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Failing Faithfully: Created, Fallen, and Waiting

Jul 3, 2015By David

If medicine is about the alleviation of suffering and the postponement of death, is not all of our work ultimately futile? In a society that idolizes success and hides the dying and dead away from full view, what message can physicians give?Read more…

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Jul 3, 2015David 1 comment

Failing Faithfully: The Futility of Medicine (Scholar’s Compass)

Mar 10, 2015By David

It was stunning news. I listened with disbelief as my colleague described how a patient of ours, in whom we had uncovered a host of serious diseases over a few years, was now newly diagnosed with cancer after an incidental scan.Read more…

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Mar 10, 2015David 0 Comments

Death and Resurrection

Apr 18, 2014By David

He was a young man, and I could see fear in his eyes as he gripped the railings of the bed and struggled to breathe, sucking in heavily through the plastic mask feeding him oxygen. His body was wasting awayRead more…

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Apr 18, 2014David 1 comment

Reasons: Why I am a Christian Part 2

Apr 5, 2014By David

Every year, the translator at our pediatric hospital asks this question: What are the four hardest words to translate? He will pause for a moment and then say, Your child is dead. Every time I hear it, I wonder howRead more…

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Apr 5, 2014David 1 comment

Reasons: Why I am a Christian

Mar 29, 2014By David

“How can you believe in God and science at the same time?”   Even though I am rarely asked this question so plainly, it is often implied in conversation.  Many atheistic advocates think that there is a conflict between theRead more…

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Mar 29, 2014David 0 Comments

Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 3

Jan 10, 2014By David

Perhaps the most difficult part of writing a personal statement is the beginning, that space in which you determine what you are going to write.Read more…

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Jan 10, 2014David 1 comment

What Shall We Remember?

Dec 27, 2013By David

For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to take my girlfriend for a date through the Pulitzer Prize photography exhibition in Philadelphia. She is much more artistically-minded than I and we had talked before about visiting aRead more…

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Dec 27, 2013David 0 Comments

Babies and Bethlehem

Dec 13, 2013By David

Few things arouse human emotion as strongly as babies do. They are one of the few remaining cultural icons of innocence, operating with the simplest and purest of human feelings. Read more…

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Dec 13, 2013David 0 Comments

On Technology, Thanksgiving, and Patience

Nov 29, 2013By David

I had never been to a Black Friday shopping spree before. The thought of camping out for hours in the chilling pre-​​dawn night always seemed perverse to me . . . but that was before I started browsing the Black Friday ads and listening to stories of stunning deals and bargains.Read more…

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Nov 29, 2013David 1 comment

Writing a Christian Personal Statement: Part 2

Oct 25, 2013By David

The work of the Christian Personal Statement, therefore, is not to explain a “unified theory” of our souls, but to construct a message that honors the sovereignty of Christ through the thoughtful alignment of secular goals with our personal beliefs.Read more…

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Oct 25, 2013David 3 comments

Writing a Christian Personal Statement

Oct 11, 2013By David

I realized that the real work of writing a Personal Statement was to stop myself from selling myself.Read more…

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Oct 11, 2013David 10 comments

In Its Time

Sep 27, 2013By David

[The third post in a series on becoming a Christian physician. Earlier posts are Do You Want to Be a Doctor? and Helping People Is Not Enough]. After working 24 hours on call in the pediatric ICU, I was exhausted. I wanted toRead more…

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Sep 27, 2013David 0 Comments

Helping People Is Not Enough

Aug 23, 2013By David

[This is the second post in a series on becoming a Christian physician. The series began with Do You Want to Be a Doctor?] “Why do you want to work in healthcare?” “I want to help people.” This dialogue isRead more…

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Aug 23, 2013David 1 comment

Do You Want to Be a Doctor?

Aug 2, 2013By David

“I want to be a doctor. How do I do it?” As a teenager, I was very shy and very awkward. Talking to strangers was a painful and anxiety-laden task, and I didn’t like to talk to strangers any longerRead more…

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Aug 2, 2013David 0 Comments

Money Makes Good Insulation

Jul 19, 2013By David

First, before reading any further, make a list of the top three things you struggle with as a Christian. *** I used to have a great view of the back lot of our block.  In the center is a littleRead more…

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Jul 19, 2013David 1 comment

Where are you FROM?

Jul 12, 2013By David

My housemate and I had an odd conversation about the Trayvon Martin case and the state of racism in the US today.  It was strange, mainly because we occupy very different perspectives.  My housemate is a humble, genuine, and deeply compassionateRead more…

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Jul 12, 2013David 0 Comments

College Christian Humanitarianism: Part 4

Jun 28, 2013By David

Is there a real danger to the creep of utilitarianism in humanitarian thinking?  Has the modern humanitarian world been reduced to little more than a competitive arena for non-profit interests?  Last year, the Susan G. Komen Foundation imploded over scandalsRead more…

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Jun 28, 2013David 0 Comments

Issues in College Christian Humanitarianism: Part 3

Jun 21, 2013By David

“Join Wall Street. Save the world.” This article went viral in my Facebook feed: [Jason] Trigg makes money just to give it away. His logic is simple: The more he makes, the more good he can do. He’s figured outRead more…

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Jun 21, 2013David 1 comment

Issues in College Christian Humanitarianism: Part 2

Jun 14, 2013By David

Is humanitarian need blind? In college, my Christian fellowship sponsored a fundraiser for victims of the Southeast Asian earthquake and tsunami, sending money to the explicitly Christian humanitarian relief organization World Vision. During the fundraiser, several people approached the coordinators andRead more…

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Jun 14, 2013David 0 Comments

College Christian Humanitarianism: Part 1

May 31, 2013By David

Not long after graduating from college in 2005, I interviewed students on campus about their involvement in community service. All of them said that they spent less time doing community service in college than in high school, and most ofRead more…

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May 31, 2013David 0 Comments

Do Doctors Make Bank?

May 24, 2013By David

Summer had finally emerged and we were sitting out on my front steps, enjoying the afternoon heat and watching some of the other kids play out on the street.  Some of the teenagers were casually tossing a football around, throwingRead more…

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May 24, 2013David 0 Comments

Shootings and Samaritans

May 17, 2013By David

I found out about the Newtown shooting while working in a pediatric clinic. In between seeing children with sore throats and rashes and sniffles, I would hover over the computer and read more about other children torn apart by gunfire.Read more…

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May 17, 2013David 0 Comments

Cheap Justice, Cheap Grace

May 10, 2013By David

In watching people die, I have come to better appreciate how much meaning people attach to a body and how death has a way of revealing our most elemental beliefs about what remains. I have talked to patients in theirRead more…

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May 10, 2013David 2 comments

Beyond Ordinary and Proper

May 3, 2013By David

“There is something wrong with you,” she said, her face twisting in genuine disbelief and horror. “You are crazy.” I laughed, but comments like these were starting to get to me. At work, I’ve been sharing more and more aboutRead more…

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May 3, 2013David 0 Comments
12 » Last

Welcome to the official blog of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's Emerging Scholars Network (ESN)! ESN is a national network which supports those on the academic pathway as they work out how their academic vocation serves God and others. We encourage and equip undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and early career faculty as they navigate each stage of their academic vocation and transition to the next step in or beyond the academy.


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