| The Past Shapes the Present | | | | soul gave life to the body but was never united with it. |
| The Early Christian Church was a healing church but | | | | Another Greek influence on early church thought was |
| by the time of St. Augustine of Hippo in the fourth and | | | | the philosophy of Gnosticism. The Gnostics held that |
| fifth centuries, there were fewer accounts of | | | | the body was irrelevant to the all-important soul. The |
| miraculous healings from the various Christian | | | | soul was trapped in the grosser body. The soul lives |
| communities. Augustine expressed doubt that much | | | | on while the body goes into the earth. For the |
| healing still occurred in the church. Later he changed his | | | | Gnostics, the role of healing was unnecessary. This |
| mind when a young man and his twin sister were both | | | | Gnostic point of view devalued the body and had a |
| healed of epilepsy through the power of prayer and | | | | disastrous effect on healing ministry in the church. |
| the laying-on of hands. Eventually Augustine was led to | | | | Gnostic ascetic practices inflicted extreme punishment |
| retract his earlier writings but most people never heard | | | | on the body, denying our very salvation accomplished |
| about his retractions. | | | | by Jesus. |
| Augustine's early writings have formed much of the | | | | The Gospels Honor Both Soul and Body and Call for |
| basis of church doctrine to this very day. He taught | | | | Healing |
| that God sent affliction not so much as punishment-as | | | | From this it is easy to see how we went astray in our |
| the Jewish people at that time believed-but rather to | | | | interpretation of the Scriptures. The Gospels honor |
| purify the souls of men and women. Physical suffering | | | | both the soul and the body otherwise Jesus would |
| was accepted as necessary to the attainment of | | | | never have reached out to heal physical and mental |
| spiritual perfection. Augustine's beliefs were greatly | | | | illnesses. What is needed in our world is a restoring of |
| shaped by Greek philosophy, particularly by the works | | | | the value of healing in our various Christian churches. |
| of Plotinus. Greek thought offered a plausible | | | | Healing is not only for our sick souls, but for our bodies |
| understanding of body and spirit. Plotinus believed that | | | | as well. A Healing Touch Spiritual Ministry in a church |
| humans are on a path toward "perfection," which will | | | | does just that-it restores prayer, hands-on healing and |
| be reached when our souls achieve independence | | | | anointing to its rightful place among church ministries. |
| from our bodies. | | | | Churches of all denominations are re-discovering their |
| God could be known through the intellect, and the most | | | | call to healing work through this educational process. |
| important part of human beings was their soul. The | | | | |