Matters of Life and Death

A recent Netflix documentary, The Man With A 1000 Kids, has shone a light on the often under-discussed topic of sperm donation. It exposes a Dutch man as a prolific and deceptive sperm donor who compulsively fathers children around the world via donated sperm. While an extreme case, it raises important questions about the ethics of bringing children into the world via sperm (or indeed egg) donation. Do we pay enough heed to the feelings and challenges faced by donor-conceived children in our understandable urge to help infertile couples have their miracle baby? Is donating sperm really any different to any other kind of organ donation, or should Christians oppose this kind of reproductive technology? We also consider new research on the enormous numbers of frozen embryos generated via IVF treatment which we in the UK are stockpiling without any clear idea of who or what we think they are, let alone what we will do with them. • Who Am I, the book about donor-conceived children https://www.cmf.org.uk/resources/publications/content/?context=article&id=2159 • 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

In recent weeks we have discussed how to keep modern technology at arms-length (smartphones in the home) and our excitement at how humans may be about to untap God’s blessing in creation through technology (the solar energy revolution). Today we ask the question: can we really hold these positions simultaneously? Can we be neo-Luddites when it comes to smartphones and yet boosters when it comes to solar panels? What should an authentically Christian posture to technology be? Generally positive, cautiously hostile, or is it all just a neutral tool to be used for good or ill depending on who is using it? Is humanity accelerating – thanks to our modern mastery of creation – towards God’s ultimate plan to reconcile all things, or is ‘progress’ little more than a pseudo-Christian comforting myth we tell ourselves?

Even sober-minded experts are getting excited about solar power. Respectable estimates suggest the price of energy derived from sunlight will continue to drop spectacularly as the number of panels installed worldwide continues to explode exponentially. In the relatively near future we may move into an era of energy abundance, where we have not just decarbonised our existing energy sources but are also able to cheaply generate ten or even a hundred times more energy. How should Christians feel about a future society with green, clean energy ‘too cheap to meter’? Can we see in this potential bounty God’s extravagant blessing, as we bring forth from his creation huge amounts of resources to tackle poverty, water shortages, climate change and more? Or is this a secular example of an ‘over-realised eschatology’, and foolishness in believing that once again sinful humans can bring about heaven on earth? • The Economist: 'The exponential growth of solar power will change the world' https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/06/20/the-exponential-growth-of-solar-power-will-change-the-world • Matt Yglesias: 'The case for more energy' https://www.slowboring.com/p/energy-abundance • 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

The controversial hacker and activist (and maybe journalist?) Julian Assange was suddenly freed for five years in a British jail last month, after he reached a surprise deal with the US authorities over classified military files he published online more than ten years ago. Some see this as a victory for free speech and crusading journalism, but others would decry Assange as an irresponsible blowhard and Russian stooge. Is Assange a journalist, and if not how should we define and understand that profession? Is there a specifically Christian case for publishing leaked secret documents? Should we be alarmed at democratic governments using the courts to pursue those who pry into their darker corners? • 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

Despite reams of research debunking the myth and countless examples of pioneering Christian researchers, many people still believe intuitively that somehow science and religion are in constant conflict. There are even those within the church who, perhaps subconsciously, buy into a narrative that what happens in labs around the world has no relevance for believers. This week we interview Richard Cheetham, a recently retired Church of England bishop, about his lifelong love of science, how it intersected with his own faith, and his passion to inspire more Christian leaders to engage with science in all its truth-seeking, God-curious, theologically challenging glory. • 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

Tim’s been away this last week on holiday so we’re bringing you an episode from the Matters of Life and Death vault today. There is a looming ‘demographic timebomb’ – a growing mass of elderly and increasingly chronically ill people in many developed nations, expected to place huge strain on public resources. The policy debates around this issue often emphasise the importance of not ‘being a burden’ on others, with some even suggesting there could be a ‘duty to die’ by assisted suicide for those who become old and infirm. Why does our contemporary culture have such a horror of the idea of becoming dependent on our families or the state? And what does the Christian story have to say about the value of dependence versus autonomy, especially as we near the final seasons of our lives? Secular society is leaning towards technology to solve this problem. But can the smart home or robotics really save us from having to care for our elders ourselves? And if this isn’t the whole answer, what does the church have to bring to the table? • 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

This week we interview the writer Andy Crouch on a question which has been everywhere in recent months: are smartphones damaging our children? A growing number of writers and thinkers are arguing that our digital technology, most notably social media and smartphones, are responsible for rocketing rates of mental illness and epidemics of bullying among young people. Andy has written three recent books exploring how Christian families can put in place good habits around tech and screens, and explains his convictions around how to keep tech in its proper place. How can we ensure the key formational environments of home, school and church are centred around spiritually healthy interpersonal relationships and not lost to endless scrolling? Or is a radical neo-Luddism both unattainable and needlessly ostracising for our children? • Find out more about Andy and how to get hold of his books here https://andy-crouch.com/ • 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

In the first half of this episode we explore new research into public opinion around polygenic embryo screening. This technology allows people undergoing IVF to see what genes each potential embryo has and then choose to reimplant the one with the ‘best’ genetic make-up. But is it wise or healthy for parents to be able to effectively choose their child’s hair colour, height, psychological attributes or propensity for certain diseases? What do ordinary Americans in a survey think of this possibility, and how much would they pay to be able to exercise this kind of power of their own children? Then we look at a news story in Britain, about the multi-billion pound bill the National Health Service now pays in compensation to parents whose children were brain damaged during birth. Is this a worrying sign of how poor NHS maternity care can be, or simply a sad reminder that pregnancy and labour remain complex and risky medical procedures? And are the law courts the best avenue for parents of disabled children to pursue both justice and the money necessary to provide lifelong care? • Public Attitudes, Interests, and Concerns Regarding Polygenic Embryo Screening https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2818674 • The Guardian’s story about the NHS’s bill for baby brain injury payouts https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/may/26/nhs-england-spent-41bn-over-11-years-settling-lawsuits-over-brain-damaged-babies • 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 in the UK have been startled by the sudden announcement from the prime minister that our general election, due at the end of the year, would actually be held in six weeks’ time in early July. In this episode we reflect on why Christians are so politically engaged in Britain, with research suggesting they are much more likely to vote, join a party, and campaign than the general public. Why has modern Christianity become so thoroughly pro-democracy, even as our secular states veer further and further from Christian values? Do we need a more robust theology of politics and government in response to the many 21st century countries challenging its supremacy? And is modern technology, in particular AI, threatening the foundations we need to make democracy work? • Tim has written more about research into how British Christians vote and why in his Substack newsletter here: https://tswyatt.substack.com/p/the-bible-and-the-ballot-box • AI and epistemic risk paper: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4805026 • The Evangelical Alliance survey of Christians and politics https://www.eauk.org/general-election/thinking-faithfully-about-politics • Research by the Theos thinktank on a similar topic https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/2024/05/15/religion-counts-do-the-religious-vote • 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

Diagnosis rates for autism have been steadily rising for decades now, and as the condition has become more prevalent there has been a growing debate within the community and wider society about what autism is. Some prefer to talk about neurodiversity rather than think of it as a developmental condition, and others go as far as calling it a superpower. How should we as Christians engage in this important conversation? And should we be concerned by research efforts underway to identify an ‘autistic gene’ or pre-natal test for autism, which could be used to try and select or abort the condition away? This week we discuss these questions and more with Erin Burnett, a theologian and author who was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder as an adult and has researched and written on the intersection between autism and the church. • 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

Science fiction has long been fascinated by the idea of humans becoming friends with computers. And the dream of an always-on digital companion you can talk to day or night is closer than ever before, thanks to advances in AI software in recent years. But research into one of the leading AI companion companies and its users has flagged concerns among those who are spending hours a day chatting to their personal AI friends. Is developing this kind of pseudo-intimate relationship with a computer helpful or harmful? We also discuss the latest developments in the Mike Pilavachi/Soul Survivor abuse scandal, now that high profile Christian worship leaders and pastors such as Matt Redman and Tim Hughes have revealed they are among Pilavachi’s victims. How should we think about their revelations, and could they have done more to blow the whistle on their mentor much earlier? If you need help or to talk to someone about your own experiences, you can contact Safe Spaces if you live in England or Wales: https://safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk/ • 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

What would contact with intelligent aliens mean for humanity? Will doctors ever be able to cure depression with a drug? Can we bestow personhood on animals? Nick Spencer, senior fellow at the religion and society think tank Theos, is the author of the recent book Playing God: Science, religion and the future of humanity. The book explores eight controversial questions thrown up by advances in science, including AI, aliens, gene editing, the science of immortality, animal personhood, the treatment of mental health, mass vaccination and unborn children. In this episode we unpack some of Nick’s argument in the book and think about how Christianity might be able to speak into some of these topics we will all be wrestling with throughout the rest of the 21st century. Find out more about the book here: https://spckpublishing.co.uk/playing-god • 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

A new law has been proposed in the Scottish Parliament which would allow terminally ill people to request doctors assist them in committing suicide. This is the latest push in a growing campaign across the UK and more widely in the Western world to legislate for assisted dying and euthanasia. In this episode we look through the bill to discuss its myriad flaws and how it would very likely send Scotland careering down the infamous slippery slope. But we also unpick what the underlying philosophical and ideological causes driving assisted dying forward. Is euthanasia the next great social leap forward in the inexorable onward march of progress? Is it a solution to our demographic timebomb and social care crisis? Or is the consequence of living in a post-God society, gripped by moral paralysis? In the light of all this, should Christians grimly fight on to prevent assisted dying, or do we begin planning for how we can live well (and do good healthcare) in a post-legalisation world? • 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

Society has been on a long and slow journey in recent decades into a richer and more sympathetic understanding of how abuse and coercion work within relationships. We are much better at both identifying and prosecuting this kind of abuse, and at being more attuned to the needs of victims and understanding why they find it difficult to just walk away. But domestic violence and controlling behaviour are also prevalent, sadly, within the church context too. How are we doing at identifying and confronting these toxic relationships, and looking after those traumatised by them? This week we interview Natalie Collins, an author, activist and expert in gender violence and church to find out more. Natalie’s website, with details on her courses and book, is www.nataliecollins.info. • 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

Our first topic in this Q&A episode is a recent study which found that in 2023, the first full calendar year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and the constitutional right to an abortion, total abortions actually increased. Despite 21 states enacting full or partial abortion bans, more women not fewer are ending their pregnancies. How can this have happened, and what might it tell the pro-life movement about its tactics and priorities if it seeks to make abortion not simply unlawful, but unthinkable? Next we respond to a listener who is wondering if we might have got food culture a bit wrong in a church setting? Hospitality and sharing meals together is a huge part of Christianity, but is it possible to do so while making fresh, nutritious food from scratch? Should Christians be wary of ultra-processed food? Have we accidentally baptised our existing middle-class preferences for organic produce and home-made recipes, and pretended it is somehow more virtuous or moral? The Guttmacher Institute's research on abortion statistics: https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023 • 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

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the faster growing mental health diagnoses of our age. More and more people, including those well into adulthood, are seeking out and being diagnosed with ADHD. And the typical treatment plan involves taking powerful amphetamine-based stimulant medication, effectively turbocharging parts of the brain’s cognitive capacity. In this episode, we’re joined by Christian psychiatrist Daniel Maughan to discuss how ADHD works, what impact it has on people, and why diagnosis rates seem to be rising. Should we share concerns around over-diagnosis or the supposed rise of ADHD as a ‘fashionable’ lifestyle or identity? And how should Christians in particular think about taking cognitive enhancing drugs to aid concentration or work faster, rather than to just to treat medical conditions? • 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’re both away for our Easter breaks, so this week we’re bringing you a classic episode from the MOLAD archive, when we were joined by the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron to discuss social media and politics. Research suggests UK members of parliament like Tim get sent thousands of offensive tweets every single day. Why have social networks become such toxic, hateful places? Is this a technology problem to be solved with better moderation, a policy issue solved by government regulation, or a spiritual affair reflecting the sinfulness of the human heart? And should Christians avoid these online worlds to remain unpolluted, or stick around to act as salt and light regardless? We also dig into why Tim’s time as leader of the Lib Dems came unstuck so badly and whether there is a ceiling on the ambitions of Christian politicians who will not compromise on their convictions. • 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

A new wave of anti-obesity drugs led by Wegovy (also known as Ozempic) are causing huge ripples in the medical world and popular culture. Astonishingly successful at helping people lose weight, these drugs both offer a tantalising solution to the obesity epidemic and its associated public health crisis, and have also made the pharma companies which own them staggeringly rich as demand rockets ever upwards. But ‘curing’ obesity with a weekly injection massively challenges how our culture has long viewed it, as not a medical condition to be treated but a moral failure of self-control to be repented of. Is it unwise to encourage a pharmacological fix to obesity and abandon the age-old method of ‘eat less, exercise more’? And, as our understanding of the hormonal and neuroscientific roots of cravings for food, alcohol and drugs improves, what will this mean for a Christian understanding of free will? Can we still hold onto the idea of personal responsibility for sin, if science can explain how our genetics led us to make those bad choices? • 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

As is probably obvious from previous episodes, John is extremely interested in generative AI and thinks it will be the next transformative technology to entirely up-end how society works. Tim, however, is much more sceptical and thinks a lot of the rhetoric around AI is overblown. So, prompted by Tim sharing an AI-sceptical blog, in this episode we talk through the anatomy of a tech hype bubble, looking at previous cases such as the internet, cryptocurrency and smartphones to figure out where AI might be on the ‘S-curve’ of tech adoption. How can Christians live responsibly and faithfully through these moments, where culture is running away with itself about something new and flashy? Is it incumbent on us not to get left behind and languish in ignorance about something which could change the world? Or should we be consciously opting out of the techno-optimist hype and preferring prudent caution over giddy excitement? • The Ed Zitron blog on AI scepticism https://www.wheresyoured.at/sam-altman-fried • Marc Andreessen’s Techno-Optimist Manifesto https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/ • 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

Alabama’s Supreme Court has ruled that embryos in deep freeze, stored as part of IVF treatment, can be considered as legally children. This unexpected judgement has prompted many clinics to shut their doors, fearing lawsuits, as the storage and eventual destruction of surplus embryos is standard practice in IVF. In this episode we reflect on how anti-abortion language written into Alabama law has unintentionally led to this current impasse, and whether there is a tension between how evangelical Christians consider the embryo when it is in the womb versus in a test tube. Later, we respond to criticism from a listener to our discussion earlier this year on the gender gap in church. The BBC News article Tim mentions on the Alabama ruling and responses to it is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68396485 • 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