In: Nursing
Describe the biblical basis for the involvement of Christians in addressing health issues outside the boundaries of their own country.
The first recorded history of nursing begins with Biblical women who cared for the sick and injured.For instance ,Phoebe mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans is the first deaconess and visiting nurse.Fabiola,a Roman woman is credited with influencing and paying for the construction of first free hospital in Rome.In 1844, an American doctor visited Florence Nightingale's family. At that time she asked the doctor whether it is appropriate for her to enter nursing field.The reply from the doctor has become a classic quotation ,in which he told Nightingale that choose your path ,God be with you.Healing ministry is always related to Christianity.One of the many ministries done by Christ when he lived as a human on this earth was to heal the sick.A Christian's life should be faithful to the Bible and centered around Jesus Christ. After resurrection, Jesus Christ gave his disciples the Great commission. Jesus said - ''Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations; these signs will follow those who believe me: In my name they will cast out demons, they will lay hand on the sick and they will recover.''This forms the Biblical basis of healing ministry across nations.Both before and after the reformation, Catholics and Protestants were involved in healing ministries across boundaries. It is the medical missionaries who took effort to spread modern medicine across the world.