Medicine Miracle and Myth in the New Testament

Description: Did Jesus really restore sight to blind people? How are we to understand the stories of demon possession? What are we to make of the virgin birth? What was Pauls thorn in the flesh? These and many similar questions often arise in peoples minds as they read the New Testament and there are few places for the general reader to look to find the answers; even ministers and students find it difficult to access useful and up-to-date information. Commentaries on the New Testament rarely pay much attention to the diagnosis of the illnesses mentioned in the Gospels and elsewhere and the technical discussions that occasionally appear in medical and other journals are not easy to access. Medicine Miracle and Myth in the New Testament is an attempt to bridge these gaps for the general reader as well as for students ministers and preachers and even doctors in order to provide a coherent interpretation of the New Testament data that meets the criteria of modern medical science. Most attention is paid to the narratives of healing in the Gospels and Acts as it is important to be able to provide as far as possible a reasonable diagnosis of the conditions which Jesus met in his day to day ministry. The application of modern insights into these stories would suggest that Jesus acted as a prophetic folk healer in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha and this provides one important facet of his ministry. Other subjects on which medical science has an important bearing such as the problems associated with the stories of the virginal conception of Jesus the possible cause of his death on the cross and the nature of Pauls thorn in the flesh for example are also discussed thus providing a comprehensive and intelligible outline of medical matters in the New Testament. About the Contributor(s): J. Keir Howard is a retired consultant physician and Anglican priest. He graduated in medicine from the University of Edinburgh and in theology from the University of London. He later gained doctorates in both disciplines and has also published widely in the fields of medical research and biblical and theological studies has taught at the Universities of Manchester Singapore and Otago and has held senior hospital and public medical posts. He remains active in the ministry of the Anglican Church of New Zealand.