Healing in the Bible: Theological Insight for Christian Ministry
Overview
What does the Bible say about healing? In this volume, respected biblical scholar Frederick Gaiser offers a close theological reading of biblical texts on health and healing, that engage questions of contemporary theological and pastoral concern. Gaiser considers 15 key Old and New Testament passages, examining their significance for the church’s understanding of healing and its ministry today. He explores issues such as God’s role in healing; the relationship between healing and prayer; the place of healing in biblical theology; God’s healing and medical science; the healing work of Jesus; healing, salvation, and cure; the relationship between sickness and sin; and healing under the sign of the cross. The final chapter draws together insights from the various chapters and summarizes Gaiser’s findings.
Healing in the Bible offers fresh insights for anyone interested in Christian views on healing, from professors and students in Bible, theology, and pastoral ministry courses to thoughtful lay readers and pastors.
The Logos Bible Software edition of Healing in the Bible: Theological Insight for Christian Ministry is designed to encourage and stimulate your study and understanding of the Bible. Scripture passages link directly to your English translations and original-language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. In addition, you can perform powerful searches by topic and find what other authors, scholars, and theologians have to say about interpreting the Bible.
- Includes two stories from the authors’ tours of teaching in Zimbabwe
- Examines a variety of biblical texts in a case-study approach
- Explores ways the Bible amplifies the claims and the promises of both testaments
- Introduction and Method
- “O Lord, Heal Me”
- “I Am the Lord, Your Healer”
- “Moses Made a Serpent of Bronze”
- “Hezekiah Wept Bitterly”
- “Please Accept a Present”
- “No Health in My Bones”
- “What God Is So Great as Our God?”
- “Hannah Conceived and Bore a Son”
- “The Sensible Will Not Despise Them”
- “I Command You, Come Out of Him”
- “He Spat on the Ground and Made Mud”
- “If I but Touch His Clothes”
- “Your Faith Has Made You Well”
- “Your Sins Are Forgiven. . . . Stand Up and Walk”
- “What I Have I Give You”
- “By His Bruises We Are Healed”
- Healing in the Bible
Frederick Gaiser has written a book that everyone interested in the intersection of theology and health needs to read. This is the work of a skilled exegete who is intimately familiar with the biblical stories of God’s healing acts. Gaiser reminds us that all of our theological reflection concerning health ought to begin with and account for the biblical narrative. I look forward to the opportunity to use this book in my own teaching and scholarship.
—Joel James Shuman, professor of theology, King’s College
Frederick Gaiser has a great instinct and gift for moving to and fro in the space between the contemporary world and the biblical text. He began this book in Africa, and although he does not keep referring to that, one can see the way it shaped and resourced the ‘conversation’ between our contemporary world(s) and the Bible’s world. He keeps chewing at the text, seeking to be fully open to it, precisely because it comes from a different world and thus has the power to illumine our world. Every chapter is illuminating.
—John Goldingay, David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary
What an enormous grasp of issues of health Frederick Gaiser demonstrates in this book as he moves easily between stories of Zimbabwe, biblical exegesis, and applications for twenty-first-century Christians. Gaiser’s volume on the wide variety of literature in the Bible about healing is obviously the result of many years of committed research and contemplation; readers will be amazed at the range of his erudition and the depth of his faith. I am very grateful for his insightfully inspiring work.
—Marva J. Dawn, teaching fellow in spiritual theology, Regent College
Fred Gaiser herein offers a collection of insightful essays on the difficult issues related to healing. These chapters bear the marks of long and deep reflection. Students and professionals alike will benefit from these close and clear studies. They ring true to the scriptural texts, are sensitive to the pastoral context, and bring a sure theological hand throughout.
—Terence E. Fretheim, Elva B. Lovell Professor of Old Testament, Luther Seminary
With his careful analysis of healing stories in the Bible, Professor Gaiser has given us a great gift. He reminds us that healing is always tied up in the mystery and wonder of relationships—with our self, with our community, and with God–and that health depends on the wholeness of both individuals and communities. As we work to reform and improve health care in America, we would do well to keep these lessons in mind.
—James F. Hart, adjunct assistant professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota
This is an excellent work that reflects on healing in the Bible and its potential meaning for the healing ministry today. . . . [Gaiser] draws a summary of the fundamental principles and values about healing that are reflected in the Scriptures and connects them in a thoughtful and practical way to the Christian ministry of healing today, both in its professional and scientific expressions and in more ordinary therapeutic encounters.
—The Bible Today
Gaiser generates lively exegetical conversations by offering fresh insights on tough questions. . . . Given the current political tensions from health care to global suffering, Gaiser produces a careful, balanced, and imaginative work for anyone interested in Christian views of healing.
—Religious Studies Review
- Title: Healing in the Bible: Theological Insight for Christian Ministry
- Author: Frederick J. Gaiser
- Publisher: Baker Academic
- Publication Date: 2010
- Pages: 288