Tom J. Gates

Biohealth

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“It has become common in recent years for critics of US medicine to observe that 'the system is broken,' but rare for those critics to consider the nature of that system. In Biohealth, Downing examines the origins and development of this system, and convincingly shows that its primary characteristic is unrestrained growth, inexorably pulling more and more of modern life into its orbit. This is essential reading for those willing to grapple with the underside of modern biomedicine.”

Death and Life in America, Second Edition

Science & Faith

“Many books have critiqued modern biomedicine; Raymond Downing here offers one of the more compelling. From his perspective as a family physician with decades of experience in East Africa, Downing’s analysis proceeds through the persuasive use of the biblical categories of principalities, idolatry, captivity, sin, and healing. The result is a book primarily not about long-ago miracles and exorcisms, but the very real dangers and limitations of contemporary biomedicine.”