Healing and Religion

The Anointing of the Sick is possibly the most underappreciated and understudied sacrament. In To Die Is Gain, Roger Nutt seeks to bring greater attention to and appreciation for the Anointing of the Sick. Beginning with an examination of cultural perceptions of dying, death, and burial, To Die Is Gain exposes the ways in which contemporary atheism and physicalism mark a clear divergence from ancient attitudes. In contrast to contemporary hopelessness, the Anointing of the Sick is a powerful counter witness that highlights the great dignity of the human person and the depth of Christian hope. Unlike the cures to particular ailments facilitated by modern medical science, in Holy Anointing Jesus gives his dying followers the healing graces that they need to pass from this life to the next in loving union with Him. As Nutt exposes the biblical and traditional foundations of this sacrament, he corrects common misconceptions and malpractice of this sacrament, especially the ways in which Vatican II is often misleadingly enlisted to support a broadening of the sacrament from end-of-life situations to non-life threatening illnesses. Finally, Nutt carefully describes the graces and effects of the Anointing of the Sick and richly expounds the theological depth of the rite of the Anointing of the Sick. The result is that readers can confidently say with St. Paul that "To die is gain' (Philippians 1:21).

2012 _ This dissertation deals with the ritual and sacerdotal organisation of a Cuban mythical-ritual complex of Yoruba origin, articulated around two poles with complex and sometimes conflicting relationships: Santería, based on the personalised relationship followers tie with entities called orichas, and Ifá, a divinatory pole centred on the use of the eponymous oracle. The aim is to highlight the interdependent relationships that unite these two poles. To this end, the thesis gives descriptive and analytical primacy to the structuration of the initiatory practices that constitute the basis of these practices and to their pragmatic, formal and interactional dimensions. It highlights two elements. (1) Different forms of critical reflexivity, relayed by a multi-headed social organisation, by the nature of ritual knowledge and by the indeterminacy of certain ceremonial procedures, constitute the first element on which the coherence of the whole rests. In particular, they involve debate, exegesis, contestation and, sometimes, conflict that are intrinsic of priesthood practice as well as of the ritual execution and initiation performances. (2) Two divergent conceptions of practice, conveyed by these forms of reflexivity and stemming from profoundly distinct initiatory experiences for a santero/santera or a babalao, are at the origin of the founding tension which organises this bipolar complex and the relations between its specialists. These conceptions somehow incompatible are brought into constant confrontation due to the collegial coordination imposed by the ritual, generating continuous negotiations which endow this complex with its distinctive dynamics and unity  / Cette thèse porte sur l’organisation sacerdotale d’un complexe mythico-rituel cubain d’origine yoruba articulé autour de deux pôles aux rapports complexes et parfois conflictuels : la santería, fondée sur la mise en relation personnalisée des adeptes avec des entités orichas, et Ifá, pôle divinatoire centré sur l’usage de l’oracle éponyme. L’objectif est de mettre en évidence les relations d’interdépendance qui unissent ces deux pôles. Pour cela, la thèse accorde une primauté descriptive et analytique à la structuration des pratiques initiatiques qui constituent le socle du culte et à leurs dimensions pragmatique, formelle et interactionnelle. Elle met en valeur deux éléments. (1) Différentes formes de réflexivité critique, relayées par une organisation sociale pluricéphale, par la nature des savoirs en présence et par l’indétermination de certaines procédures cérémonielles, constituent le premier élément sur lequel repose la cohérence de l’ensemble. Elles font notamment du débat, de l’exégèse, de la contestation et, parfois, du conflit, des ressorts intrinsèques de la pratique sacerdotale ainsi que de l’exécution rituelle et des performances initiatiques. (2) Deux conceptions divergentes de la pratique, véhiculées par ces formes de réflexivité et issues d’expériences initiatiques profondément distinctes, sont à l’origine de la tension fondatrice qui organise ce complexe bipolaire et les relations entre spécialistes. A priori incompatibles, ces conceptions sont amenées à se confronter constamment du fait de la coordination collégiale imposée par le rituel et engendrent des négociations continues qui impriment sa dynamique et son unité distinctives à ce complexe sacerdotal

Kenneth Hagin (1917-) represents and is widely accepted as the father of the Word of Faith Ministries1 though his mantle has largely
fallen to Kenneth and Gloria Copeland who, through the magazine “Believer’s Voice of Victory,” promulgate a similar message concerning
healing.2 Because of the impact of his teaching concerning healing,3
with its attendant reactions,4 it is appropriate to analyze his beliefs and practices. Despite his attempts to prove that Christians may emulate the
healing ministry of Jesus, he assumes major differences that undermine
such a link. These will now be explored.

Таблица воздействия на органы тела классических инструментов Музыка оказывает на нас определённое воздействие-в том числе, исцеляющее. Более того, каждый музыкальный инструмент "отвечает" за "свой" орган человеческого тела. Всё во Вселенной взаимосвязано. Связь природы, музыки и человеческого организма-огромна. Слушая музыкальный концерт, мы переживаем целый букет чувств в связи с многогранным влиянием на наши эмоции, душевное состояние и органы чувств, и сейчас вы узнаете, почему. Виолончель позитивно влияет на сердце. В то время как фортепьяно и скрипка расслабляют нервную систему. Похожим эффектом обладает флейта. А кларнет и гобой, в зависимости от манеры исполнения и даже времени суток, способны как стимулировать, так и подавлять мотивацию. Барабаны положительно действуют на печень и желудок, а также-любые неметаллические инструменты. Ибо у каждого органа тела есть также свой элемент в природе. Который может его ослаблять, либо-укреплять. Пожалуй, самый популярный и часто встречающийся инструмент в классических произведениях-скрипка, приводит в спокойствие душу, направляет к самопознанию, возбуждает сострадание. Орган, мощный инструмент, приводит в порядок мысли и даже гармонизирует поток энергии в позвоночнике. Второй самый популярный инструмент-фортепьяно-действует позитивно на работу почек и мочевого пузыря, очищает щитовидную Изменить 14 16 февраля 2019 433 дочитывания 1 5 мин.

From its beginnings 'Healing in the Atonement' has been one of the key platforms from which the Pentecostal movement has branded itself. Disease and suffering were tagged as consequences of the Fall and in need of redemption not unlike the soul. Specifically, this presentation will explain why traditional constructions of 'healing in the atonement' gained immediate traction with Pentecostalism; demonstrate that contemporary applications of healing in the atonement frequently issue in violence to the sick, injured or diseased; argue that 'healing in the atonement' is crippled by a deficient understanding of creation and in particular human finiteness as it relates to sickness and/or death; and examine James K.A. Smith's 'Logic of Incarnation' to see if there is a constructive path here to formulate a theology of healing that remains faithful to Scripture and can maybe even be friendly to the more traditional atonement theories of healing. Keywords healing – atonement – illness – disease – cure – fall

In the predominantly Muslim context of Zanzibar, Pentecostal Christianity is slowly on the rise as a result of an influx of labor migrants from mainland Tanzania. A paramount feature in these churches is the provision of divine healing and deliverance from spiritual affliction. This article analyses how narratives of healing in one of Zanzibar’s major Pentecostal churches, the City Christian Center, influence how religious belonging is negotiated and manifested. Focusing on Zanzibar-born Pentecostals with Roman Catholic backgrounds, the analysis suggests that healing and practices conducted to deliver individuals from pain and suffering are connected to a wider revaluation of moral and social actions characterizing Zanzibar society. It stresses that Pentecostal belonging builds on Zanzibar-born members’ previous experiences of Zanzibar in a process of both affirmation and rejection, in which adherence to Christianity is intensified by an increased knowledge of God’s power to heal, and opposition to the Muslim majority is strengthened by connecting it to sickness.

在主要以穆斯林为背景的桑给巴尔，由于大量来自坦桑尼亚大陆的劳工移民，五旬宗基督教正在缓慢上升。这些教会最重要的特征就是提供上帝的的医治和释放属灵的痛苦。本文分析了桑给巴尔主要的五旬宗教会 之一：城市基督教中心，其医治的故事是如何影响宗教归属的商確和表现的。分析的焦点是在桑给巴尔出生的有罗马天主教背景的五旬宗派，分析表明他们将个人从痛苦中释放出来的医治和实践，是与具有桑给巴尔社会特征的道德和社会行为的更广泛的评估有关。它强调，五旬宗派的归属是建立在桑给巴尔出生的成员以前在桑给巴尔的经历，在肯定和拒绝的过程中，透过对上帝治愈大能的更多认识，加强了对基督教的坚持，透过与疾病的连接，加强了对穆斯林多数的反对。

En Zanzíbar, dentro de un contexto mayormente musulmán, el cristianismo pentecostal crece lentamente como resultado del flujo de trabajadores migrantes provenientes del territorio continental de Tanzania. Un elemento primordial de estas iglesias es que ofrecen sanidad divina y liberación de la aflicción espiritual. Este artículo analiza la influencia que tienen los relatos de sanidad de la City Christian Center, una de las principales iglesias pentecostales de Zanzíbar, sobre cómo se presenta y se manifiesta la pertenencia religiosa. Se concentra en personas pentecostales con raíces católicas nacidas en Zanzíbar; el análisis sugiere que tanto la sanidad como las prácticas para liberar a las personas del dolor y del sufrimiento están asociadas con una revalorización de las acciones morales y sociales que caracterizan a la sociedad de Zanzíbar. Subraya que la pertenencia pentecostal se construye sobre experiencias anteriores de los miembros nacidos en Zanzíbar; es un proceso tanto de afirmación como de rechazo, ya que se intensifica la adhesión al cristianismo por un mayor conocimiento del poder de Dios para sanar, y se incrementa la oposición a la mayoría musulmana al asociarla con la enfermedad.This article is in English.

Partiendo del principio protestante del "sacerdocio de todos los creyentes", que propuso Lutero , se plantean las implicaciones teológicas y eclesiales de este "sacerdocio universal", como la confesión de la "sanctorum communio". Se hace una intersección con la salud mental, en cuanto la comunidad cristiana responde, desde una ética del dolor, a las experiencias de sufrimiento psíquico. Se plantean las miradas de comprensión de dicho sufrimiento desde la psicopatología y los abordajes psicoterapéuticos, así como se plantean las formas de intervención desde las comunidades de fe para el crecimiento y la curación.

Das Thema Gesundheit und Krankheit hat durch die COVID19-Pandemie noch einmal mehr Bedeutung gewonnen, als wir es uns zu Beginn des Jahres hätten vorstellen können. Plötzlich müssen wir uns mit mikroskopisch kleinen Erregern, mit einer potentiell gefährlich verlaufenden Erkrankung, mit einem globalen Infektionsgeschehen auseinandersetzen. Das ist auf persönlicher wie auch gesellschaftlicher Ebene eine Herausforderung. Wie gingen vergangene Gesellschaften mit dem Thema Gesundheit und Krankheit um? In einer Welt "ohne Narkose und Aspirin", wie der Archäologe und Medizinhistoriker Ernst Künzl es nannte, in der jede Verletzung und jede Entbindung zu einer tödlich verlaufenden Infektion führen konnte?

Ein kurzer Einblick in griechische Heilkulte und die Neu-Untersuchung italischer Körperteilweihungen.

Le bien-être physique, mental et social des personnes au sud du Sahara est aujourd'hui reconnu comme un enjeu culturel de santé publique. Une action sanitaire déconnectée de la condition culturelle ne répondra pas de façon adéquate et satisfaisante aux angoisses majeures suscitées par les maladies qui constituent des coups de freins à la vie heureuse en Afrique au sud du Sahara. Les maladies en Afrique au sud du Sahara ne se définissent pas seulement comme des dysfonctionnements du corps et du psychisme et comme des ruptures d'harmonie avec l'environnement. Les maladies dans l'approche négro-africaine de la santé sont les pertes d'énergies vitales, des ruptures d'harmonie dont la restauration est soumise aux spécialistes de la santé que sont les guérisseurs traditionnels, devins , sacrificateurs et pharmacologues, manipulateurs des forces vitales et sociales de l'univers. Les guérisseurs traditionnels africains connaissent les secrets de la santé et soulagent les misères humaines en luttant contre les maladies. Les guérisseurs traditionnels africains sauvent dans leurs milieux culturels la vie de leurs frères et soeurs en rupture d'harmonie avec les forces vitales et sociales de l'univers et les libèrent des maladies. Leur interprétation des maladies dépend de leur savoir endogène fondé sur le fonctionnement relationnel et symbolique de leur environnement culturel2. Les guérisseurs traditionnels en Afrique au sud du Sahara ne font que leur devoir d'humanité en conservant et en restaurant la santé des sujets historiques en devenir à travers leurs relations à un environnement physique, social et culturel déterminé. Quelle est la vocation des guérisseurs, rebouteux et matrones traditionnels en Afrique au sud du Sahara ? En quoi le dialogue interculturel et interreligieux avec la pratique traditionnelle de la guérison en Afrique au sud du Sahara peut-il encourager la vie consacrée à s'investir davantage dans la problématique de la santé publique dans nos communautés ecclésiales ? 1 1 Jean-Marie Hyacinthe QUENUM est Docteur en Théologie et Maître des novices Jésuites à Bafoussam au Cameroun. 2 La médecine traditionnelle associe à la pharmacopée des rites sociaux et religieux.

Si les mouvements charismatiques et Églises (néo-)pentecôtistes, surtout celles dites de la « troisième vague », se situent aux périphéries des lieux de décision du christianisme œcuménique et du monde théologique académique, ils n’en représentent pas moins la partie la plus dynamique du christianisme mondial en termes de croissance – regroupant un quart de la population chrétienne mondiale, soit un chrétien sur quatre, et près d’un humain sur dix.
Pour évoquer les « nouvelles pratiques charismatiques » dans le champ de la guérison, nous n’adoptons pas ici le point de vue du théologien mais celui de l’anthropologue, réductionniste à dessein.
La porte d’entrée retenue est une manifestation religieuse de grande ampleur organisée le samedi 4 janvier 2020 à la salle du Zénith à Paris et ayant rassemblé 7000 personnes, pour l’immense majorité membres d’Églises pentecôtistes africaines et afro-caribéennes de la région parisienne. La salle avait été louée par une organisation missionnaire d’initiative congolaise, Casarhema, fondée en 2000 et animée par Liz et Blaise Manzambi un couple congolais entrepreneurs économiques et leaders religieux émergents. Destinée à l’origine à produire des artistes chrétiens congolais, Casarhema est devenue en 2007 une plateforme internet– chaîne chrétienne produisant et diffusant sur les réseaux sociaux et sur des espaces de télévision des émissions-magazines pour différents publics, et surtout des vidéos de nombreux prédicateurs et acteurs/actrices religieux. À destination d’abord de la diaspora congolaise, l’audience de Casarhema s’est étendue au fil des années à l’ensemble de la francophonie – principalement celle des diasporas africaines, abandonnant au passage l’usage du lingala, l’une des langues congolaises pour l’usage exclusif du français. Casarhema.fr atteint en 2020, un rayonnement mondial avec des dizaines de milliers de connexions hebdomadaires et quelques « antennes » sur le continent africain (Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroun, République démocratique du Congo). Le public est connecté depuis tous les continents. Structure d’initiative africaine, au modèle économique et religieux fortement innovant et ne bénéficiant d’aucun soutien financier extérieur (non plus de la nébuleuse missionnaire nord-américaine), Casarhema située au cœur de ces réseaux pentecôtistes transnationaux émergents, croisant réseaux réels et virtuels, témoigne d’une capacité de mobilisation insoupçonnée.(...) Le rassemblement du 4 janvier intitulé « Méga-rencontre de Gloire – Zénith (Paris La Villette)» avec en sous-titre «Jésus-Christ est la solution » apparaît dès lors comme un précipité au sens chimique de l’univers pentecôtiste globalisé entretenu au sein de ce réseau et de son ethos religieux.
Cette contribution présente et analyse quelques-unes des performances rituelles et discursives les plus significatives – parmi les discours, prières, paroles d’autorité, prophéties, chants, etc., générés ce jour-là par la douzaine d’intervenants presque tous de nationalité congolaise – et la dizaine de chantres – principalement des femmes – qui se sont succédés sur la scène du Zénith.
Après avoir montré comment la plateforme Casarhema, inscrite dans la dynamique d’innovation religieuse des Églises néo-pentecôtistes, fonctionne comme un lieu de régulation et de stabilisation de ces pratiques de la « restauration divine », nous analyserons le discours de cinq intervenants du rassemblement du Zénith identifiant à cette occasion les registres discursifs et symboliques qui structurent leurs performances.

The festival dedicated to the healing saint Agios (Saint, m.) Gerasimos is celebrated on the Greek island of Kephallonia, of which he is the patron saint, on 16 August, the day after his death. Two years after his death in 1579, his body was found to have undergone no decomposition, and it exuded a pleasant odour. He became the patron saint of the island in 1622. His relics are housed in his monastery and during the festival his sarcophagus is carried in procession to the plane tree by the well that the saint is said to have dug with his own hands. As the sarcophagus is carried in procession, the pilgrims lie down in its path so that the saint's body may pass over them, thereby healing them. Gerasimos is particularly famous for combating demons, and the pilgrims collect some dust from his tomb or fetch several leaves from his plane tree to keep as amulets. The article will present the festival as I experienced it during my fieldwork in 1992, and make some comparisons with similar cults in the Mediterranean world.

The temples of the Vale do Amanhecer (Valley of the Dawn) in Brazil and across the world are intended as 'spiritual emergency units' where mediums and their spirit guides provide patients with free assistance for health, relational, spiritual, and material matters concerning the person’s wellbeing. The therapeutic practice is known as 'disobsessive healing' and involves the release of causal spiritual agents considered to be affecting the person’s wellbeing. This paper discusses the Vale do Amanhecer’s etiology of illness and how mediums understand disobsessive healing as a complementary epistemology of healing, discerning spiritual and pathological experiences. Then, it examines how patients may draw their therapeutic trajectories across biomedical and spiritual contexts, sometimes developing mediumship as part of their therapeutic process. Approaching these therapeutic practices from the standpoint of affect and bodily experience may undermine the prominence of 'belief' in the study of non-biomedical approaches to healing, shedding light upon the relational, embodied, and lived-through dimensions of the notions involved in the therapeutic process.

John Wesley's theology was a theology of mission. This becomes clear when we examine his theological orientation and four key Wesleyan themes: The image of God, prevenient (preceding) grace, salvation as healing, and the perfecting of Christian character (sanctification). In conjunction, these themes show how Wesley’s missiology was at heart holistic, integrating physical, social, economic, and spiritual dimensions and thus providing timely resources for today.

Luk, Tsing Tsing Crystal. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong), ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2017. 10798713.

This thesis aims to conduct a comprehensive study on the theoretical and historical connection between Neidan and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) based on a detailed study of the Nedian scripture Yi-dao Huan-yuan [special characters omitted], compiled in the Qing Dynasty.

First of all, based on a variety of editions found in different libraries in China, one can see that the publication of the scripture was connected to the Luˇ zuˇ [special characters omitted] spirit-writing movement during the Qing period. Signs of the movement can be found in the main text, prefaces, and the religion background of its editors and fundraisers. In additions to its formation, the Luˇ zuˇ spirit-writing cults and their disciplesf religious believes also played an important role in the circulation and re-publication of the scriptures in the 19th century.

Secondly, based on previous Neidan studies, one could not bypass the fact that most Neidan scholars usually omit the connection between Neidan and TCM. Especially in regard to the definition of Xing-mìng [special characters omitted] in Neidan texts, the application of TCM theories in this concept was usually dismissed. The discourse of Zhēn yào [special characters omitted] in Neidan, based on theories of Chinese Materia Medica, Medicine Formulae and Etiology developed in Song and the theoretical evolution in the Meridian System during Song and Yuan period played an important role in neidan texts. In addition to the above, the Diagnostic Approaches by applying a theory called Xīn cáng shén wèi jūnzhuˇ zhī guān lùn [special characters omitted] , a theory that emphasis the Heart [special characters omitted] as a residence where Shén [special characters omitted], the Monarchy [special characters omitted] resides, played a major role in the discourse of practice of Xing-ming in Neidan texts. Just as Neidan texts emphasized, Xìng and Mìng are interconnect and inter-related. This discourse was the main concept of the Xīn cáng shén wèi junzhuˇ zhī guān lùn, according to which onefs body is related to onefs mind so that mind and body should be diagnosed and healed as one. Through an in-depth study of the application of TCM theories in Yi-dao Huanyuan and its Neidan practice, and carefully explained the history of each medical concepts, one can understand that the principle of Xìng-mìng in Neidan was built upon the Chinese medical context.

Based on the theories mentioned above, Yi-dao Huan-yuan demonstrates that the interconnection and inter-relations of Xìng-mìng was built upon the influence of the heart to Ming mén [special characters omitted], or vice versa. Mìng mén is one of the concepts applied in TCM. Under the Xin cáng shén wèi jūnzhuˇ zhī guān lùn and related concepts, the phrase Xìng-mìng in Neidan does not only carry common meanings, but medical understanding based on the medical identity and medical knowledge of their authors and editors. From this study, one could see how the medical development in Song and Yuan period impacted the terms and phrases used in Neidan texts and the theories applied in such texts.

Finally, after going through the medical details of the Neidan practice presented in Yi-dao Huan-yuan, it is hard to omit that most medical theories and concepts applied in Neidan practice were found or influenced by Daoists who also happen to be some of the most famous practitioners in Chinese Medical history.

In conclusion, we will review the fact that the theories and concepts these Daoists built became the core of TCM practice. They not only shaped the development of TCM, but also originated the meaning of terms applied in Neidan regarding to organs, meridians, Yào [special characters omitted] and Xìng-mìng etc. Their contributions have long been understood as religious healing instead of professional medicine in Daoist Studies. This point of view has underestimated the influence of Daoism in TCM development, and the interaction of the two. Vice versa, this has also limited the understanding, in Neidan studies, regarding to the applications of medical terms, concepts and theories.

Lezing op studiedag 'Mijn God geneest', VU Amsterdam 10 november 2017.
In deze lezing bespreek wordt de spanning besproken tussen het 'reeds' en het 'nog niet' bij Derek Morphew en Frank D. Macchia. Dat leidt tot de conclusie dat deze spanning te weinig doordacht wordt als het al wel en nog niet delen in het verhaal van Christus. Deze spanning moet niet alleen doordacht worden vanuit pneumatologie en eschatologie (koninkrijk van God), maar ook vanuit de christologie. Vervolgens wordt de spanning belicht vanuit Romeinen 8. Tenslotte wordt nagegaan wat dit betekent voor het doordenken van genezing. Genezing wordt getypeerd als 'betekenisvol oplappen'.

A service for healing, though becoming increasingly common in Lutheran and other mainline Protestant circles, is actually quite new in Lutheran worship books. The rite, however, has a long history, and attention to that history can inform our use and appreciation of the service.

Tomabechi Gizō (1880–1959), a chemical magnate and politician, was one of twenty shihan (Master-level) students trained by Usui Mikao (1865–1926), the founder of Usui Reiki Therapy (Usui Reiki Ryōhō). The final chapter of Tomabechi's (co-authored) memoir describes his experiences with Usui Reiki Therapy, his theories of health and disease, and his recommendations to maintain health.

This is the first time this text has been fully translated from Japanese. It is under a Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 license, which means you can freely share part or all of this work, so long as you attribute the translator.

As a Muslim-majority region, Bengal is conspicuous by its absence from histories of the institutionalisation of Islamic medicine in South Asia. Bengal's invisibility in these histories is partly a result of exclusive scholarly pre-occupations with Unani Tibb and, to a much lesser extent, Tibb ul Nabi. ‘Islamic medicine’ in Bengal was institutionalised under other names and drew upon other traditions. This article explores the institutionalisation of three such traditions of ‘Islamic Medicine’ and argues that the form they took drew directly upon the distinctive history of Islam in Bengal.

A wide variety of Buddhist writings originating on the Indian subcontinent and elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia were translated into Chinese between the mid-second and the early eleventh centuries C.E. As this material was read, digested, commented upon, and integrated into daily life, Chinese audiences came to be familiar with Buddhism’s basic teaching that overcoming all forms of suffering (Ch. ku 苦; Skt. duḥkha) is its core function. As one of the most obvious forms of suffering encountered in everyday human life, illness was a frequent topic of concern in these discourses. Of particular concern was the question of the relationship between the alleviation of the suffering of illness and the total, final salvation from suffering of all kinds (commonly referred to as Ch. niepan 涅槃; Skt. nirvāṇa; among other terms). This question appears and reappears across the genres of the Buddhist canon. From sūtras (loosely meaning “scriptures”), to disciplinary texts, ritual manuals, narratives, parables, philosophical treatises, and poetry, illness and healing are everywhere in Buddhist literature.

The article deals with the social significance of confessions among Kinshasa’s born-again Christians. Together with conversion narratives and former witches’ testimonies, confessions represent the main discursive rituals in the religious practices of newborn Christians. The analysis departs from the observation that, among Kinshasa’s born-again Christians, first, confessions are usually preceded or followed by deliverance rituals, and, second, they are hardly ever acted out in the intimate and private encounter with the pastor. Rather, these narratives are usually expressed in public, preferably with the sinners’ victims as audience. The public nature of the confessions and their co-occurrence with spiritual cleansing as performed via the deliverance rituals allow us to embark on an analysis which foregrounds the uncertainty of the Christian subject and the ways in which the subject can emerge but also be broken down.

At this very moment, while you are reading this sentence, millions of people (sincere and faithful Christians, included) are experiencing physical and emotional challenges and pain. Others are experiencing the emotional sorrow of watching loved ones suffer due to chronic or terminal illness. Many of them are praying for and even boldly expecting supernatural intervention. Some are even receiving miraculous healings.  Some of them are angry at God for having power to intervene but apparently not doing so.  Others feel guilty and wonder if their loved ones died because they didn’t pray with sufficient insight and faith to receive or release the healing. Others are simply confused and questioning where God is.  Still others have a settled hope and confidence based not upon earthly circumstances but rather on the nearness of their God and the great promises and theme of the Bible. This theme is that the ultimate victory belongs to Jesus Christ, the sin-bearer.  It is He who conquered the grave and will return to bring an end to the futility and sufferings of this present age. In so doing, Christ will finally and ultimately fulfill every promise God has made to His people.
A popular charismatic conference speaker was asked the question, “Does God ever choose not to heal?”  His immediate and seemingly flippant reply was, “No.” According to this teacher, for God to choose not to heal would be like him trying to take his one year old Chevy Avalanche back to the dealership for a refund.  It’s simply not possible for God to take back what He has already fully purchased.  If we are not healed now, it is NOT God’s fault or decision.  The problem is solely ours, he says.  We can deny our healing, throw it away, or drive it off a cliff, but God will not take it back.  Thus, according to this teacher, healing is now out of God’s hands and fully dependent on us.  He intends by these radical anecdotes to convince everyone that it could never be part of God’s plan for a believer to endure a sustained illness or disease without being miraculously healed in this life.  But while hoping to encourage people to lay hold of what He sincerely believes is an absolute provision in this life, in the end he actually places a stumbling block before many more people than he helps. Confronting this triumphalistic error is the primary reason I have written this paper.

This paper gives an overview of anthropological and folklorstic approaches to belief, and proposes its examination as a response to specific contextual factors. It approaches belief
as emerging from “participatory consciousness,” a state of mind that exists alongside rational consciousness in all human societies. Examples are drawn from the cultures of magico-religious healers in Italy and modern Pagans in North America and Western Europe.
KEYWORDS: belief, magic, history of folklore theory, folk healing, modern Pagans

I explore the connection between healing power and spirituality by attending to what a Lakota holy man (wicasa wakan) says about this sacred (wakan) power. I suggest that the encounter with this healing power – whether by the vessel, the patient or by those who witness or hear of such events – anchors a universal grasp of what spirituality is, in two primary ways: (i) experientially, by most basically providing a wondrous restoration of hope that comes with spirit’s healing movement and action; and (ii) ethically, by providing sustained benefit only to those who, through respect for the sacred, balance ego within themselves. On the idea that an understanding of healing power takes us to the heart of spirituality in general, I build on this to explore here what it is about spirituality that makes life so much more “meaningful” for so many people, which I will substantiate through attention to the words and actions of a wicasa wakan.

The article draws attention to the continuing popularity of African traditional healing practices, and asks whether African churches and modern medical programs can continue simply to denounce or to ignore such practices. The need for a further appraisal becomes apparent when it is shown that the purposes of these healing practices fulfill certain functions not met by modern medicine. When a comparison shows that the healing practices recorded in the Old and New Testaments often have more in common with African traditional practices than with modern medicine, the question whether the African Christian community should re-evaluate the traditional healing practices becomes unavoidable.

Healing is an essential aspect of Amazonian mestizo shamanism. Not only is it one of the most commonly quoted motives for Westerners for participating in ayahuasca ceremonies, but most elements of an ayahuasca ceremony are aimed to heal and protect. This article is purely ethnographic, and its purpose is to provide insight into the ways healing is conceived by both ayahuasqueros and Western participants in the context of shamanic tourism in Iquitos, Peru. I show that illness is perceived to have physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions, and healing is a complex process that takes place in and outside of ceremony. I show that a multitude of elements in a ceremony converge to address all three dimensions of illness, one of the most important ones being the element of personal crisis. Often present in healing narratives, the element of crisis becomes the catalyst for positive transformation, including physical, psychological, and spiritual healing. Rather than being seen as a singular event, healing in this context is seen as a process, in which the patient carries the responsibility for their own healing.

This is chapter 1 of Medicine and the Saints:  Science, Islam, and the Colonial Encounter in Morocco, 1877-1956. 
It was selected as the topic of the religion and culture web forum at the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago in 2013 (September).  The comments on the chapter may be found here:
from Shahzad Bashir, Stanford University
https://divinity.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/imce/pdfs/webforum/072013/Bashir%20response%20to%20Amster%20final.pdf
from Neil Kodesh, University of Wisconsin-Madison
http://divinity.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/imce/pdfs/webforum/092013/Kodesh%20Response%20to%20Amster%20final.pdf

John G Lake, founder of the Healing Rooms in Spokane, had 100,000 documented healings within just five years, making Spokane the healthiest city in the nation.  This article analyses John G Lake's lasting impact both in North America and in Southern Africa.

This paper argues that John Alexander Dowie invented a new form of faith healing spectacle in the 1880s that was substantively different to all previous forms of "Divine Healing". In order to construct his new faith healing public performances, Dowie drew from two secular gnostic traditions--Spiritualism and the "Mind Cure" Movement.

HOLY WATERS: RELIGIOUS DEVOTION
AND HEALING PRACTICES IN A BALKAN
CONTEXT
In this article I discuss the veneration of waters and the related healing
practices in interdisciplinary context and in diachronic perspective in
Balkan milieu. I endeavor to delineate the main cultural models which
influence the pattern of contemporary religious culture in one of its
particular aspects: the healing practices with water. Those models are
the religious systems of Antiquity in their Greek-Roman and Thracian
variants; the culture of folklore; and Christian doctrine and practice.
For the purposes of analysis I draw on a broad range of diverse material:
published research, folklore texts, popular religious literature,
an ethnographic film, images, internet sources and personal fieldwork
including observations and interviews. In the final part I also consider
a particular case: the Church of the Annunciation of Mary of the Fish
in the small town of Asenovgrad in Southern Bulgaria. This case gives
me an interesting example of the interweaving of universal and local
in the devotion to a water source and in the ritual practices performed
there. It also gives me grounds to suggest the term crypto-cult to denote
a specific form of cultural interaction observed there. By outlining
and summarising the versatile expressions of water devotion and
healing rituals I point out some characteristic features and tendencies
of these phenomena and argue that despite their specifics, Antiquity
tradition, folklore and Christianity operate with similar attitudes and
patterns.

University of Oxford, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, on 17th-18th June (online and in-person).
This workshop invites participants to unpack the ideas of movement, mobility, and being moved in healing practices. ‘Movement’ in the religious field can be intended as moving into or through religions or practices – whether developing or not commitment — or as converting one’s health condition. It can also be approached in terms of a transnational movement of people and practices, shaping new geographies of spiritual healing. At a phenomenological level, movement can be therapeutic and transformative, by putting processes and bodies into motion, such as being moved by spirits in trance. Whether transnational, transcendent, or transformative, we ask how movement shapes healing and vice-versa.

The event is organized by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie project THETRANCE, the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, and the HEAL Network for the Ethnography of Healing.

Funded by the European Union: This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 895395.
Partner Universities: Sapienza University of Rome, Federal University of Santa Catarina, University of Oxford