Phenomenon of disease in the Bible: historical, theological and interdisciplinary reflection

The article offers a review and analytical study of the main ideas about the phenomenon of the disease presented in the texts of the Old and New Testaments. The following aspects of the disease are proposed for consideration: causal (etio-logical), ritual-sacral, social, ethical. The complex of meanings of the studied phenomenon is generalized, and its spiritual, historical-cultural and social dimensions are considered. Study of the disease phenomenon is carried out first in the Old Testament, and then in the New Testament texts. On the one hand, the genetic connection of the disease representations in the discourses of the Old as well as the New Testament is demonstrated. On the other hand, fundamental differences in the assessment of this phenomenon are shown, which occurred as a result of building new spiritual and moral-ethical relations in the New Testament. The last section presents a discussion of the relevance of the sum of the ideas contained in the texts of the Holy Scriptures to the contemporary understanding of the phenomenon of disease within the framework of the sciences of man. It is concluded that the value of the biblical heritage lies in stating the fundamental importance of the spiritual component of the disease, as well as in the appropriate building of a way to healing. The spiritual etiology of the diseases, in the opinion of the author, is relevant for contemporary medicine, since the latter tends to the recovery of entire personality, and not only particular physiological ailments.