(For those who've asked, and who have been kind enough to offer prayers and good wishes, I'm feeling much better today, and I think the shingles danger has passed. The expected rash hasn't materialized, and the painful areas on my abdomen are almost completely back to normal today.)
Did you know that there is an Orthodox Christian in Bristol (UK) who is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine? Henry McGrath , the Orthodox Christian Chinese herbalist, says that staying healthy, in the Taoist view, depends basically on living by these principles:
• eating & drink in moderation; • keeping regular hours, including eating; • resting properly (including the mind), especially in winter; • not being ruled by our emotions; • living a virtuous, humble life.
It's pretty easy to see how these commonsense rules line up with an observant Orthodox life. In this short essay, Henry discusses some differences between the Western way of thinking about the soul, and the traditional Chinese way -- and implications that has for using TCM in the West. If you can only read one thing from Henry's website today, though, be sure to read this essay, "Orthodox Christianity and Chinese Medicine," which I was thrilled to discover, as that's what I'm going to spend my summer studying. Here's an excerpt:
Western science has rested on a fundamentally materialist paradigm since at least around the sixteenth century (see, for example, Sherrard or Sheldrake). It is rooted in a "dualist" view of the universe in which physical matter is studied, and therefore conceived as, in a separate compartment from the world of the spirit. In turn, Western medicine rests on this materialist paradigm. The human person is analysed, and therefore treated, purely in terms of its physical components. Consequently, western medicine tends to ignore the role of the spirit in health and illness. It has lost sight of what is common knowledge in most other cultures, that the state of the spirit is of fundamental importance in state of health.From the point of view of Christian theology, this separation of the human being into "spirit" and "physical body" can be seen as a manifestation of the Fall . Following the expulsion of Adam and Eve from "Paradise", the human being is fragmented. The human spirit has become alienated from God, and is consequently incomplete, unwhole, and dis-integrated. We are oriented mainly towards the physical world, and although our spirit is still alive, it is obscured beneath the "earth" . The constant bombardment of impressions from the physical world, through our senses, drowns out the quiet voice of the spirit. The spirit is that part of us which seeks God, so through the Fall we have turned away from God, towards the material world.
So how can we relate Chinese medicine relate to this Christian paradigm? Chinese medicine underwent no scientific revolution, as Western medicine did. As a result, it has retained a much more integrated view of the human being than has Western medicine. Crucially, it retains an understanding of the human being as an integrated entity of both spirit and matter, of mind (in the highest sense of the word) and body. It shows in great detail how problems in the spirit may become problems in the body, and vice versa. Illness may arise at the level of the spirit, and become physical. Or illness may arise at the physical level, and become illness of the spirit.
As the Christian Bible looks back to a state of paradise before the Fall, one key Chinese medical text (the Yellow Emperor's Classic, from around 200 BC) harks back to a time when humankind lived in a more paradisical state: "Previously, people led a calm and honest existence, detached from undue desire and ambition... because they lived simply, these individuals knew contentment... they had compassion for others and were helpful and honest... they remained unshakeable and unswayed by temptations" (p2). Nowadays, however, people seek "emotional excitement and momentary pleasures, people disregard the natural rhythm and order of the universe" (p1). This has led to most people suffering illness, and life expectancy falling from around one hundred to around fifty years.
What has changed is that humankind no longer lives in accordance with the Tao. Our physical existence does not follow the true calling of our spirit to follow the Tao. However, unlike Western medicine, Chinese medicine at least retains a vision of how one can strive towards a reintegration of spirit and body. More importantly, perhaps, it retains a medical method to try and bring body and spirit back into harmony.
Chinese medicine remains rooted in a paradigm that incorporates the spirit, whereas western medicine remains rooted in a paradigm that strives to exclude it.
Read the whole thing here. The challenge is not to follow an "either/or" false choice between Chinese and Western medicine, but to figure out how to put together a "both/and" model that's workable and scientifically sound (by which I mean not that it has to be entirely justified in scientific terms, which is not going to be possible when dealing with the soul, but that it is grounded as much as possible in valid science).
Incidentally, I've made contact by phone with Henry this week, and he tells me he's shopping around with American publishers a manuscript based on his practice and findings. Any publishers interested in having a look at it, please contact me and I'll put you in touch with Henry.
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people may like to read a letter I sent to the Catholic Herald here in the UK last year on this:
"I read with great interest the article in the Catholic Herald (May 23, page 2) on Fr Jeremy Davies’ book about exorcism. However, as an Orthodox Christian and an acupuncturist I was most concerned to read the advice to “beware of any… alternative therapy with its roots in eastern religions (eg acupuncture)”. Acupuncture can be used by people of all religious faiths and none, as communist China has shown. I wonder if Fr Jeremy has talked to any Chinese Christians about his views? If he did, he would doubtless find them shocked to hear him lumping their orthodox medicine into a book about exorcism. I can assure him that countless Chinese Christians both apply and receive acupuncture without the need to be wary of satanic influence. Many Chinese may find his views somewhat colonialist: given our interventions in Chinese history (eg the opium wars), we have little room to lecture the Chinese on Christian morality and demonic influence.
In fact, one of the key innovations of Chinese medicine around 500 – 400 BC was its rejection of the supernatural causes of illness in favour of the natural causes, such as climate, diet and emotions. This innovation paralleled similar developments in contemporary Greek medicine. If one has to beware of acupuncture, one should similarly beware of orthodox western medicine, because it has its roots in Greek paganism. Worse, modern medicine has put down its roots firmly in the materialist atheist camp. Recent developments in cloning and IVF illustrate the metaphysical underpinnings of orthodox medicine: a total disregard for the sanctity of human life. I assume that whenever Fr Jeremy visits his doctor or dentist, he is very wary of their metaphysical underpinnings."
As appealing as some of these traditional healing methods sounds, it seems like a lot of it is just the power of suggestion. I mean, toothpicks work just as well as needles with acupuncture.
This is an elementary mistake. Needles aren't the key to acupuncture; it's stimulating those particular points on the body. Acupressure works like this too. I know people -- I'm married to one -- who were very skeptical, even hostile, to acupuncture, but who found real physical relief from it. This would clearly imply that belief in it is not a requirement for its efficacy.
Acupuncture requires no belief in the supernatural, and makes no appeal to the gods, or to God, to effect healing (though clearly all Christians -- including Christian acupuncturists -- recognize that all healing comes from God). Reiki is not the same thing as acupuncture, and was in fact invented/discovered/developed in the 1920s by a Japanese.
Hey Cabbage--I'm not complaining about science. I'm complaining about the fact that Western medicine makes claims at times that are not empirically grounded. The so-called "anecdotes" that I cited (breastfeeding, HRT, sunlight)were recommendations widely disseminated by the scientific establishment based on little evidence. And, it just isn't true that medical doctors make claims only if there is "rigorous evidence." I was personally diagnosed as infertile, and told I had virtually no chance of getting pregnant. It turns out that it is true that I had very little chance of getting pregnant with IVF (unless I used donor eggs), but my condition has really not been studied outside of the IVF context. So, one healthy baby and another baby on the way later, I am a bit skeptical. This is particularly true when a profit motive is involved. (In my case, the recommended treatment of IVF with a donor egg would cost $20k per try. Go figure.)
If you want to find a good acupuncturist, check with a local Korean Presbyterian Church - there are probably several members there who either receive treatment and can recommend someone, or who are themselves trained to practice.
Interesting. How is it that you are a chinese orthodox medic with an english name living in UK?
Interesting points of view. I noticed myself a lot of similarities and between orthodox and chinese culture. I remember that St. Paul the Apostle says somewere that the pagans who don't know God's law do the things comprised in that law "by nature" ( intuitively .)
I must say that I don't view theese simylarities as a convenient ground for New Age-kind of mixing of culture and spirituality nor for wrongfull "ecumenism". I am totally against those. I see them simply as a usefull and God-given point of start in chinese people's journey to Christ. Just as it was the case with monotheist philosophycal traditions in ancient Greece ( Plato ).
I am an orthodox christian from Romania and quite interested in chinese culture. Mostly in painting, caligraphy ( I paint and restore icons for a living myself. )
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