Support the Library
Help the Library by contributing now—online or by mail.
Faith in the Great Physician: Suffering and Divine Healing in American Culture, 1860-1900
The Mary Baker Eddy Library welcomed Tufts University Professor Heather D. Curtis on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, in the Hall of Ideas®, to discuss her recently published book, Faith in the Great Physician: Suffering and Divine Healing in American Culture, 1860-1900. In this work, Professor Curtis examines the history of divine healing, an evangelical movement of the nineteenth century with strong roots in Boston which, like Christian Science, challenged longstanding perspectives on the role of suffering in Christian practice.
A former fellow of The Mary Baker Eddy Library, Professor Curtis commented upon the intersecting histories of “divine healing” and Christian Science, and how her fellowship in the summer of 2005 contributed to this book and to other research projects in her academic specialty “Religion, Health, and Healing.” About her book, Curtis writes: “...both divine healing and Christian Science—rival movements that constantly sought to distinguish themselves from each other and other competitors—shared many common themes and concerns. In particular, leaders in these two movements conceived of healing as evidence against scientific materialism, skepticism, and naturalism.”
For this work, Professor Curtis received the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize from the American Society of Church History for 2007.
“Heather Curtis has done both the historical guild and the church a great favor in so elegantly narrating the history of a movement that challenged longstanding assumptions about the spiritual utility of corporal pain—and, in so doing, remapped our imaginations and transformed our understanding of suffering.”—Lauren F. Winner, Books and Culture: A Christian Review
See below for an audio recording of the discussion.
Audio Download - Windows Media
Audio Download - RealPlayer
Audio Download – QuickTime
