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.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Medicine and Religion is the first book to comprehensively examine the relationship between medicine and religion in the Western tradition from ancient times to the modern era. Beginning with the earliest attempts to heal the body and account for the meaning of illness in the ancient Near East, historian Gary B. Ferngren describes how the polytheistic religions of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome and the monotheistic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have complemented medicine in the ancient, medieval, and modern periods. Ferngren paints a broad and detailed portrait of how humans throughout the ages have drawn on specific values of diverse religious traditions in caring for the body. Religious perspectives have informed both the treatment of disease and the provision of health care. And, while tensions have sometimes existed, relations between medicine and religion have often been cooperative and mutually beneficial. Religious beliefs provided a framework for explaining disease and suffering that was larger than medicine alone could offer. These beliefs furnished a theological basis for a compassionate care of the sick that led to the creation of the hospital and a long tradition of charitable medicine. Praise for Medicine and Health Care in Early Christianity, by Gary B. Ferngren: "This fine work looks forward as well as backward; it invites fuller reflection of the many senses in which medicine and religion intersect and merits wide readership." (Jama). "An important book, for students of Christian theology who understand health and healing to be topics of theological interest, and for health care practitioners who seek a historical perspective on the development of the ethos of their vocation." (Journal of Religion and Health).

Since its publication in 2002, Science and Religion has proven to be a widely admired survey of the complex relationship of Western religious traditions to science from the beginning of the Christian era to the late twentieth century. In the second edition, eleven new essays expand the scope and enhance the analysis of this enduringly popular book. Tracing the rise of science from its birth in the medieval West through the scientific revolution, the contributors here assess historical changes in scientific understanding brought about by transformations in physics, anthropology, and the neurosciences and major shifts marked by the discoveries of Copernicus, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and others. In seeking to appreciate the intersection of scientific discovery and the responses of religious groups, contributors also explore the theological implications of contemporary science and evaluate approaches such as the Bible in science and the modern synthesis in evolution, which are at the center of debates in the historiography, understanding, and application of science. The second edition provides chapters that have been revised to reflect current scholarship along with new chapters that bring fresh perspectives on a diverse range of topics, including new scientific approaches and disciplines and non-Christian traditions such as Judaism, Islam, Asiatic religions, and atheism. This indispensible classroom guide is now more useful than ever before. Contributors: Richard J. Blackwell, Peter J. Bowler, John Hedley Brooke, Glen M. Cooper, Edward B. Davis, Alnoor Dhanani, Diarmid A. Finnegan, Noah Efron, Owen Gingerich, Edward Grant, Steven J. Harris, Matthew S. Hedstrom, John Henry, Peter M. Hess, Edward J. Larsen, Timothy Larson, David C. Lindberg, David N. Livingstone, Craig Martin, Craig Sean McConnell, James Moore, Joshua M. Moritz, Mark A. Noll, Ronald L. Numbers, Richard Olson, Christopher M. Rios, Nicolaas A. Rupke, Michael H. Shank, Stephen David Snobelen, John Stenhouse, Peter J. Susalla, Mariusz Tabaczek, Alan C. Weissenbacher, Stephen P. Weldon, and Tomoko Yoshida

Drawing on New Testament studies and recent scholarship on the expansion of the Christian church, Gary B. Ferngren presents a comprehensive historical account of medicine and medical philanthropy in the first five centuries of the Christian era. Ferngren first describes how early Christians understood disease. He examines the relationship of early Christian medicine to the natural and supernatural modes of healing found in the Bible. Despite biblical accounts of demonic possession and miraculous healing, Ferngren argues that early Christians generally accepted naturalistic assumptions about disease and cared for the sick with medical knowledge gleaned from the Greeks and Romans. Ferngren also explores the origins of medical philanthropy in the early Christian church. Rather than viewing illness as punishment for sins, early Christians believed that the sick deserved both medical assistance and compassion. Even as they were being persecuted, Christians cared for the sick within and outside of their community. Their long experience in medical charity led to the creation of the first hospitals, a singular Christian contribution to health care.

Throughout nearly all of antiquity, the legendary Greek physician, Asclepius, son of Apollo and Coronis, was the primary representative of divine healing. He remained so influential in the religious life of later centuries that, as Emma J. Edelstein and Ludwig Edelstein point out, "in the final stages of paganism, of all genuinely Greek gods, (he) was judged the foremost antagonist of Christ". First published in two volumes in 1945, the Edelsteins' classic study provides an overview of all facets of the Asclepian phenomenon. The book makes available a unique collection of the literary references and inscriptions in ancient texts to the deity, his life, his deeds, his cult, and his temples - each given in both the original and translation and accompanied by extended analysis and commentary.

Reaching back to 5th century Greece and proceeding to the late twentieth century, this volume describes the relationship of science and religion throughout history. From ancient cosmology and medieval Occult sciences to modern physics and psychology, every major intellectual movement and discipline of study is covered. There is also comprehensive coverage of the foundational aspects of the study of science and religion with, for example, detailed discussions of the demarcation of science and religion, of epistemology and of causation.
Also included here are biographical studies of major scientific figures - among them Galileo, Newton, and Darwin - who were particularly concerned with the religious implications and dimensions of their scientific discoveries.


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