Physician as Priest
Kristin Collier, MD, FACP, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, and Director of the University of Michigan Medical School Program on Health, Spirituality and Religion
Is the understanding of the priestly role with respect to sickness and health in the Judeo-Christian faith completely lost within the modern healthcare encounter? In what way do physicians today bear responsibilities similar in function to the priestly duties practiced of old? These are two questions I wish to explore in this essay as we look at ancient Israel’s sacred priesthood and compare it to the role of physicians today.
Ancient Israel’s priests practiced medicine under the covenant which the Lord God made with Israel when he delivered them from bondage in Egypt through the Red Sea. Under this covenant, the Lord promised to protect and bless the Israelites with health and “shalom” if they obeyed his voice, but if they did not obey him, the Lord threatened to curse them with sickness and strife. When afflicted by sickness under the covenant, the people of Israel sought healing from the priests. Thus, the science of medicine practiced by Israel saw sickness and health exclusively in relation to the Lord God. Also, in this framework, priests acted as mediators between the Lord and Israel working to restore peace and health to the community.
Physicians today practice medicine under a very different paradigm than the priests of ancient Israel, with the emphasis almost exclusively placed on biochemistry. But biochemistry does not answer the greater questions of why and how in relation to sickness and disease as God is excluded from the purview. Physicians today still face the larger theological questions in the face of patient illness and death, but what framework does the secularly trained physician use to understand disease and death theologically?
The biblical covenant perspective, which begins with ancient Israel and flows through to Christianity, provides a rich theological framework for understanding health and sickness, life and death, seeing the priest as a type of physician under God.
Ancient Israel’s priests practiced medicine under the covenant which the Lord God made with Israel when he delivered them from bondage in Egypt through the Red Sea. Under this covenant, the Lord promised to protect and bless the Israelites with health and “shalom” if they obeyed his voice, but if they did not obey him, the Lord threatened to curse them with sickness and strife. When afflicted by sickness under the covenant, the people of Israel sought healing from the priests. Thus, the science of medicine practiced by Israel saw sickness and health exclusively in relation to the Lord God. Also, in this framework, priests acted as mediators between the Lord and Israel working to restore peace and health to the community.
Physicians today practice medicine under a very different paradigm than the priests of ancient Israel, with the emphasis almost exclusively placed on biochemistry. But biochemistry does not answer the greater questions of why and how in relation to sickness and disease as God is excluded from the purview. Physicians today still face the larger theological questions in the face of patient illness and death, but what framework does the secularly trained physician use to understand disease and death theologically?
The biblical covenant perspective, which begins with ancient Israel and flows through to Christianity, provides a rich theological framework for understanding health and sickness, life and death, seeing the priest as a type of physician under God.