Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Christianity

  • Is healthcare a right?

    Ronald PiesBoston, Massachusetts, United States Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Introduction In this paper, I examine the question of whether healthcare is regarded as a “basic human right” in the three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Though there are significant…

  • Death as it should be

    Anthony PapagiannisThessaloniki, Greece I had never talked with my father about his death. Even though he had had numerous and regular transactions with medicine since my penultimate year in medical school, he never touched this particular subject and I would not be the one to bring it up. Despite my training and professional involvement with…

  • Hope, health and healing on the Tiber

    Kathleen TaylorMary McDermottChicago, Illinois, United States Isola Tiberina is a fascinating yet frequently overlooked island in the heart of the Eternal City. It includes ancient Roman ruins, a historic church, and a large major hospital. Viewed from above, Isola Tiberina has the shape of a ship with two bridges serving as oars connecting to the…

  • What God gives: Prayers from Africa

    Marcia Whitney-SchenckChicago, Illinois, United States Rev. David Ambola from Mbingo, Cameroon, has remarked that Africans are incurably religious. Indeed, for many in Africa, religion permeates every aspect of their lives, from Christian messages on the rear windows of taxis to hand-crafted signs in hospital waiting rooms. Hand surgeon Dr. Robert Schenck and his wife, photographer…

  • Prayers from Africa

    Marcia Whitney-SchenckChicago, Illinois, United States Rev. David Ambola from Mbingo, Cameroon, has remarked that Africans are incurably religious. Indeed, for many in Africa, religion permeates every aspect of their lives, from Christian messages on the rear windows of taxis to hand-crafted signs in hospital waiting rooms. Hand surgeon Dr. Robert Schenck and his wife, photographer…

  • A pilgrim’s poems from the heart

    Joan Callahan I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother, school nurse, colleague, friend and neighbor. My vocation is healing in all dimensions of my life. I care for spirit as well as bodies, knowing that spirit guides and informs how we care for ourselves. Spirit is what guides my path, which is why my spirit…

  • William Alcott and the cultural meaning of medical knowledge in the nineteenth century

    Catherine MasChicago, Illinois, USA William Alcott (1798–1859) thought of himself as a medical missionary. He devoted most of his life’s work to spreading the nascent knowledge of anatomy and physiology infused with the message of Christian fulfillment. As a reformer and author of over 100 books, he wrote much on the subject of health, and…