Dr. Philip Tumulty, a respected elder professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins, told us medical students, “Treat the patient, not the disease.” As an expert clinician, he wanted us to grasp the “big picture” of the whole patient, not get lost in the case details. He was one of many voices calling me to treat the whole patient. As modern medical men and women, we strive to care for body, mind, and spirit. But our efforts do not always go well.
Many modern voices decry the increasing depersonalization of medical care. Too often, patient care is focused on the part rather than the whole. Some years ago, my father, for example, was seen by a urologist for a suspicious lab test. After enduring a long and complicated explanation of what the doctor wanted to do, my Dad managed to squeeze in, “Do I get a vote?” Well-meaning clinicians can lose the patient for the disease. Medical specialization and increasing business focus only intensify our dilemma.
When we treat patients as parts rather than whole, we make them less human than they are. We are tempted to act as technicians doing a job rather than professionals following a call. In the process, we, too, become less human.
How might we restore humanity to patient care?
How can we, as Christian healthcare professionals, respond to this dilemma? How might we help restore the sense of sacredness by caring for the whole patient? How do we who follow Jesus apply His admonition: “I was sick, and you visited me…?” (Matthew 25:36). A good place to start is by exploring the question, “What does it mean to be human?”
As clinicians, we have studied human beings’ parts since medical or nursing school began. But how much do we understand the whole? The Oxford English Dictionary says that wholeness is “the quality or state of being undivided, or of having all parts or elements properly combined or connected; unity, completeness.” We can’t do that without knowing what a person is meant to be.
What do you understand about the connection and unity of the parts? Do you talk about these things with friends? Would this be a good topic for a Bible study group? The Christian response to this question starts with God and creation. Human beings did not create themselves; the Bible teaches us that in the beginning, God created us in His image, according to His likeness. We were not created out of purposeless chaos, as material bodies without meaning, or for ourselves alone. We do not exist as independent creatures. We were created to live under God for His purposes and the sake of others and the rest of creation.
How do we arrive at a Christian understanding of humanity?
The creation story in Genesis was not written to tell us how God made us but why. A deep dive into those chapters is designed to introduce us to the big-picture questions that we must all answer: Why am I here? What’s the problem? And what is God’s answer?
Like introductory courses in anatomy, physiology, and pathology, the opening pages of the Bible introduce us to the basics of man in relation to God and creation. They provide the meaning that gives context to anatomy, physiology, and pathology. Being made in God’s image means we are meant to reflect God in every dimension of our humanity—body and soul. We don’t just reflect God by our minds but by the whole, connected person. Whole-person care must begin there.
Without believing who we are as human beings, we cannot go on to understand the place of sickness, healing, and medical care. Caring for the whole person starts with understanding our identity as whole people – and that identity is most clearly found in God. We know we can’t reduce human beings to chemistry and biology with no connection to purpose or meaning. At an appropriate time or place, would you be willing to listen to what a patient’s sickness means to them? This would take grace and humility, since this sort of conversation moves beyond biology to personhood.
The Seoul Statement of the Lausanne movement identifies this question as one of the most important questions for our modern age. Theologians from around the globe said it this way: “The Christian doctrine of the human person is critically important. How we answer this question has profound implications for our witness in the world and our life in the church. It goes to the very heart of the great upheavals in the world with regard to issues such as identity, human sexuality, and the implications of advancing technologies.” (Seoul Statement section IV.)
Can we, as Christians, challenge the prevailing secular view of man?
Does a Christian understanding of man have a place in modern secular society? There is a prevailing view that “secular” healthcare cannot tolerate debate. It is commonly felt that challenging the assumptions of modern medicine is not legitimate, especially when it comes to addressing the most critical questions we all have: Who am I? Why am I here? What’s gone wrong with humanity? What is our hope? Many feel that Christian teaching has no more place.
Perhaps you have encountered resistance as you have attempted to move beyond a strict disease model to a whole-person model of care. Or perhaps you have been pleasantly surprised. Who can you share your experiences with?
We will likely encounter resistance when we suggest that persons have value because they are created for a purpose. Yet, how else can we explain wholeness? Chemistry and biology by themselves are not a sufficient basis for wholeness. They cannot provide meaning or give a sufficient understanding of the non-material parts of human beings. Professor Tyler VanderWeele says that “wholeness is to be understood as a thing being as it is meant to be.” (A Theology of Health: Wholeness and Human Flourishing). What is a human being “meant to be”? The Bible gives us a true and authoritative word, but we must study it carefully lest we inadvertently conclude it divides body and soul. We must share this word with patients and colleagues in healthcare.
We don’t need to monopolize healthcare or create separate “Christian” healthcare. But I insist we should and must have a voice in the conversation. The gospel helps us think accurately about the meaning of being human. This kind of dialogue is good for our patients and good for the practice of medicine.
Jesus tells us as His followers that we are to be “in” the world but not “of” the world. That means we must participate, engage, and debate — but with love and grace. We are not to manipulate or operate by power and control. The medical profession is in the public domain, and in democratic or free societies, every voice (religion, worldview) gets a chance to speak. The gospel is powerful enough to change others voluntarily. It is true enough that it must be part of the debate. Our role is to witness to it well. It is the gospel that is the power of God for salvation, not our cleverness or success.
Jesus doesn’t use the vocabulary of “public domain.” In speaking about the Kingdom of God (which encompasses the whole world, not just the church), he uses the metaphor of a wheat field. The wheat grows alongside weeds, sharing the same soil, water, and sunshine. He tells his disciples not to try to cut down the weeds prematurely lest they damage a good harvest. God allows them to grow together for His purposes. He is in control of the harvest for the sake of blessing the world. Like false views of what it means to be human, the weeds are good for nothing but to be thrown out at the end of the age. Meanwhile, we must sow the good seed of God’s word. That starts with Genesis and the question of what it means to be human.
Do you see this as part of your calling?
Our hope as human beings who serve others through medicine
For all the wonders of modern medicine, we are not just bodies; we are not machines. As bodies made in His image, we are responsible for reflecting God’s character to those around us, including patients, staff, and colleagues. We hope that the glory of Jesus Christ will shine through.
Standing by silently does not allow us to fully reflect Christ. Jesus commanded His disciples to preach and heal. In the same way, our deeds need words to explain them. What it means to be human matters, and should make a difference to our actions and words. Darwin’s explanation of human life is just not enough.
Our identity as human beings turns on the questions of God’s good creation, our sinful rebellion, and the need for restoration, which Jesus provides. We should ask ourselves and our medical colleagues, “What does it mean to be a human person?”. It is a profoundly practical and important question for clinicians who care for men and women every day. An accurate response to this question will help us better care for our patients and even shape the practice of the medical profession for others.
What are you learning about being human, and how are you communicating it to others?
Leave a Reply