E
Erasmus777
Guest
Good day,
I wonder if an apologist can assist.
I have been doing research recently on the question of Christianity starting the first hospitals. I was prompted by an article on an atheist site, where the writer averred that Christianity was bad for medicine, rather than a boon for it.
To take a sample quote from one ‘History of Medicine’ by Douglas Guthrie:
“The Christian view of disease, too, was a retrograde step. Even St. Basil of Caesarea, who in A.D. 372 established one of the first known hospitals, denied that all disease was of natural origin. Many diseases, he alleged, were sent as punishments for sin, and such chastening demanded only prayer and repentance.
The sensible views of Hippocrates were denied; men returned
to ideas analogous to those which prevailed in the days of the
Esculapian temples. Miracles of healing were witnessed in the
churches, and doubtless took place, as they still do. But in the
early days no other method of healing was admitted or permitted
by the bigoted Christians.
Furthermore, the human body was held sacred, and its
dissection was prohibited, a veto imposed also by the Moslems.
Anatomy and physiology became dead sciences which might
not be studied at first hand, but only in the pages of Galen.
Such restrictions naturally deterred students from entering the
medical profession, and the best brains were attracted to the
Church, where an increasing mass of theological dogma afforded
ample scope for many scholars.
The antagonism to “secular” learning reached its climax in
A.D. 391, when a mob of Christian fanatics set fire to the great
library of Alexandria and destroyed many priceless treasures of
learning. Such, then, were the blows levelled at the science of
medicine by the early Christians ; such were the adverse influences
of the Church."
The writer does concede that “Nevertheless, when all the evidence is weighed, it must be admitted that Christianity has generally favoured the advance of medicine.”
However, I am interested in his earlier points. Could an expert on church history perhaps help out here?
Regards,
Erasmus
I wonder if an apologist can assist.
I have been doing research recently on the question of Christianity starting the first hospitals. I was prompted by an article on an atheist site, where the writer averred that Christianity was bad for medicine, rather than a boon for it.
To take a sample quote from one ‘History of Medicine’ by Douglas Guthrie:
“The Christian view of disease, too, was a retrograde step. Even St. Basil of Caesarea, who in A.D. 372 established one of the first known hospitals, denied that all disease was of natural origin. Many diseases, he alleged, were sent as punishments for sin, and such chastening demanded only prayer and repentance.
The sensible views of Hippocrates were denied; men returned
to ideas analogous to those which prevailed in the days of the
Esculapian temples. Miracles of healing were witnessed in the
churches, and doubtless took place, as they still do. But in the
early days no other method of healing was admitted or permitted
by the bigoted Christians.
Furthermore, the human body was held sacred, and its
dissection was prohibited, a veto imposed also by the Moslems.
Anatomy and physiology became dead sciences which might
not be studied at first hand, but only in the pages of Galen.
Such restrictions naturally deterred students from entering the
medical profession, and the best brains were attracted to the
Church, where an increasing mass of theological dogma afforded
ample scope for many scholars.
The antagonism to “secular” learning reached its climax in
A.D. 391, when a mob of Christian fanatics set fire to the great
library of Alexandria and destroyed many priceless treasures of
learning. Such, then, were the blows levelled at the science of
medicine by the early Christians ; such were the adverse influences
of the Church."
The writer does concede that “Nevertheless, when all the evidence is weighed, it must be admitted that Christianity has generally favoured the advance of medicine.”
However, I am interested in his earlier points. Could an expert on church history perhaps help out here?
Regards,
Erasmus