Good Christianity: Medicine

While this isn’t an air-tight argument, it still needs to be made. If Christianity really does change lives, we should expect genuine Christians to reflect this change. Now even though this isn’t an “Empirical” argument (define: Empirical),we remember that Empirical Evidence isn’t all that’s needed in an argument.

Christianity in Modern Times

Even though Christianity may not be the “Foundation” of modern medicine, it certainly has had a big hand in the field…

Sir Joseph Lister
-Lister, called the “Father of Modern Surgery,” found out that the majority of mortality rates in Hospitals were not those of the problems themselves, but of later infections. Patients who could survive the utter agony of surgery would often die later of infection. Lister began with basic techniques such as wearing clean clothes and washing his hands before surgery. Later on, he developed a spray that kept off microbes which we now call “antiseptic”. Oh yeah, he was a very deeply committed Christian.

Sir James Y. Simpson
-Simpson, who lived in the mid 1800’s, pioneered the fields of Gynecology and Anesthesiology. One of his greatest discoveries was the medical use of Chloroform, which put people to sleep. When asked what his greatest discovery had been, he said, “..that I am a sinner and Jesus Christ is my Savior.”

Dr. Annie McCall
-McCall was also a doctor of the late 1800s who began the field of pre & post-maternity care. She is also known for her establishment of a school for midwifery, as well as a clinic for tuberculosis in Sussex. Interestingly enough, McCall is noted for her belief in the “power of prayer”.

Hospitals

As we saw from the post Irresistible, Christians have been focusing on caring for the poor and sick since the time of Christ. But what about later on?

Up until the Middle Ages, public (and private) hospitals were nonexistent, aside from the military kind. Most doctors would make “house calls,” often doing the surgeries and procedures in the family’s own home. However, things began to change.

After the Christian Church had been well-founded, monasteries began to spring up in many towns across Europe. The monasteries soon had church attachments that functioned as hospitals. These were places where the poor, sick, travelers, and elderly could be taken care of if they didn’t already have a family that could do so. In major cities, hospitals were established as stand-alone entities. For example, in London some of the first hospitals were: St. Bartholomew’s (est. 1123), St. Thomas’ (1215), and Guy’s (1721), all established by Christians.

Conclusion:

Dr. Alfred Adler, a well-known psychiatrist, had a remarkable opinion after he considered the talks with his countless clients:

“The most important task imposed by religion has always been, ‘Love thy neighbor….’ It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow man who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury on others. It is from among such individuals that all human failures spring.”

Throughout history, we see categorically that Christianity does change people for the better. In the field of medicine, Christ’s teachings about the value of human life will leave an everlasting impact on the world.

~ by johnfoxe on May 29, 2008.