Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to American Protestantism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to American Protestantism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Historical Overview
- Part II The Religious Culture of American Protestantism
- 5 Bible, Doctrine, and Theology
- 6 Worship and Preaching
- 7 Education
- 8 Work and Vocation
- 9 Politics and Government
- 10 Temperance
- 11 Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage
- 12 From Slavery to Black Lives Matter: American Protestants and Race
- 13 Faith Healing and Modern Medicine
- 14 Mental Illness
- 15 Protestant-Catholic Ecumenism and the Meanings of American Freedom
- 16 Missions
- Part III Theological Traditions
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to Religion (continued from page ii)
13 - Faith Healing and Modern Medicine
from Part II - The Religious Culture of American Protestantism
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2022
- The Cambridge Companion to American Protestantism
- Cambridge Companions to Religion
- The Cambridge Companion to American Protestantism
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Historical Overview
- Part II The Religious Culture of American Protestantism
- 5 Bible, Doctrine, and Theology
- 6 Worship and Preaching
- 7 Education
- 8 Work and Vocation
- 9 Politics and Government
- 10 Temperance
- 11 Gender, Sexuality, and Marriage
- 12 From Slavery to Black Lives Matter: American Protestants and Race
- 13 Faith Healing and Modern Medicine
- 14 Mental Illness
- 15 Protestant-Catholic Ecumenism and the Meanings of American Freedom
- 16 Missions
- Part III Theological Traditions
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Companions to Religion (continued from page ii)
Summary
American Protestants have expressed diverse views of how “faith” and “medicine” relate to health. Certain Protestants consider God the source of both illness and healing, while others attribute sickness to demons and wholeness to God. Some rely exclusively on either faith or medicine for healing, while others combine them. Over time, perceived tensions between faith and medicine have diminished, but not disappeared. There are numerous examples of Protestants praying in faith for healing and trusting God to heal through medical means. American Protestants have sometimes conflated rejection of medicine with “faith” and acceptance of medicine with “unbelief” – rather than following a line of logic that one may reject medicine and still lack faith, or accept medicine without wavering in faith.
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- The Cambridge Companion to American Protestantism , pp. 241 - 259Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022