Faith in the Great Physician
Suffering and Divine Healing in American Culture, 1860–1900
Reeks: Lived Religions
Heather D. Curtis
- This
- history
- of
- evangelical
- faith
- healing
- in
- nineteenth-century
- America
- examines
- the
- nation’s
- shifting
- attitudes
- about
- sickness,
- suffering,
- and
- health.Faith
- in
- the
- Great
- Physician
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- how
- participants
- in
- the
- divine
- healing
- movement
- transformed
- the
- ways
- Americans
- coped
- with
- physical
- affliction
- and
- pursued
- bodily
- wellbeing.
- Heather
- D.
- Curtis
- offers
- critical
- reflection
- on
- the
- theological,
- cultural,
- and
- social
- forces
- that
- come
- into
- play
- when
- one
- questions
- the
- purpose
- of
- suffering
- and
- the
- possibility
- of
- healing.Belief
- in
- divine
- healing
- ran
- counter
- to
- a
- deep-seated
- Christian
- ethic
- that
- linked
- physical
- suffering
- with
- spiritual
- holiness.
- By
- engaging
- in
- devotional
- disciplines
- and
- participating
- in
- social
- reform
- efforts,
- proponents
- of
- faith
- cure
- embraced
- a
- model
- of
- spiritual
- experience
- that
- endorsed
- active
- service,
- rather
- than
- passive
- endurance,
- as
- the
- proper
- Christian
- response
- to
- illness
- and
- pain.Emphasizing
- the
- centrality
- of
- religious
- practices
- to
- the
- enterprise
- of
- divine
- healing,
- Curtis
- sheds
- light
- on
- the
- relationship
- among
- Christian
- faith,
- medical
- science,
- and
- the
- changing
- meanings
- of
- suffering
- and
- healing
- in
- American
- culture.Recipient
- of
- the
- Frank
- S.
- and
- Elizabeth
- D.
- Brewer
- Prize
- of
- the
- American
- Society
- of
- Church
- History
- for 2007
