Faith and Science Working Together
Religion playing a huge role in a book about the history of modern medicine? Usually unheard of. But not in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skoot. This is an emotionally charged historical account regarding the origin of one of the most famous and important tools in modern medicine. The HeLa Cells, taken from Mrs. Henrietta Lacks in the early 1950’s without her consent, have lead to researchers finding a multitude of new treatments and making a myriad of new discoveries and even mass farming and distribution cells since then. But not without great human consequence and strife. Could it be something such as religion that holds what’s left of Henrietta’s tattered family together? Ultimately, yes, it is a combination of the basic scientific knowledge of the issue and faith, most likely a seed sowed originally in religious values, that helps the surviving Lacks family to get through this turbulence in their lives. Faith and Science Background Henrietta's family, used to difficult times, were no strangers to organized religion. It gave them hope and it was a solid structure, a rock for them to steady themselves. The facts that the family often quoted bible passages in times of stress, and that Deborah, Henrietta's only surviving daughter, safeguarded her mother’s bible as a treasure, shows that that the Lacks family relies on religion and faith heavily in their everyday lives. Science, on the other hand, they did not use or come into contact with much at all considering the family’s simple origins as tobacco farmers. It was very rare that a Lacks family member had a good education. The only experience they had with science and medicine were the stories of the evil doctors who did not treat black patients well and would experiment on them or even kidnap them! This lead to a unanimous fear of medical professionals by the family. All these preconceived notions about science and religion would clash when the family desperately searched for answers later. Initial Panic and Using Faith Cope Following the family gaining knowledge of the original collection and subsequent widespread usage of the cell sample and its lineage, they had no idea what to do. They felt used, scared, and most of all confused. They had little to no previous knowledge on the subject nor did anyone immediately explain. Even though the local hospital reached out to them for blood samples, their most basic questions were not even answered: “What is a cell?” and “How is it that Henrietta can still be alive?” This, naturally, caused them panic. They could not find the line between science fiction and reality. They didn’t know what to think, suddenly they were being told that Henrietta was cloned, mixed with animals, exploded and sent to the moon!? The …show more content…
When she dives into the story she is completely non-religious and doesn’t pay a lot of mind to the faithful practices of the family, but they eventually become unavoidable. It seems as though the whole family is oozing bible passages. Her first major experience with this is the Hopkins Jesus statue where people pray before they enter the hospital. She says it was “the closest I’ve ever come to praying.” She witnessed Deborah praying and noticed the positive effect it had on her. Then, on the road trip she takes with Deborah while they are stopped at Gary Lacks’ house. She witnesses Gary perform a “faith healing” on Deborah and she witnessed how much better and empowered it makes her feel even if she was not physically “healed.” Her final experience seals her attitude toward the relationship between religious faith and science. It helps her to comprehend why faith is such a big deal to the Lacks and why it had been instrumental in their coping and understanding. It was at a personal experience with Gary Lacks where he told her he believed that HeLa was the spiritual form for Henrietta Lacks, that it was her being granted eternal life. She said in that moment she completely understood how they could believe this. “Of course” she said “Of course.” It was easier for the Lacks family to believe she was an angel instead of a complicated science definition. And that is all they
Religion playing a huge role in a book about the history of modern medicine? Usually unheard of. But not in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skoot. This is an emotionally charged historical account regarding the origin of one of the most famous and important tools in modern medicine. The HeLa Cells, taken from Mrs. Henrietta Lacks in the early 1950’s without her consent, have lead to researchers finding a multitude of new treatments and making a myriad of new discoveries and even mass farming and distribution cells since then. But not without great human consequence and strife. Could it be something such as religion that holds what’s left of Henrietta’s tattered family together? Ultimately, yes, it is a combination of the basic scientific knowledge of the issue and faith, most likely a seed sowed originally in religious values, that helps the surviving Lacks family to get through this turbulence in their lives. Faith and Science Background Henrietta's family, used to difficult times, were no strangers to organized religion. It gave them hope and it was a solid structure, a rock for them to steady themselves. The facts that the family often quoted bible passages in times of stress, and that Deborah, Henrietta's only surviving daughter, safeguarded her mother’s bible as a treasure, shows that that the Lacks family relies on religion and faith heavily in their everyday lives. Science, on the other hand, they did not use or come into contact with much at all considering the family’s simple origins as tobacco farmers. It was very rare that a Lacks family member had a good education. The only experience they had with science and medicine were the stories of the evil doctors who did not treat black patients well and would experiment on them or even kidnap them! This lead to a unanimous fear of medical professionals by the family. All these preconceived notions about science and religion would clash when the family desperately searched for answers later. Initial Panic and Using Faith Cope Following the family gaining knowledge of the original collection and subsequent widespread usage of the cell sample and its lineage, they had no idea what to do. They felt used, scared, and most of all confused. They had little to no previous knowledge on the subject nor did anyone immediately explain. Even though the local hospital reached out to them for blood samples, their most basic questions were not even answered: “What is a cell?” and “How is it that Henrietta can still be alive?” This, naturally, caused them panic. They could not find the line between science fiction and reality. They didn’t know what to think, suddenly they were being told that Henrietta was cloned, mixed with animals, exploded and sent to the moon!? The …show more content…
When she dives into the story she is completely non-religious and doesn’t pay a lot of mind to the faithful practices of the family, but they eventually become unavoidable. It seems as though the whole family is oozing bible passages. Her first major experience with this is the Hopkins Jesus statue where people pray before they enter the hospital. She says it was “the closest I’ve ever come to praying.” She witnessed Deborah praying and noticed the positive effect it had on her. Then, on the road trip she takes with Deborah while they are stopped at Gary Lacks’ house. She witnesses Gary perform a “faith healing” on Deborah and she witnessed how much better and empowered it makes her feel even if she was not physically “healed.” Her final experience seals her attitude toward the relationship between religious faith and science. It helps her to comprehend why faith is such a big deal to the Lacks and why it had been instrumental in their coping and understanding. It was at a personal experience with Gary Lacks where he told her he believed that HeLa was the spiritual form for Henrietta Lacks, that it was her being granted eternal life. She said in that moment she completely understood how they could believe this. “Of course” she said “Of course.” It was easier for the Lacks family to believe she was an angel instead of a complicated science definition. And that is all they