Essay On Theology Of Healing

Today, I am reminded of a saying: “there are places in the heart that do not exist, pain must be so that they may be”. In the past, I reasoned this saying to be a metaphor for compassion…that as we work through our pain, we become more connected and loving toward others. What I discovered is; that introspective examination assigning the meaning to pain and painful events is soul work while the work of connecting and loving others is a good but superficial start.

The Wounded Healer by Henri J.M. Nouwen is one such book which is simple yet very insightful, solemn yet very challenging. He stirs up our interest as he deals with the biggest concern of our modern day leaders in our churches and society – the struggle with our weaknesses. And I believe his philosophy goes much deeper than what is actually written. I personally felt that this book is not only for Christian ministers or leaders but for everyone and anyone because, as mortal human beings, we live in a societal world where caring or helping each other is indispensable. I like the way Nouwen makes us see the four chapters of this book, as entering into four different doors, each representing the ‘problems of ministry in the modern world’ (Nouwen, 2010, p.3). I’ve categorized my reflections on this book into three particular headings.

“I have learned that the Father relentlessly works to reshape his blood-brought children into the likeness of his son...our task, however, is not merely to endure suffering, but to embrace it, find God on it and draw closer to him through it. Simply put, ‘There is no remedy for this darkness but to sink in it.” A quote from Bruce Demarest, found in his book Seasons of the Soul, discusses the three stages of spiritual development, orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. Disorientation is the stage where trials and sufferings are faced, but most importantly, a stage where we use our pains and sufferings to help us grow. Murray Decker explains disorientation as a stage of “lostness and dryness.” Everyone has their own experiences with this stage of disorientation, and many times in this stage we begin to doubt and question our faith, we can become angry and question God why this trouble would happen. It is a stage where we fill the brokenness in our lives. In my own personal life, I have experienced disorientation in many different forms, whether it was something that I did wrong or that I was wronged by. I was upset with God and I constantly questioned his existence and love, I was confused at why this would happen to me, but ultimately I was alone. People thought that pointing me to church and the bible would’ve helped me but as I sat there and listened to the pastor or the counselor telling me what was wrong it never helped clarify any of the emotions I was

Within a world that has endured so much tragedy, and so many crippling hardships, people are often forced to consider how exactly they are going to handle the adversity that they are faced with. Do they run at it head on and recklessly attempt to deal with it? Do they lose faith with their religion and their God? Or do they simply pray, and hope that amongst all of their misery that something good will come of it and a light will be found in the end? Those are the hard decisions that people are forced to make on the daily, and maybe the questions that we have, or the lack of faith we endure is what makes us stronger at the end of the day.

Leaving Gilead, can be a difficult book to understand at first. But Carr really gets it to flow. The first person you will meet will be Saranell. She is going through life during war, And her sidekick Renney will help her go Along this journey. He father is serving in the civil War, and her mother Geneva couldn 't really care less about Saranell. War has really brought out the worst in Geneva with being a mother. Mother, daughter, and slave must all leave Gilead to find "better" things. While Saranell’s father is serving in the war, she has that feeling down inside that he 's gone and she 'll never see him again. They hit a few bumps in the road as they travel, to meeting Yankee soldiers to losing someone. War brings out the worst in people.

The chapter opens with a Sioux sweat lodge ceremony. Dennis Linn wants you to imagine the physical and emotional feelings, which emanate from the ceremony. The medicine man thanks God for all creatures including man. Those in the ceremony are thankful to God and ask forgiveness of all those they have hurt and extend forgiveness to those who have hurt them. The author thought it was a primitive superstition. Nevertheless, to their amazement, physical and emotional healings occurred. We as Christians seek healing, but many times do not seek a greater relationship with Christ. This is self-centeredness rather than Christ-centeredness. We are not to live in chapter seven of Romans, but in chapter eight, which is walking in the Spirit. Forgiveness

This interview occurred in the home of a B.M. a 54 year old black female whose chosen religion is Christianity. B. M. suffers from hypertension and had been hospitalize several times for increased high blood pressure. B. M. gave in great information about her spirituality, and her religious practices. What went well in particular was the fact that this person was extremely spiritually inclined and has a strong religious practice. So within the interview, the ability to address her particular religious practice and spirituality flowed freely.

Health: Pertains to the holistic aspect of a person (NMSU, 2013). It envelops the persons mind, body, spirit to maintain harmony physically, psychologically, socially, spiritually, and in all moral realms of the holistic aspect of the person (ENMU, 2015).

Much has been said about poverty over the years. The consistency of poverty in history and its repercussions is disconcerting. The lack of appropriate education can be considered to be the foundation of poverty which often times corresponds with the rise of criminal activity. It is recognized as an insatiable quandary. However, the way that Mary Shelley incorporates poverty into Frankenstein is unheard of and infrequently thought of. Shelley demonstrates poverty in two ways: social poverty and monetary poverty. Social poverty is the lack of companionship or people to relate with. Monetary poverty is shown when one lacks money or the necessities for life. In the novel, these aspects are integrated as a way to show the responsibilities and privileges

The definition of “health” means the state of being free from illness or injury. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree, the ultimate punishment was that we would all suffer for their mistake. However, the disparity that comes along with health related problems is

Native American author, Mourning Dove, stated, “What kept us going, was the knowledge that everything on earth has its purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission. That is the Indian theory of existence." (Mourning, 1990, p. 69) Histories that deal with health, illness, and medicine in America, often make passing mention of Native Americans as healers or sources of knowledge about medicine. Similarly, histories of Native-American cultures and early European contact pay attention only to health and healing with respect to these cross-cultural interactions. Many books and articles have been written on Native American medicine. However, there have been virtually no scientific studies done on tribal healing practices, undoubtedly due to the spiritual nature of the treatments. Some of these historical pieces of literature attempt to assess the impact of Native-American knowledge of New World herbs on the knowledge and practice of early-American elite physicians and botanists. Healing and medical practices of Native Americans has been obscured by time but there is anecdotal evidence available and competing perspectives about the true values of Native American healing practices

In Russel Willier’s practice of being a medicine man he encountered many common illnesses that his natural and holistic approach to doctoring could heal. For example, such illnesses he encountered that were most common included diabetes, heart and ear problems, high blood pressure, cuts, toothaches, diarrhea, cancer and curses. He also found in his practice many cases of people complaining that someone was talking to them in their ears, as well as numerous cases of marriages and family consulting, where Willier would sit down to talk and pray that the issues would be resolved. Willier also advocated in his healing that in addition to the physical elements of healing, such as illnesses, it is important to attend to the needs of mental illnesses

The word beatitude comes from the Latin word beatus, meaning “happy, fortunate.” The blessings that God bestows on the repentant believer are in relation to the believer’s spiritual, ethical, moral and righteous life. That is not to say that the believer must earn the blessings; however, the blessings result from rightly living. The beatitudes are an extension of Jesus’ proclamation in Matthew 4:17 (NRSV), “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Jesus is telling His disciples that, not only are they to live righteous lives, but that all believers must live righteous lives as well. He speaks as One with authority; as Matthew noted in verse 23, Jesus taught in the synagogues. He was called Rabbi, Lord, Master, Teacher, and other names assigned to someone with authority. He spoke with a voice of authority that amazed crowds, even the curiosity seekers who were not believers. When He begins to deliver the Great Sermon, not only were the disciples listening, but also a multitude of followers within hearing distance.

The book of James is written about practical Christian living. It was written by the half brother of Jesus around 48-49 AD. It is believed to be the first new testament book written. It is aimed more at how genuine faith transforms a life of someone. There are many background

As human beings, we suffer losses of many kinds and sizes in our life time. While some of these losses are small and do not hurt much, some are big and hurt deeply. Those that are accompanied by pains that are difficult to bear include the loss of a loved one through death or divorce, cheating or unfaithfulness in a trusted relationship or loss of good health when a diagnosis of a terminal illness is made. In all these instances of loss, pain and grief are experienced and an emotional wound is created which needs healing.