force fed from a fire hose seemingly every factoid about human genetics, embryology, physiology and anatomy, all summarized in the 30,000 Anki cards you will commit to memory.
Chaos in Minnesota
By Brick Lantz, MD |
Immigration is a complex issue. God established boundaries among nations for our own well-being. Governments have a responsibility to protect those boundaries. Both extreme positions of no boundaries or borders versus completely closed boundaries or borders leads to social disorder. Advocating for a balance is important.
Hepatitis B Vaccine and the Christian Clinician: A Bioethical Analysis of the Votes in December 2025 of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)
By Richard K. Zimmerman, MD MPH MA (Bioethics) FAAFP FIDSA |
God’s truth in Scripture and creation extends to scientific truths via common grace. The speech of God, which is always truthful, results in Scripture, creation and providence.
Ethical Issues in Dentistry: Treatment Recommendations
By William Griffin, DDS |
Perhaps the most pervasive of the ethical challenges in dentistry is related to the area of treatment recommendations. This topic is challenging by virtue of the simple fact that almost all clinical problems in dentistry can be treated in multiple ways.
The Importance of Christian Values in Modern Medicine and Healthcare
By Brick Lantz, MD |
I love studying the Bible because it conveys God’s plan and His compassion. We are in the new covenant with Christ. The Mosaic covenant ended. The law had a purpose. Human nature remains the same.
A Christian’s Guide to Practicing Healthcare
By Jeffrey Barrows, DO, MA (Bioethics) |
The benefits of taking the risk to speak out are not only eternal but will also increase your sense of joy knowing that you are walking in obedience to the Lord. But that does not mean it will be easy, which is why I recommend regularly reading about persecuted Christians around the world.
Not By Might, Nor By Power
By Steven Willing, MD |
Over two millennia, followers of Christ have transformed the world, and today we live in a wealthier, kinder, fairer and freer state than could ever have been imagined by a commoner or slave in ancient Rome. Yet almost none of that was accomplished through seizing the reigns of earthly power.
What Good Has Christianity Ever Done for the World?
By André Van Mol, MD |
“The fact is that the majority of the early church fathers valued their own classical educations…” and that “Christianity became the major patron of education in the Latin West and a major borrower from the classical intellectual tradition.”
We encourage you to join the conversation here 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.
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