Synopsis: Inward and Outward Health is the first interdisciplinary
scholarly collection to provide an in-depth and new perspective on
the medical and scientific activity of one of the eighteenth
century's most successful and controversial theological figures,
John Wesley. These essays, written by established scholars in the
field, convincingly correct a persistent view of Wesley as an
irresponsible religious enthusiast who confused medical science and
theology. The reader is given here instead a picture of someone who
was a crucial admirer of Enlightenment principles: a deeply pious
individual who could minister to the physical and spiritual welfare
of the poor, applying remedies for the body or prayer for the soul
as and when appropriate. Endorsements: "This collection of six
essays unfolds the remarkably modern holistic approach to human
health--physical, psychological, and spiritual--seen in the thought
and practice of John Wesley in the eighteenth century. Grounded in
a study of the natural philosophy and medical remedies from over
two centuries ago, the authors examine not only the historical
context but also the continued relevance of many of these
scientific and religious approaches in the present day. Trained in
various fields of science and religion, these writers bring a
lively sense of contemporaneity to a wide variety of areas such as
prayer and healing, spiritual senses and ecological concerns, body
and soul, life and death. This collection, under the expert eye of
Deborah Madden, makes a major contribution to a growing field of
historical inquiry that rightfully attracts contemporary
attention." --Richard P. Heitzenrater, William Kellon Quick
Professor of Church History and Wesley Studies, Duke University
"This is a superb collection of interdisciplinary research papers
which illuminates not only the figure of John Wesley, but also
religion and medical science more generally in the eighteenth
century. In the eighteenth century, as now, people did not live
their lives in narrow academic disciplines, and we miss so much
when we study John Wesley only as a religious figure, or study the
history of science as though it proceeded without reference to
religious conviction. This book will do much to put Wesley back
into the full context of the eighteenth century in all its
richness. It also shows the relevance of Wesley's holistic
understanding of the human person for us all today. I used to get
cheap laughs from audiences by quoting quaint remedies in Wesley's
Primitive Physick, especially those that involved 'electrifying'
the patient. No more Now I will argue that John Wesley was the
pioneer of the electrotherapy techniques used by my
physiotherapist." --Bruce Hindmarsh, James M. Houston Professor of
Spiritual Theology, Regent College Author Biography: Deborah Madden
is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Theology Faculty at the
University of Oxford. She has written several articles on religion,
medicine, and culture in the eighteenth century, as well as a
monograph examining John Wesley's medical activity.
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