12 books found
In the early 1920s, English-Canadians were captivated by the urban campaigns of faith healing evangelists. Crowds squeezed into local arenas to witness the afflicted, "slain in the spirit," casting away braces and crutches. Professional faith healers, although denounced by critics as promoting mass hypnotism, gained notoriety and followers in their call for people to choose "the Lord for the Body." In his innovative work, James Opp explores the cultural practice of Protestant faith healing in Canada from its Victorian roots as an informal network of women sharing testimonies to its culmination in the organized professional campaigns of the twentieth century. Framing the phenomenon of divine healing as a history of the body, Opp provides a unique window onto the intersection of religion and medicine. From newspaper accounts to criminal proceedings,The Lord for the Bodytraces the reactions of ministers, doctors, and state authorities who denounced faith healing as dangerous to spiritual and physical health. Undaunted by such attacks, the faithful continued to seek healing through prayer, a practice that operated as a powerful devotional observance and a point of resistance to modern medicine.
by Sir James Henry Ramsay
1898
by James Robinson
2013 · Wipf and Stock Publishers
In the present volume, James Robinson shows how the Holiness movement contributed to the rise of Pentecostalism, with emphasis on those sectors that practiced divine healing. Although other scholars have undertaken to explore this story, Robinson's treatment is by far the most thorough examination to date. He draws productively on the burgeoning secondary literatures on Pentecostalism and healing, and brings to light frequently overlooked, yet revealing primary sources. The events narrated are fascinating in their own right, and are important to the histories of Pentecostalism and healing for how they clarify the processes by which divine healing was pursued, debated, and often disparaged. The text also contributes to larger medical and social histories, offering tantalizing glimpses of the roots of some of today's most popular and contested medical and religious responses to sickness and health.