Spiritual Perspective toward Healthcare of Catholic and Buddhist

Healthcare Provision and Faith Diversity
Name:
Instructor:
Institution:
Date:
Healthcare is one of the greatest and most important professions in the world. It helps save lives of people, and hence contributes towards human survival. There is however a varying amount of trust and ethical permission of some forms of treatment based on the religions or faiths of societies across the world. The set of faith and beliefs that make up religion, or basically religion itself, plays quite a vital role in healthcare. It is worth noting that there are even some individuals, striding both the patients and medical practitioners, who have a steadfast belief that the whole process of healing is of divine nature. They believe that it is a work of a Supreme Being.
Such situations have brought about scenarios whereby individuals go for treatment but at the back of their mind, belive the actual curing or healing process is the work of a supernatural being. Others even go as far as avoiding hospitals altogether, with the belief that they will be healed by a supernatural power. This paper is to show how Christianity and Buddhism affects health care and its provision to the people who follow that particular religion. It will give a synthesis and analysis of the various situations that arise based on certain religions, and how medical practitioners can adjust to deliver their best under such circumstances.
Christianity
The philosophies of Christianity and Buddhism towards healthcare are hinged upon personal and spiritual wellbeing. Wellbeing not only concerns the healing and recovery process of the patient, but also the actual care given to them by other people. Under the Christian perspective, man was created in the image of God, and therefore, everything that surrounds him is a work of God (Genesis 1:27). Therefore, the healing process becomes a combination of both physical and spiritual processes. God has the absolute power over the wellbeing of a person; while on the other hand, a person’s faith determines his healing. Jesus himself stressed upon the importance of faith in the healing process. He even noted that it is faith that healed people.
There are various narratives within the bible about the healing works of Jesus. So many people were healed by Jesus, that to some extent, it is impossible to exactly specify the number (Luke 4:40). If the evangelism of Jesus is to be taken accordingly, then Christians have the obligation to not only take the sick for treatment in hospitals, but also care for them by cleaning them, providing food ,and praying for them as well. This is exactly the same thing that healthcare givers are obliged to do under the Christian perspective. Caring for the needy and sick in the society is one of the cornerstones of the Christian philosophy.
The Christian Spiritual Perspective on Healing
In the Christian perspective the healing of a person only comes from God and he created things in this world that he uses in healing us. As initially noted, Christianity placed God at the center of the entire healing process. While man was created in God’s image and likeness, it is not just from the physical perspective of it. It is a combination of both the physical and spiritual aspects. According to Christianity there is no disease that ca not be healed. They believe when you have communion with God, He helps you through it ("The Spiritual Component of Healing", 2019). According to Elder (2000), Jesus exemplified the union of the physical and spiritual by coming as an incarnate in the human body, provided spiritual guidance to the people, healed their physical bodies, suffered physically, but then rose and left the people with the spiritual gift. His disciples were left filled with the spiritual aspect once He left, so that they could continue with His mission for the world (Elder, 2000). At the end of time also, the physical human bodies will then be transformed into immortal spiritual ones.
There is clearly a close interconnection and relation between the physical and spiritual aspects. When it comes to healthcare and wellbeing, this is what is called the principle of multipurpose healing. Christians hold this so dear, and that is why they will always call upon a supernatural being to intervene during the healing and recovery process, so that the patient may recover both physically and spiritually. Many Christians draw a line in the abortion of an unborn child.
The Catholic Perspective
As one of the branches of Christianity, the Catholic Church also has a few philosophies that relate to healthcare in both the physical and spiritual aspects. According to Catholicism, the state of being sick is usually taken as an intermediate stage that strikes a delicate balance between the spirituality and physicality. It is why a patient will be given blessings and a sacrament while just about to go for surgery, or during the sickness. This is called the sacrament of the sick, and is usually administered by the priest (Ehman, 2012). The relevance of this is that there is a fundamental Catholic Christian belief in the aspect of life after death, or eternal life.
The Catholic Church just like the Jewish beliefs, emphasize that a patient, whichever the stage of his illness, should not be left alone. The duty and importance of care should be throughout the illness period, whether the individual will recover or not (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2015). This is quite relevant to the caregivers, especially those administering palliative care. It also goes back to the general Christian philosophy of caring for the needy. A patient is as needy as any of those people who might be needy in the society, outside the clinical of hospital setup. As a result, it will be a Christian thing to do, to accord them this care. Catholics draw a line in the birthing controls used.
Recommendations for Health Care Providers
For Christian patients, they always anticipate a visit from their spiritual leader such as pastor or priest while in hospital. This is usually due to their belief that such would help them experience quick recovery from their ailment. As a healthcare provider, it is therefore one’s duty to ensure and necessitate such meetings or visits. For the entire duration that the patient will be in their facilities, it is the duty of these healthcare providers to ensure that the patient is nourished both physically and spiritually. Young and Koopsen...