As late as the 1950s, a Catholic theologian wrote that it was wrong to anesthetize pain, particularly in the sinner. It might interfere with his penance.
Up until the 1970s, babies often weren't given anesthetic even for procedures as traumatic as amputation. Doctors didn't believe that babies really felt pain.
* Quick facts from interview with Joanna Bourke, author of The Story of Pain: From Prayer to Painkillers, on the BBC's Start the Week.
1 comment:
Too many people focus on hating people that God hates instead of focusing on loving the people God loves.
Here's the thing I try to remember: there is no case, in any religion, where God punished a man for being too kind, too gentle, or too forgiving. So as long as I stay on that side, I should be fine.
(And if it turns out God *wanted* some guy to have a toothache, I'm sure He can find some other way to punish him. He's omnipotent, after all.)
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