Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine

by Joel Shuman

We live in an age of incredible medical technology, and with it, a great emphasis on health and well-being. We fully entrust the care of our bodies to the medical profession, often taking its solutions and judgments as gospel. But what role, if any, should our Christian faith play in all this?

In Reclaiming the Body, a physician and a theologian take a critical look at some of the assumptions we draw from the medical profession and explore what theology has to say about medicine, our bodies, our health, and the Body of Christ. The authors deal with such issues as suffering, caring for the sick, children and reproductive technologies, medicine and the poor, our obsession with physical perfection, and death and dying.

Genres: Theology, Health, Christian, Medicine

174 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[A.J. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I wasn't expecting it to be as critical of modern medicine as it is. Modern medicine is something that needs a strong critique. Especially now. I've never been more distrustful of the medical industrial complex (the authors use this term) than I am now, after 2 years of "Covid-19" panic and foolishness. The silence (and the silencing) of doctors at a time like this has been inexcusable. It's time to topple the false god of modern medicine by putting it in its proper place and making use of modern medicine as if God actually mattered in our lives.

[Garrett Becker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really thought provoking book. I didn’t expect the title to have a double meaning between our literal bodies and the body - community - of believers as a whole but it made a lot of sense in their scope. I thought their writing was hard for me to get into and stay engaged with, but they had a lot in here that had me thinking about Gnostic beliefs/elements in our culture now (even though this was written in 2005!), how we view children, viewing all of life as a gift from God. Loved they finished on the hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

[Evan Leister · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has incredible sections in it. My favorite chapter was the body without borders one, but this is an excellent rebuke of much assumed liturgy, more useful even today than when it was written.

[Matthew Loftus · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is no book I recommend to health care providers and people interested in health more highly!

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book puts forward some things to think about, but it's very boring even for someone used to reading the slang of those who write for formally educated markets that enjoy lots of wordage.

More, while the authors do well in counting modern western medicine among the "principalities and powers" of the world, they don't really say much beyond learning to use medicine with gratitude and as part of the Christian community.

I was disappointed. There really isn't much out there today to speak to the power of modern western medicine as it seeks to re-create God's human creation according to what it can measure, alter, and profit from. And this book does little to help in that regard.

[Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll review it after I read it.