Epperly, Bruce Gordon. Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a new journey of spirit, mind, and body. Mystic, Conn: Twenty-Third Publications, 1997

Meakes, Elizabeth

English

Wilfrid Laurier University

ConsensusVolume 25Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care andCounsellingArticle 305-1-1999Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a newjourney of spirit, mind, and bodyElizabeth MeakesFollow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensusThis Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by anauthorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.Recommended CitationMeakes, Elizabeth (1999) "Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a new journey of spirit, mind, and body," Consensus: Vol. 25 :Iss. 1 , Article 30.Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/30Book Reviews 149versions of the Lord’s Prayer can be “retroverted” to produce Aramaicversions which have both pleasing meter and rhyme clearly (?) suggestingthat they must, therefore, be authentic.Beasley-Murray does provide some high quality philology. Althoughpeppered with his common sense imaginings, his descriptions of the first-century Sitzim Leben are helpful. However, much of this material could belocated in any number of excellent commentaries. Beasley-Murray shouldbe affirmed, too, for recalling Martin Dibelius’ conviction that the root sourceof all the gospels is the preaching of the apostles and their students. Whata shame that a book nominally about preaching makes no effort to suggesthow exegetical insights might be developed in actual sermons.Henry LangknechtEmmanuel CollegeSpirituality and Health: A New Journey of Spirit, Mind and BodyBruce G. EpperlyMystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1997126 pages, $9.95 GS SoftcoverThe popular press is full of articles on spirituality and health. Holisticmedicine, alternative medicines, and multi-understandings of spiritualityhave been some of the prime causes for this interest. Bruce Epperly seeksin his book “to provide a Christian vision of health and wholeness forcontemporary persons” (5). He succeeds partly in this ambitious goal.Epperly is an ordained minister in the Church of Christ, has a doctorate fromClaremont Graduate School in California and is adjunct professor oftheology and community medicine at Georgetown University.Epperly believes that the Christian notion of health is the integration ofbody, mind, and spirit. Drawing on biblical texts, he argues that Jesus healedeveryone in some form or another. He also argues that prayer, a healthy diet,exercise, spiritual healing, alternative medicines are aids to health. Hemaintains that spirituality and health affect each other. Just as one’sspirituality can help one’s health so one’s health can also influence one’sspirit. Epperly is careful to note that spirituality does not determine health.There are many persons who are sick with chronic illness whose spiritualityhas not cured their physical body.This book is easy to read, cites some relevant medical and theologicalstudies in terms of spirituality and health, and offers some concrete helps in150 Consensusterms of prayer, diet and lifestyle. Epperly uses incidents from his ownpersonal life to show the relationship between spirituality and health. Thebook fails to mention that there are other notions of health and spiritualityboth in the biblical record and the tradition of Christianity. Also, the bookdoes not address one of the major problems in this relationship betweenspirituality and health. Medical science seeks to find in spirituality animportant variable that it can manipulate for better health. Spirituality,however, is based on an encounter with the living Spirit of God that KarlRahner describes as “Uncontrollable” and “Incomprehensible”. The Spirit ofGod is not a variable that can be controlled for better health. Right methodsof prayer and meditation, proper diet and lifestyle do not necessarily producebetter health. Despite these shortcomings, we recommend this book forthose beginning in this area.Elizabeth MeakesThomas St. James O’ConnorWaterloo, OntarioStorytelling the Word: Homilies and How to Write ThemWilliam J. BauschMystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1996287 pagesWorld of Stories for Preachers and TeachersWilliam J. BauschMystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1998516 pagesFather William J. Bausch, a Roman Catholic priest serving in the dioceseof Trenton, New Jersey, observes that preachers are not very effective andcongregations are, by and large, made up of sleeping seniors. He isconvinced that story sermons will rouse the sleepers and rally the strayed.“There are other effective ways of preaching, from the expository to theexhortatory, from the deeply scriptural to the meditative, from the inductiveto the phenomenological. Still, this book focuses on just one approach...theway of the story... 1 would even venture to say that storytelling the word has abetter chance of bringing the Bible back to its appreciation of first being amany-centuries (old) oral tradition.” {Storytelling the Word, p. 5) For onethird of Storytelling the Wordhe instructs preachers on how to go about thetask of preparing a sermon. In this didactic portion he enlivens the pedagogy

Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a new journey of spirit, mind, and body

Scholars Commons

Consensus
Volume 25
Issue 1 Contextual Perspectives in Pastoral Care and
Counselling
Article 30
5-1-1999
Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a new
journey of spirit, mind, and body
Elizabeth Meakes
Follow this and additional works at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus
This Book Reviews is brought to you for free and open access by Scholars Commons @ Laurier. It has been accepted for inclusion in Consensus by an
authorized editor of Scholars Commons @ Laurier. For more information, please contact scholarscommons@wlu.ca.
Recommended Citation
Meakes, Elizabeth (1999) "Spirituality and health, health and spirituality: a new journey of spirit, mind, and body," Consensus: Vol. 25 :
Iss. 1 , Article 30.
Available at: http://scholars.wlu.ca/consensus/vol25/iss1/30
Book Reviews 149
versions of the Lord’s Prayer can be “retroverted” to produce Aramaic
versions which have both pleasing meter and rhyme clearly (?) suggesting
that they must, therefore, be authentic.
Beasley-Murray does provide some high quality philology. Although
peppered with his common sense imaginings, his descriptions of the first-
century Sitzim Leben are helpful. However, much of this material could be
located in any number of excellent commentaries. Beasley-Murray should
be affirmed, too, for recalling Martin Dibelius’ conviction that the root source
of all the gospels is the preaching of the apostles and their students. What
a shame that a book nominally about preaching makes no effort to suggest
how exegetical insights might be developed in actual sermons.
Henry Langknecht
Emmanuel College
Spirituality and Health: A New Journey of Spirit, Mind and Body
Bruce G. Epperly
Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 1997
126 pages, $9.95 GS Softcover
The popular press is full of articles on spirituality and health. Holistic
medicine, alternative medicines, and multi-understandings of spirituality
have been some of the prime causes for this interest. Bruce Epperly seeks
in his book “to provide a Christian vision of health and wholeness for
contemporary persons” (5). He succeeds partly in this ambitious goal.
Epperly is an ordained minister in the Church of Christ, has a doctorate from
Claremont Graduate School in California and is adjunct professor of
theology and community medicine at Georgetown University.
Epperly believes that the Christian notion of health is the integration of
body, mind, and spirit. Drawing on biblical texts, he argues that Jesus healed
everyone in some form or another. He also argues that prayer, a healthy diet,
exercise, spiritual healing, alternative medicines are aids to health. He
maintains that spirituality and health affect each other. Just as one’s
spirituality can help one’s health so one’s health can also influence one’s
spirit. Epperly is careful to note that spirituality does not determine health.
There are many persons who are sick with chronic illness whose spirituality
has not cured their physical body.
This book is easy to read, cites some relevant medical and theological
studies in terms of spirituality and health, and offers some concrete helps in
150 Consensus
terms of prayer, diet and lifestyle. Epperly uses incidents from his own
personal life to show the relationship between spirituality and health. The
book fails to mention that there are other notions of health and spirituality
both in the biblical record and the tradition of Christianity. Also, the book
does not address one of the major problems in this relationship between
spirituality and health. Medical science seeks to find in spirituality an
important variable that it can manipulate for better health. Spirituality,
however, is based on an encounter with the living Spirit of God that Karl
Rahner describes as “Uncontrollable” and “Incomprehensible”. The Spirit of
God is not a variable that can be controlled for better health. Right methods
of prayer and meditation, proper diet and lifestyle do not necessarily produce
better health. Despite these shortcomings, we recommend this book for
those beginning in this area.
Elizabeth Meakes
Thomas St. James O’Connor
Waterloo, Ontario
Storytelling the Word: Homilies and How to Write Them
William J. Bausch
Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1996
287 pages
World of Stories for Preachers and Teachers
William J. Bausch
Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-Third Publications, 1998
516 pages
Father William J. Bausch, a Roman Catholic priest serving in the diocese
of Trenton, New Jersey, observes that preachers are not very effective and
congregations are, by and large, made up of sleeping seniors. He is
convinced that story sermons will rouse the sleepers and rally the strayed.
“There are other effective ways of preaching, from the expository to the
exhortatory, from the deeply scriptural to the meditative, from the inductive
to the phenomenological. Still, this book focuses on just one approach...the
way of the story... 1 would even venture to say that storytelling the word has a
better chance of bringing the Bible back to its appreciation of first being a
many-centuries (old) oral tradition.” {Storytelling the Word, p. 5) For one
third of Storytelling the Wordhe instructs preachers on how to go about the
task of preparing a sermon. In this didactic portion he enlivens the pedagogy


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