Theologies of Illness, Now and Then: Reading Psalm 6 in Light of Personalistic Medicine Systems

This essay offers a reading of Psalm 6 and of its theology of illness that aims to be both faithful to the text and helpful to readers that use the psalm in faith settings. It identifies one’s underlying assumptions about the nature of illness as a major interpretive issue and contends that modern interpreters have been unnecessarily influenced by naturalistic medicine systems in their understanding of this psalm. It is the major claim of this essay that a theological reading that remains faithful to the text of Psalm 6 is possible when the reader adopts the perception of illness held by personalistic medicine systems.