Laurel Sister Jane Dominic
Department of Theology, University of Dallas, Irving, Texas.
Congregation of Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Nashville, Tennessee.
Proc (Bayl Univ Med Cent). 2018 Feb 1;31(1):126-131. doi: 10.1080/08998280.2017.1400318. eCollection 2018 Jan.
This brief survey examines the concept of medicine as a sacred vocation by examining its origins, manifestations, and development in history. In the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras, the practice of medicine was considered a sacred vocation because, like the practice of religion, it sought to preserve life. Moreover, it involved a specialized knowledge and the power of healing, both of which were associated with the sacred and the divine. In Classical Antiquity, the Hippocratic innovations in medicine used human reason and creativity to study the nature of disease. Men vowed to protect the sanctity of their profession and to serve their patients in accord with the highest ethical standards. From the Middle Ages to the contemporary period, Christianity offered the Western world another paradigm in which service of neighbors was equated with service of God. These historical traditions begin the conversation of medicine as a sacred vocation.
本简要概述通过审视医学作为一种神圣职业的起源、表现形式及其在历史中的发展来考察这一概念。在旧石器时代和新石器时代，医学实践被视为一种神圣职业，因为它与宗教实践一样，旨在保护生命。此外，它涉及专业知识和治愈能力，这两者都与神圣和神性相关联。在古典古代，医学中的希波克拉底创新运用人类理性和创造力来研究疾病的本质。人们发誓要维护其职业的神圣性，并按照最高的道德标准为患者服务。从中世纪到当代，基督教为西方世界提供了另一种范式，在这种范式中，为邻舍服务等同于侍奉上帝。这些历史传统开启了关于医学作为一种神圣职业的讨论。
