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Essential Readings in Medicine and Religion

Gary B. Ferngren and Ekaterina N. Lomperis

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An indispensible collection of sources chronicling the relationship between medicine and religion from ancient to modern times.

Gary B. Ferngren and Ekaterina N. Lomperis have gathered a rich collection of annotated primary sources that illustrate the intersection of medicine and religion. Intended as a companion volume to Ferngren’s classic Medicine and Religion, which traces the history of the relationship of medicine to religion in the Western world from the earliest ancient Near Eastern societies to the twenty-first century, this useful and extensive sourcebook places each key document in...

An indispensible collection of sources chronicling the relationship between medicine and religion from ancient to modern times.

Gary B. Ferngren and Ekaterina N. Lomperis have gathered a rich collection of annotated primary sources that illustrate the intersection of medicine and religion. Intended as a companion volume to Ferngren’s classic Medicine and Religion, which traces the history of the relationship of medicine to religion in the Western world from the earliest ancient Near Eastern societies to the twenty-first century, this useful and extensive sourcebook places each key document in historical context.

Drawing from more than 160 texts, the book explores a number of themes, including concepts of health, the causes and cure of disease, medical ethics, theodicy, beneficence, religious healing, consolation, and death and dying. Each chapter begins with an introduction that furnishes a basic historical setting for the period covered. Modern translations, some of which have been made especially for this volume, are used whenever possible. The texts are numbered sequentially within each chapter and preceded by a short introduction to both the author and the subject.

Touching on Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel, Greece, Rome, the European Middle Ages, Islam, early modern Europe, and the modern era, Essential Readings in Medicine and Religion brings a wide range of sources together to expand on the crucial lessons of Medicine and Religion. This book is a useful introduction for all students of history, divinity, medicine, and health.

Reviews

Reviews

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the relationship between faith and medicine as it stretches across human existence.

This useful, well-edited anthology of important texts in the history of the intersection of religion and medicine will serve as a valuable resource to future religious leaders, clinicians, and scholars.

An excellent supplement for students which will enhance the narrative of Ferngren's Medicine and Religion. Instructors will be grateful for the care and expertise with which the wide variety of selections has been compiled and informed.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6
x
9
Pages
296
ISBN
9781421422909
Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Ancient Near East
Introduction
Texts
2. Greece
Introduction
Texts
3. Rome
Introduction
Texts
4. Early Christianity
Introduction
Texts
5. The Middle Ages
Introduction
Texts
6

Preface
Acknowledgments
1. The Ancient Near East
Introduction
Texts
2. Greece
Introduction
Texts
3. Rome
Introduction
Texts
4. Early Christianity
Introduction
Texts
5. The Middle Ages
Introduction
Texts
6. Islam, by M.A. Mujeeb Khan
Introduction
Texts
7. The Early Modern Period
Introduction
Texts
8. The Nineteenth through the Twenty-First Centuries
Introduction
Text
Select Bibliography
Index

Author Bios
Featured Contributor

Gary B. Ferngren

Gary B. Ferngren is a professor of history at Oregon State University, editor of Science and Religion: A Historical Introduction, and author of Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity, both published by Johns Hopkins.