Review by Choice Review
Filling a lacuna in the literature on the history of medicine and religion, Klassen (Univ. of Toronto), author of Blessed Events: Religion and Home Birth in America (2001), explores the ways that liberal Canadian Protestants used theology to build or destroy bridges between religion and medicine. The book weaves together the stories of several movements across the 20th century, adding to the book's richness. It begins with liberal theological anthropologies of the spiritual body. Building on those understandings, it moves first to how Protestant missionaries linked health improvements among those they served with conversions to Christianity. Then it explores Protestant experimentalists and their uses of "radio energy." Moving into the later part of the century, Klassen tells the story of an Episcopal priest in Toronto who sought to heal through charismatic means. Finally, she looks at ways the Canadian churches used metaphors of healing to describe a desire for better relationships with Canada's First Nation peoples. Those interested in a historical perspective on the relationships between religion and the social sciences will find this book a revealing look at "liberal" Christianity's relationships with science and medicine. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students through professionals/practitioners. A. W. Klink Duke University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
