An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

The bible does not condemn, forbid or discourage the use of medicines or proper medicalcare. In Lu ‟s Gospel Lu was a doctor before he became an apostle and Paul advisedTimothy to use some wine to for his stomach problems (1Timothy 5. Although this is adiversion from the rest of the chapter according to Brown et al. (1996), it indicates that thephysical health is as important as spiritual and social health. Paul does not suggest thatTimothy‟s illness is caused by a lacf faith; instead Paul suggests that Timothy is seen asa spiritual leader and as a good example. Therefore using faith towards a relief ofsuffering and healing is not only about using prayer as a tool for healing it could be aboutusing other tools such as a variety of medicines, surgery, herbal medicines, complementarytherapies and a good diet. Selected aspects of these methods may assist the body to healitself of the suffering caused by different ailments and for different people. Faith andsuffering are also inextricably linked to illness and disease, matters discussed in the nextsection.6.5 The Difference between Illness and Disease as SufferingThe account of the respondents illustrates the acceptance of this distinction in society. Theacceptance of illness as evidence of a disease licences adopting the sick role. This can beregarded as evidence of real suffering by the sufferer, their family or the wider society.However, often the bio-psycho-social aspect of an illness is determined by the societyaffected. People can be ill without having a disease and people can have a disease withoutbeing ill, although the two are often interlinked. Both facets are culturally determined asoutlined in the health behaviour models reviewed by Kasl and Kolb (1996), andDingwall‟s (1976) illness action model.200