Part 1 - Brief History of Healing

As I study to learn methods of healing, I was curious of the history of healing. This was a Sunday afternoon's study and certainly not exhaustive; but it was interesting to read and compile. Living in North America, it has been easier to find information on the history of Judeo-Christian healing; however, every religion and nation has their own story of their history of medical practice. Since I was looking for a cursory overview and not a dissertation on this topic, there are a lot of things not mentioned and much more I didn't research or add to my little list.

In Israel, just as in Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Egypt and most other cultures, sickness was associated with sin and required placating God for healing; often through sacrifices. Therefore the priests of the various religions were also considered healers. Our word sacrifice is from the Latin word “sacer,” which means “to make sacred, to consecrate, to make holy.” The Greek word for “healing” originally meant, “sacrifice to the gods.”

Although most world and tribal religions started with sacrifice or placating their god/s for healing, the Greek culture's medical practices were not based on their religion but kept them separate. Their healers were paid per disease and not per visit and were required to consider the ability of their patients to pay when setting fees.

10,000 years before Christ, the Hindu of India had codified their medical practices that varied from exorcism of demons, magic and herbs including course work on various sciences to assist in making the medicines used by physicians. A compendium was added to guide examination, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis. It also gave guides for surgeries and surgical instruments.  Another branch of medicine believed health and disease was determined by balance in an individual's fire, water, earth and air. These remained the main styles of medical practice until the 1800s.

5,000 years before Christ, Chinese medicine believed a person's balance in life was causative of health or illness. The three causes were material, essential, or mystical.

3,000 years before Christ, Egypt had medical surgeries and each physician was trained to heal only one disease; although most of their medical repertoire was still supernatural, they were the first to use anatomy and diagnosis for treatment. 

2,000 years before Christ, the Babylonians wrote the first known diagnostic handbook. It was similar to modern diagnostic medical handbooks giving symptoms, prognosis and what treatment were recommended.  Treatments included bandages, herbs and creams.

1300 to 1500 years before Christ, Moses lifted a snake on a pole so those who gazed at it could be cured from snake bites. The modern symbol for a medical doctor is a snake on a pole. It came both from Moses in the wilderness but also from Greek mythology about Asclepius. The snakes were part of Greek healing rituals.

Ancient Hebrews practiced medicine; however, were cautious to give the credit to God for the healing actually happening irrespective of the means employed. Although there are and were ancient Jewish manuscripts of disease and cures used by physicians, the Old Testament is best known for preventative measures through community health practices. Of the Talmud's 613 commandments, 213 are of a medical nature. Some quotes from the Talmud are:  "Whoever is in pain, let him go to the physician" (BK 46b). The profession of physician – as an instrument of God – was held in high esteem: "Honor the physician before need of him. Him also hath God apportioned.… The skill of a physician shall lift up his head; and he shall stand before nobles …" (Ecclus. 38)  Jews regarded the medical profession as a spiritual vocation compatible with the career of a rabbi. Hebrews studied physiology and were the first known to study embryology. Opposite to the Conservative Christian church, the Israelites were required to kill of a fetus to save the mother's life. Israel had both physicians and surgeons; the care for sanitary conditions was expressed in requiring the surgery to be made from marble to assure cleanliness was possible. Physicians were trained in the use of powders, medicated drinks, massage therapy, juices, balsams, bandages, compresses, incense, opium, hemp (possibly marijuana), hypnotic drugs, anesthetics, etc.  I found this quote from the Talmud that was a compendium to help explain the Jewish holy scriptures interesting: "Anything useful for healing purposes was permitted at any time, even on the Sabbath." (Ḥul. 77b)

During 460 – c. 370 BCE, Hippocrates became the father of what is now considered modern Western medicine. He also wrote the Hippocratic oath. Ancient manuscripts show the Hippocratic oath beginning with, " I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea and by all the gods ..."  Milkweed is named after Asclepius because of its healing properties. Mercury is the god of medicine but also commerce and it seems medicine and commerce are still good friends or possibly conjoined twins.

Part of the church's foundation was to practice hospitality and to minister healing. From early church writings, the infant church not only ministered to others in their religious circle but opened healing centers for sick of any or no religious background. According to Roy Porter, "The early Christian outlook on sickness drew on various traditions, including Eastern asceticism and Jewish healing traditions." Just as the priests of the Old Testament were trained and instrumental in health, so were the priests of the early church. The New Testaments talks about deacons are to tend the poor and needy. In the first two centuries of the church, hospitals were founded as healing centers; this was started by the Eastern church and later became important to the Latin Western church.

About 400 AD, Western medical practices went into a decline. Most medicine that remained was palliative in nature and the previous writings that helped build health were lost.

The 12th century renaissance opened the gate for Westerners to once again glean the historical medical practices.  The theory of healing was the four humours which were analogous to the four seasons and were black bile, yellow bile, phlegm, and blood and if they were out of balance, then sickness resulted. Galen's Theory of Humours were the prime medical tools until the 1900s and included both physical and spiritual therapeutics.

In the 1100s, Jewish rabbi and physician Maimonides' based his concept of medicine on the conviction that a healthy body is the prerequisite for a healthy soul. This enables a man to develop his intellectual and moral capabilities and leads him toward the knowledge of God.

During the Middle ages, Hildegard of Bingen became a renown doctor of the church as well as a scientist. She not only wrote theological treaties but books on biology, natural science, and healing. She was well known for her healing powers involving practical application of tinctures, herbs, and precious stones.

During the 1500s, saints were invoked for healing and often shrines were established where healings had occurred to inspire others to seek healing. During this same period, the Spanish church, under the leadership of Archbishop Raimund founded an institution for translations, which employed a number of Jewish translators to communicate the works of Arabian medicine. This was a sequel to a similar reawakening of Jewish and Arab translations, including medicine, during the 11th century by Archbishop of Salerno.

From the 1600 to 1800s, translation of both Arabic and Greek medical works were translated to Latin. The use of pharmaceuticals started during this time with quinine and opium.  Folklore cures and potentially poisonous metal-based compounds were popular treatments.

Paracelsus (1493–1541) decided church miracles for healing should be replaced with harmony of man and nature.  This lead his remedies to rely on mysticism, alchemy and magic and minerals and chemicals were important in his practice of medicine.

Catholic women, especially nuns, were known for their practice of care of the sick and in opening hospitals.

In 1633, Galelio was tried and sentenced for heresy for stating the earth moved around the sun. This is not about healing; but it does show how "church" often reacts to new theories of science. In my opinion they always have and always will.

In the mid 1800s, Gregor Mendel, an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar, became the father of genetics.

In the 19th century, public health and some changes in medical practice improved health and increased longevity of life. Bacteria were discovered and was quickly followed by vaccines and pharmacological remedies. According to some biographers,on his death bed, Louis Pasture recanted that his work as  incorrect when he said, " "the microbe is nothing, the terrain is everything."  I agree with his death-bed statement and have done quite a bit of reading about vaccines and refused to get my children vaccined; although their grandmother did it without my knowledge.

In the 19th century, medicines even for children, often contained large amounts of morphine, chloroform, codeine, opium, cannabis and mercury.  A little tidbit of information is that Bayer (the aspirin people) discovered and sold the first heroin as a cure. Bayer had been previously call IG Farben and helped fund the diabolical experiments in the Nazi concentration camps. Some research says at the end of the war the experimenters were quickly given asylum through the pharmaceutical industry to continue their research in other countries. During this time, physicians were also trained to manually give women patients sexual orgasms called hysterical paroxims; since this took time, when electricity was discovered an electric machine was developed to help physicians fulfill this feminine health need.  Although that seems abhorrent to me; it's probably better than the lobotomies practiced in the first half of the 20th century until at least the 1970s.

Since the founding of Christianity, caring for the ill has continued to be a major focus of ministry. In 2013, Robert Calderisi wrote that the Catholic Church has around 18,000 clinics, 16,000 homes for the elderly and those with special needs, and 5,500 hospitals - with 65 per cent of them located in developing countries. I've heard the Seventh Day Adventist and Quakers also budget massive amounts towards caring for the sick and dying but did not check those statistics.

Thus, it seems no matter where one was born on the planet or what religious culture practiced, a similar sequence of growth in healing was followed: (1) appeasing God or sacrifices, (2) therapies, (3) research, (4) codifying disease and cures, and (5) continued development of methods of healing often by exchanging methods with other cultures and learning from research. One profound difference was the Jewish faith followed the same development; however, focused more on avoiding disease by community health practice and their goal of continuing to give the credit to YHWH (The God of the Old Testament) for healing no matter what method of healing was in vogue.

As each new style of practicing medicine was added, the conservative believers of each faith would come against it as dishonoring God. That was true even for cultures who were taken captive by the Israelites or took the Israelites captive.  That has been true when herbal medicines were discovered, later it was just as true when nutrition, poultices, vitamin therapy, surgeries, chemical medicines, vaccines, bloodletting, transplants, X-ray, MRI, EKG, EEG, nerve conduction and velocity tests, and other therapies that were once in vogue or may still be in vogue were used.  Even the laying on of hands or anointing with oil for healing in the name of Jesus has been judged and found ungodly by many naysayer Christians. All on the list have some health benefit whether the physician and/or the patient know God or not; but as a Christian I can see God's loving movement through various healing methods and give God glory for any healing because any "good and perfect" gift comes down from Him. (James 1.17)