A Very Thoughtful (potential) Mentor

I have been exploring the theology of medicine these last few months. I am curious as to how faith speaks into medical practice. How can a Christian doctor be distinguished from their non-Christian counterparts? If it is just merely which places of worship they go to, what religious phrases they use, or whether or not they evangelize to their patients, then I think the Christian faith will become very unattractive and private.

This is what led me to write an article on Christian compassion in healthcare, and there I argued that the Christian worldview will give rise to the compassionate work possible. This was generally well received by the doctors and medical students that I sent them to, they affirmed the practical aspects of my paper. Then I decided to ask for feedback from a reformed pastor who had a background in medicine, there my perspective was changed. Let me summarize in a few points.

1. Writing a theological paper requires much thought, rewriting, rethinking and further rewriting, it is never a one stop process.

2. My underlying thought in writing these papers needs to be reexamined. Was I trapped into believing the theology of glory by thinking that Christians should be distinguishable from their work?

3. Growth and wisdom are facilitated by thoughtful, critical yet at the same time encouraging mentors who are challenging me in a positive way.

Here is a picture of us doing a video call, I blurred out his eyes so people can't recognize him. I found him to be extremely thought-provoking, highly critical yet very warm and encouraging. I find that these people are those that has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, coupled with the humility to gently guide a vocal provocative naive youngster like me. I aspire to also possess these three characteristics if I am allowed the priviledge to mentor a youngster. Maybe they'll write about me in a stupid blog and make a fool out of my face.