The Protestant reformers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries typically understood biblical healing, as a set of practices vital to the church s founding but no longer important or necessary in its daily life. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many church people, influenced by the Enlightenment, came to think of spiritual realities as altogether separate from bodily ones. As a result, matters of physical health were relegated to the domain of science. However, many Christians exercised great compassion in caring for the sick and injured and founded many hospitals. In addition to free education, Calvin s Geneva had the largest hospital in central Europe.
Christians today fulfill the call to be healers in many different ways.
We serve as medical personnel in hospitals, clinics, and research facilities, and we offer psychotherapy as part of our care for one another. Well-trained religious chaplains now serve in most American hospitals, addressing the emotional aspects of illness and healing with skill and compassion. There is the recent advent of Parish Nurses who help church members sort through medical information and serve as healthcare advocates. Some of us offer healing to one another in recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and parent bereavement. In a time when physicians and nurses find themselves pressured into the roles of bureaucrat, politician, and accountant, we can help.