In a book named TOWARDS A THEOLOGY OF HEALTHCARE IN CREATION, it would stand to reason that an event such as the Fall, which is said to have caused all human pain, disease, decay and death, needs to be explored in the light of Scripture. Indeed, for Christians, these creation forces are in effect said to be the underlying reason why healthcare practice exists. For this reason THWAITES contrasts the ancient Hebrew vision of the creation with that of Plato, the Greek philosopher (427-347BC). Plato’s impact on early church thinking caused a division in the Christian mind between the natural/human realm and the spiritual/divine realm – thereby impacting profoundly on the relationship between humanity and God. THWAITES speaks of the ancient Hebrew vision, which Christ and Paul and Isaiah knew. This vision of life, he says, holds the cure to Plato’s dualism. It is from that ‘cure’ that our understanding of the Fall can begin to change; thereby enabling us to see the relationship between God and humans, and creation forces – such as suffering, disease, decay and death – in a new light. It is in this Hebraic light that we are able to begin to fathom the nature and strategic purpose of God’s remedial space design of creation. It is this remedial space design that will enable both healthcare workers and everyday people to make a lot more sense of God’s relationship to human suffering, disease and death. Many healthcare workers, who believe in God, have already experienced the benefits of this Hebraic insight from the Scriptures. THWAITES’ prayer is that many more people will engage with this creation design, in the hope that its designer, God, can become more fully known to humanity.
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