The role and effect of the healing touch of Jesus in Mark, a cognitive study (original) (raw)

2017, Master's Thesis, Faculty of Theology, University of Helsinki

The miracle stories of the gospels have been an object of study for a long time. However, they were for the most part neglected in the years following the enlightenment, until Bultmann brought them back to the fold of biblical scholarship. Since then a lot of work has been done to discuss different aspects of the miracle stories. There has been a slow shift away from debating whether the miracles that Jesus performs in the gospels were actual works of God, where the sick were healed and the blind could see. Instead of debating the possibility of miracles, scholars have worked to understand the full social and historical context of those events. Furthermore, the healing miracles of Jesus have been seen as containing important knowledge of the kind of actions and rituals that Jesus performed during his lifetime. This has given the study of miracles a place in the larger body of historical Jesus studies, which ultimately aims to give a full understanding of the cultural context of Jesus as a historical person. There has also been a surge of ritual studies in recent years, that have shaped how these kinds of events can be studied and understood as religious rituals, that have certain universal aspects. Furthermore, the field of studies that has become known as the cognitive science of religion has been gaining ground and has created various theories and methods that allow us to even further tie various ritual practices to theories that can be tested in contemporary scientific settings. These theories and models allow us to understand the human mind, and how humans perceive and experience religious activities. The focus of this study are the healing stories where Jesus heals with the help of a physical touch in the gospel of Mark. This has been called the healing touch. This study will examine the different ways in which Jesus’ miraculous healing stories have been studied. I will then present the theories and models of cognitive science of religion that may provide insight into these events. I aim define the role and meaning of the healing touch in the healing ritual of Jesus. Furthermore, the main contribution of this study will be to implement the theory of affective and social touch, in to the toolkit of cognitive science of religion. These theories focus on how the feeling of touch may evoke, usually positive, emotional reactions in humans and how that relates to social contexts. The objective of this study then, is to further our understanding of the role, function and meaning of the physical touch of Jesus in the healing rituals, and to see how our existing analysis of these events is reflected by the cognitive studies and models. A key mission for my study is to combine the cultural and classical insights about Jesus’ healings with the cognitive study of magic, ritual and touch. After my analysis, it should become clear that the physical touch played a key role in Jesus’ healing rituals as both a social and cognitive force.