I Will Never See a Full Moon the Same

I will never see a full moon the same Since the night I stepped out In the dark, looked up to the moon and Heard the cries of a mother who just lost her son. The African moon, so full and so proud, seemed too bright for such a somber night. And my empty hands, which this son once held, Sought to grasp the thought of A young, lifeless body Left lying on that hospital bed. Swaddled by the night’s rich darkness, Full of chants, cries, and pains, I am reminded that Only what’s done for Christ remains. Tonight, as my gaze meets again this African moon, from half a world away, I remember The cries, the lost, this life, The strange peace and the hope that We will meet again. What an oddly beautiful night it was to die. So, take courage, dear heart Don’t fear the night, don’t fear the pain, Rest in His unchanging grace. Go, and be the hands of the only Son who saves.

All Creation Groans: Toward a Theology of Disease and Global Health, edited by Daniel W. O'Neill and Beth Snodderly, Pickwick 2021

N/A for book review

Religion as a Protective Factor Against Adolescent Smoking Habits: Evidence from Spain

Background: There are a wide number of assessments suggesting that being a member of a religious community inhibits adolescents’ risky behaviours and, consequently, can act as a protective factor against the consumption of smoking substances. Methods: We have analysed a structured questionnaire answered by 1935 adolescents from Tarragona (Spain). Results: We have found that variables linked to family were the principal explanatory factors of adolescents’ smoking habits. Living with two parents was a protective factor against tobacco and cannabis use since its Incidence Rate Ratio (IRR) was clearly below 1 (p<0.01). So, whereas living with one parent showed an IRR>1 (p<0.05), adolescents that live without parents presented an IRR close 2 (p<0.05 for tobacco and p<0.01 for cannabis). However, having a religious confession also influence smoking substance use in adolescents (IRR close 0.85 with p<0.01). Conclusion: We found a clear preventive effect in belonging to a religious community. Moreover, this protective effect was less intense, but not statistically significant, for Catholics than for members of other confessions.

Vaccination Against COVID-19 as a Christian Duty? A Risk-Analytic Approach

The Covid-19 pandemic inspired a fierce discussion on pros and cons of vaccinations among Christians. Frequently, this emotional dispute is not based on facts, and this might be due to the fact that the decision situation (“to be vaccinate or not to be vaccinated”) is quite complex. In this paper we develop a risk-analytic model of the vaccination decision and explain the benefits of vaccinations against SARS-Cov-2 on different levels. Furthermore, we show that the Great Commandment of love calls for avoiding all harm to the neighbor even if this harm is indirect and under uncertainty. Consequently, it is a Christian duty to love one’s neighbor and be vaccinated.

Evidence of Church Unity for Global Health

This issue completes eight years of publishing the Christian Journal for Global Health. At the beginning hardly anyone would have predicted that global health would become first in the minds of the majority of the earth’s population or that an infectious calamity would become the focus of global attention. In fact, health in a global sense is testimony to the unity of the human race at a time when fractionation is a strategy for political hegemony. The Christian understanding of humans, made in the image of God and called to steward the creation, is a fundamental basis for this unity. The editors see the journal as a way to join this understanding with a vision of health for all nations. The journal editors have issued a call for papers on Vaccinations and Christian Social Responsibility which we anticipate publishing early in 2022. As a foretaste of that, this end-of-year issue has a commentary by Professor Steffen Flessa on Vaccination Against COVID-19 as a Christian Duty? A Risk-Analytic Approach He analyzes the decision-making process for getting vaccinated, a process that involves probabilities and risk-analysis, as well as consideration of the greater good. Two original research articles are included in this issue. Jorge de Andres-Sanchez with his colleagues from Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Catalonia, Spain, find that belonging to a religious community together with an intact family structure afford protection against unhealthy tobacco and cannabis use. Syeda Saniya Zehra and Elizabeth Schwaiger from Forman Christian College in Lahore, Pakistan, provide evidence of a unique advantages of attachment to God and a collectivist family culture on reducing perceived stress, among Christians who are a minority of the country’s population. Personal travel gives me opportunity for access to Wi-Fi networks in homes of family and friends and thus acquaintance with creative SSID labels. One of the more meaningful ones was “readmorebooks”. In pursuance of that advice, this issue has two book reviews that we think deserve the attention of readers. The first is a review by Arnold Gorske of a two-volume handbook entitled Health Promoting Churches, published by the World Council of Churches and authored and edited by Dr. Mwai Makoka. As Dr. Gorske comments, these books, “have more lifesaving, health and healing potential than anything else I have read,” except the Bible. The second is Dr. William Newbrander’s review of All Creation Groans: Toward a Theology of Disease and Global Health, edited by Daniel O’Neill and Beth Snodderly. The essays included in this book create a comprehensive multidisciplinary survey of the theological grounds for church involvement in global health and the spiritual and behavioral aspects of disease origins. Dr. Newbrander’s review provides a helpful introduction to these important and often unexplored issues. The editors are pleased to receive poetry submissions from time to time and we are grateful for our poetry reviewer to help us evaluate them. I Will Never See a Full Moon the Same is a moving reflection on the death of a young patient, but death with a perspective of hope. As of the middle of this December, the coronavirus pandemic is still very much with us with surges in case numbers in a variety of countries, and with several variant strains. The deployment of vaccines, their future development and the means to expedite their uptake around the world continue to be fertile subjects for research, policy, ethics and theology. We urge and look forward to publishing other submissions in response to this call for papers and other subject early in the new year. The glory the angels revealed to the shepherds at the birth of Christ, He has given to His people, whom He desires to be unified to reflect that glory (John 17:22). For those strengthened by beholding each other’s work and faith, may your communities experience a very merry Christmas and peaceful new year.

Health-Promoting Churches: Reflections on Health and Healing for Churches on Commemorative World Health Days, by Mwai Makoka, World Council of Churches Publications, Vol. 1, 2020; Vol. 2, 2021

N/A book review

Attachment to God in a Collectivistic Context and its Impact on Perceived Stress

Introduction: Research indicates that attachment to God is correlated with parental attachment and perceived stress. However, these relationships have not been studied outside the Western context. The present research evaluated the relationship between attachment to God and attachment to parents within different family systems and the impact of these attachments on perceived stress. Methods: A sample of 284 Christian undergraduate students was surveyed. The data were collected from the participants through convenience sampling. Relationships between attachment to parents, attachment to God, religiosity, and perceived stress were studied. Results: A significant positive relationship between attachment to parents and to God was found for the nuclear family system on the anxiety subscale. For the avoidance subscale, both nuclear and joint family systems had significant positive relationships between parental attachment and attachment to God; however, it was stronger for joint family systems. The multiple regression analysis showed parental avoidance (β = .256, p <.001) and God anxiety (β = .281, p <.001) as the strongest predictors of stress. Discussion: The findings highlight the impact of collectivistic cultural values, particularly the importance of relationships. The implications include the significance of the impact of culture on attachment relationships and the finding that attachment correlates with lower levels of perceived stress. The research also shows the difference in attachment styles depending upon the family system the participant belongs to which can again be attributed to cultural norms and values.

The Benefits of a Christian Public Health Research Collaborative

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Burnout

Old Easter lilies, leaves wilting, when all around grass gleams, palms dapple, trees fruit.One morn,they were shorn, chopped, bruised, green things, burnt out. “How will they survive?” I asked the gardener. “The bread-winner leaves cannot work.” “The bulbs will grow,” He said.“Can bulbs grow without the leaves that fed them?”“The quiet womb of Mother Earth and safe sure arms of Father Heaven have food enough,” He said. Un-knowing, un-doing, just being,seasons passedin moons and stars.Then a brave shy flower, a babe in arms,heard the Light,smiled colors bright, and Christmas dawnedon Easter morn.

Considering Medical Missions in all its Different Forms: A Viewpoint from the Asia-Pacific Region

Whereas some medical missionaries may already have moved away from “traditional” models of medical mission, in the experience of the authors from the Asia-Pacific region, many potential medical missionaries in the region still imagine a stereotypical generalist medical missionary who runs a mission hospital. The authors argue that with the economic and socio-political development of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in recent decades, the landscape for medical missions has changed. Hence, contemporary medical missionaries should be well-advised to have specialist qualifications and be more likely to teach, mentor, and do research rather than only doing hands-on clinical work. Professionalism and quality, rather than “make-do,” should be the norm. There are more opportunities to partner with and strengthen existing local institutions rather than setting up a Christian health service. Furthermore, mission opportunities may be available in academia, government, or secular organisations, including places where Christianity has a hostile reception. Multi-disciplinary expertise and collaboration within health services are increasingly important and provide another opportunity for missions. Medical missionaries may also come from other LMICs, or from within the same country. Job-sharing, self-funding, or fly-in-fly-out, may be a viable and legitimate means of sending more medical missionaries. These non-traditional models of medical mission that incorporate a diversity of approaches, but without sacrificing the “traditional” missional values and practices, should allow even more people to serve in medical missions. The purpose of this paper is to survey this topic in hope of stimulating discussions on non-traditional medical mission opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.