Marlene Martin’s paper, presented at the SSCS meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa in May 2015, reports on research that found “that there are those who exercise a spirit or attitude of entitlement to healing and perfect health and this spirit of entitlement is spiritually destructive to the Christian, to the pastor ministering to him and to the medical doctor responsible for his treatment.” Any SSCS member can request a copy from the moderator. Here’s the abstract for Martin’s paper:

The theme of this particular conference is an exploration of Holiness. I therefore felt that Pope John Paul II’s paper on the Theology of the Body gave relevance to a discussion related to Medical Science and Spirituality. Holiness, the Pope points out is always expressed through the body. All human communication, argues Pope John Paul II, is conducted through our bodies; it is how we share our spiritual dimension. He argues that Jesus taught us this lesson when He pronounced “this is my body which is given up for you”.  It was also in this body that He expressed his love for his Father and it was the sacrifice of his body that brought about our redemption