The Seminary Explores

In a conversation with Fran Quigley the Seminary Explores learns of some deeply-held misconceptions we have about drug costs, the urgency for change, and how people of faith might fit in. Quigley is Clinical Professor and Director of the Health and Human Rights Clinic at Indiana University McKinney School of Law. He is the author of four books: Prescription for the People: An Activist’s Guide to Making Medicine Affordable for All, If We Can Win Here, How Human Rights Can Build Haiti, and Walking Together, Walking Far.

People of Faith for Access to Medicines

In the ongoing series of podcasts “Science for Seminaries”, Gettysburg Seminary board member Dr. Greg Yothers discusses his own faith and the connection he sees between his faith and his work as a researcher in clinical cancer trials. 

Recorded live at St. James Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, long time host, Dr. Gerald Christianson, talks with Dr. Elizabeth Wood, retired physician in private practice, about the decline of private practice in medicine.  Dr. Wood expresses concern that some important values are in danger of being lost: a single physician’s knowledge of the whole person; drug over-dose or contradicting prescriptions; lack of communication among specialists.  Much has been gained as well, but two universal issues remain open to debate: the delivery of quality care for all and end of life decisions.

In this episode, Pastor Karoliina Nikula discusses the larger field of Bio-Ethics, using the specific example of cochlear implants in Finland.

In this episode, a part of our ongoing series about Science for Seminaries, geneticist Dr. Jennifer Powell describes her work and the importance of genetics for understanding life.

As part of our Science for Seminaries series, Dr. Michael Wedlock explains what chemistry is, why it was once called the “central science,” and most importantly, how it helps us better understand and appreciate the world.

Continuing our focus on “Science in the Seminary” this year, in this episode, Dr. Stephenson offers a basic description of physics and the kinds of things physics teaches us about the world.   Then moving into some specific theories about creation, the universe and how it all matters to our understanding of God.

Dr. Leonard Hummel, Professor of Pastoral Theology, Gettysburg Seminary, describes a grant from the Templeton Foundation  that enables the three “c’s”: competencies in science for seminarians, connections with scientists at other institutions and a core that encourages dialogue with science--for example, the connection between a professor of physics and a professor of Old Testament in a course on Genesis and the origins of the universe.

Dr. Tom Deloe, Retired Health Researcher, Department of Health and Human Services talks to Dr. Christianson about Marijuana.  With the number of states approving medical or even recreational use of marijuana increasing, several questions arise. How extensive is the use among teens and what do we know about its effects?  What are the chances that teens or adults will move on to harder drugs? Has legalization reduced the prison population?  Has marijuana helped cure any diseases? If not, what are the positives and negatives of medical use?

Dr. Christianson talks to Stephen Niebler, Executive Director, Adams County Council for Aging about important issues around aging.  How to avoid family conflicts over the right to die as in the cases of Casey Kasem or Terri Schiavo. What to do when you suspect abuse of an older person-- financial, physical, or emotional. The most important local issues that impact on the aging:  transportation, housing, trying to understand complicated forms—in health, banking, Social Security, etc.