Historian Gary Ferngren seeks to usurp overly simplistic historical interpretations of Christian attitudes towards healthcare. Many, like the famous church historian Adolf von Harnack, say that the first few centuries of the church were dominated by a healing faith that did not trust physicians. Others posit the early church as having a very antagonistic view to the medicine of the day because they viewed it as pagan. Through copious citations to the primary literature, he instead argues that Hippocratic medicine was itself a secular, generally irreligious practice of the day, and Christians treated it with general (but not complete) warmth and acceptance.
Indeed, in his recounting, Christians helped establish early hospitals that treated the poor in contrast to the Greco-Roman establishment where medical care only existed for those who could afford it. These attitudes stand in sharp contrast at least to today’s American Christians, who often oppose equal access to healthcare for all. Christian agape towards every human, in principle, represented a radical shift from mainstream philanthropos, which aimed giving to those higher up on the social ladder.
In particular, Ferngren argues against the view that early Christians viewed sickness as a sign of the devil’s presence. He could find only sparing traces of that view among Christian leaders of the time (the so-called Church Fathers). To him, the original literature suggests that Christians sought a philosophical shift in Roman individuals and society more than quick-and-easy conversions based on healing experiences. The soul and the mind housed deep conversions, not ecstatic exorcisms.
In my view, he makes his point well: Christianity had a nuanced view towards healthcare, much as religious people tend to generally accept healthcare today without a whole lot of dispute. He found little anti-medical ranting; even the famously anti-secular Tertullian accepted the word of physicians over-and-against a policy of miraculous healings. Perhaps we moderns don’t give credit to how advanced thinkers were in antiquity and late antiquity. Though they lacked modern science, the philosophical underpinnings were all there. Ferngren rescues us from over-simplification and reminds us that people, Christian or not, have been debating healthcare’s role in our lives for a long time. These questions we wrestle with on the news are indeed ancient ones, and we probably should consult the ancient voices more on how they understood them.
Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity
By Gary B. Ferngren
Copyright (c) 2009
Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN13 9781421420066
Page Count: 246
Genre: Christian History, Medicine
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