Amanda Porterfield is Robert A. Spivey Professor of Religion at Florida State University. She is the author of The Transformation of American Religion: The Story of a Late-Twentieth-Century Awakening (OUP 2001).
"In these days of medical miracles and double-blind tests of
intercessory prayer, Amanda Porterfield provides a welcome
introduction to the 2,000-year-old history of Christianity and
healing. Ranging from Galilee to Lourdes (and beyond), she
investigates the intriguing world of angels and demons and boldly
explores the biological bases of spiritual healing." -- Ronald L.
Numbers, Hilldale and William Coleman Professor of the History of
Science and Medicine,
Department of Medical History and Bioethics, University of
Wisconsin
"In an era newly attentive to the relationship between religion and
health, this striking analysis of Christianity as a religion of
healing offers insights deeply informed by imaginative research,
breadth of scope, and clarity of argument. Beginning with the texts
of the New Testament and concluding with the healers and hospital
builders of the late twentieth century, Amanda Porterfield provides
a skillful description of the manifold ways that Christians
have
engaged in practices of healing for the past two thousand years.
The book is an eye-opener." -- E. Brooks Holifield, author of
Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans
to
the Civil War
"This wide-ranging survey is unusually even-handed in its treatment
of a difficult and controversial subject. In particular,
Porterfield is entirely persuasive in arguing that healing--as a
multi-faceted response to suffering and evil--has been at the heart
of Christian practice from the time of Jesus to the present. Her
sensitive treatments of the large place of healing in Christian
missions and in the recent world expansion of Christianity are
especially
welcome." -- Mark A. Noll, author of America's God: From Jonathan
Edwards to Abraham Lincoln
"This book represents a singularly important contribution to the
study of the history of Christianity. With sparkling prose,
Porterfield shows that Christianity, from the beginning to the
present, and in all parts of the world, has concerned itself with
the healing of broken bodies. The scope of the story Porterfield
tells, and the richness of the documents she consults, establish a
standard of excellence for all future studies of the
subject."--Grant A.
Wacker, author of Heaven Below: Early Pentecostals and American
Culture
"Porterfield proves that healing is a central theme in Christian
history, and is a fascinating lens through which to examine the
Christian faith. Indeed, she has produced not just a history of
healing in Christianity, but a history of Christianity
itself."--Publishers Weekly
"Porterfield weaves her narrative with skill and dexterity... A
complicated, sometimes chaotic, but consistently captivating
configuration of Christian history -- a vibrant and compelling
picture that offers a distinctive perspective on how and why
Christianity has flourished in diverse cultural, social, and
historical settings." --ooks & Culture
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