A Doctor is a Treater, Not a Healer
By Lin Ru Wu (not Lim Ju Boo)
Summary:
At best, a doctor can only treat a patient holistically as a living being composed of body, mind, and soul. At worst, he may regard the patient as a malfunctioning machine to be "oiled" with drugs or repaired via surgery. But in neither case does the doctor possess the power to heal.
A Personal Encounter and Its Deeper Implications:
Yesterday, I conversed with a physician friend, my former colleague, who described himself as a healer. Out of respect for our long-standing friendship since college, I refrained from expressing my disagreement, although I fundamentally oppose that notion.
This is because a doctor, by training and practice, can treat a patient but cannot truly heal him. More often than not, even the act of treating lacks a holistic perspective. A doctor frequently focuses on the disease itself, applying drugs, chemicals in essence, without attending to the entirety of the patient as a person with body, mind, and soul.
Hence, I assert unequivocally: no doctor, whether practising traditional medicine or modern scientific medicine, can rightly claim to be a healer. The reality is that only the human body possesses the inherent, divinely programmed capacity to heal itself. In fact this is the proverb or motto I specifically spelt out when I first started writing in this blog nearly 20 years ago.
"A True Doctor is One Who Teaches, The Best Healer is Your Own Body"
A doctor may treat a patient endlessly, but treatment alone is not healing.
The Unique Authority of Jesus Christ in Healing
The only being capable of true, instantaneous healing without chemical intervention, unlike the pharmaceutical paradigm introduced by John D. Rockefeller over a century ago or the medical-surgical systems of the modern era, is Jesus Christ. His healing was never a process; it was an instantaneous transformation, achieved through His voice or touch.
Jesus did not engage in treatment. He healed. The blind received their sight not after a course of medication but immediately. The paralysed walked without physiotherapy. Lepers were cleansed in an instant. Even the dead responded to His command.
These acts overrode the natural biological healing timelines and processes. Jesus healed wholly, beyond any scientific or medical intervention. Neither traditional nor modern practitioners can compare. Medical doctors, therefore, cannot be rightly called healers. They are, at most, facilitators or treaters. The true healing force resides in the miraculous, God-given intelligence of the body, which declares:
"I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well"
(Psalm 139:14)
How Jesus was able to heal instantly, without requiring an appointment, a six-month wait, a detailed medical history, a battery of blood and urine tests, X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, PET scans, or ultrasounds, nor the administration of chemicals disguised under the noble name of 'medicines', is not for us to question, but to humbly acknowledge as a manifestation of His Divine power."
See further elaboration here:
The Unsung Sentinel: How Our Immune System Protects Us Every Moment
https://scientificlogic.blogspot.com/search?q=immune+system
On Healing: A Physiological and Spiritual Distinction
In today’s discourse, the term "healer" is casually applied to medical doctors, traditional practitioners, and other healthcare providers. Though respectful in intent, this conflation obscures a crucial distinction between treatment and healing, a difference that is not merely linguistic but philosophically and biologically profound.
The Doctor’s Role as a Treater
A doctor is trained in anatomy, physiology, pathology, pharmacology, and clinical methods to diagnose and manage illness. Treatments may involve pharmaceuticals, surgery, therapy, or preventative counsel. However, none of these constitutes healing. The doctor merely facilitates the conditions necessary for the body’s natural healing mechanisms to operate.
Consider wound repair: A physician may clean and suture the injury, but it is the body that activates coagulation cascades, recruits inflammatory cells, deploys fibroblasts, deposits collagen, and regenerates epithelium. Likewise, antibiotics suppress pathogens, but the immune system clears infections. Chemotherapeutics may shrink tumours, yet long-term remission relies on the body's restorative capacity.
Thus, a doctor treats, but healing, if it occurs, is autonomously orchestrated by the body’s internal processes. Sometimes, despite the best treatment, healing does not take place. As doctors, we can't even cure even common diseases like diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, cancer, dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, advanced lung, heart, kidney and liver disease, stroke and other neurological diseases, including motor neurone disease and multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, HIV/AIDS...etc, etc...just to name a few.
The True Healer: Divine Biological Intelligence
Each human being is endowed with intricate, highly sophisticated self-regulatory systems, homeostasis, tissue regeneration, immune defence, neuroplasticity, and psychological resilience, all designed for healing. These processes are not human inventions but are deeply embedded in the divine blueprint of life.
Their origin is neither pharmaceutical nor academic. These healing mechanisms arise from the Creator, who formed humanity with profound complexity and purpose:
“Fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)
The Supreme Healer: Jesus Christ
Where human intervention requires time and biological cooperation, Jesus bypassed all limitations. His acts of healing were absolute: immediate, total, and unrepeatable by human means. The blind, the lame, the leprous, and even the dead responded instantly to His will.
These miracles were not symbolic but literal demonstrations of divine authority. Christ did not simply restore physical function, He redeemed the soul. He healed the emotionally broken, forgave sins, cast out evil, and conferred spiritual wholeness. Healing, in its truest and most transcendent form, is the redemption of the soul for eternal life:
“By His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5)
This verse refers not to physical therapy but to salvation, God’s remedy for the human condition.
Despite His unmatched healing powers, Jesus never referred to Himself as “Dr. Jesus” or “the Great Physician” in title. His humility sharply contrasts with our modern professional pride where we address ourselves as "doctors" when we are just treaters. It serves as a lesson of human pride against divine modesty. Respect is what we need to earn humbly without us even wanting it. We cannot demand others to respect us. We must not glorify ourselves, but to glorify God to the highest who vested those horrendous powers of healing to His only Son, Jesus Christ who came to this world not to heal the sick - which was only a very, very small side-benefit - a teeny-tiny gift to those who were sick during His time. He came here not to heal the sick but His mission was far, far more important than that - to save our souls from eternal destruction from being cast into the Lake of Fire. The gift of an eternal life is far, far more important to all of us than temporary physical healing in this world. He came to give us eternal life only if we accept Him as our Saviour.
Modern Misconceptions: A Matter of Titles and Truth
To call a physician a “healer” is understandable but both theologically and biologically imprecise. A more accurate and humble designation would be "caretaker," "facilitator," or simply, "treater", or a healthcare professional, one who assists rather than commands healing. Even the most gifted traditional healers operate within the biological parameters set by God.
Healing is not the product of human skill; it is a sacred gift. When it defies biology, it becomes a miracle.
Giving Honour Its Rightful Place
This perspective is not meant to undermine doctors. Their role is vital and deserves immense respect, especially in emergency and critical care settings. I have already written a highly technical article where I outlined the treatment protocols used by emergency physicians in managing life-threatening conditions here:
I have also briefly written a simple course on pharmacology - how drugs works to alter an abnormal body chemistry here:
https://scientificlogic.
But to call ourselves “healers” is to overstep both scientific understanding and spiritual truth. We must remember: the body, created by God, is the healer. And above all, it is Jesus Christ, the Lord of Life, who heals both flesh and soul.
Let us honour doctors, nurse clinicians, paramedics, pharmacists, dietitians, nutritionists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, and all healthcare workers for their dedication. But let us reserve our worship and glory for God alone, the sole Healer and Sustainer of life.
Truth and Identity
In sharing these reflections, I hope to clarify the profound difference between one who treats and one who truly heals. I extend this with the utmost respect and warmth for all my colleagues, especially those in medicine.
Lastly, a personal note: my true Chinese name is Lin Ru Wu
My name Lin Ru Wu written in Chinese characters is:
林 如 武
to mean:
林 (Lín) — forest, 如 (Rú), like / as if / similar to and 武 (Wǔ) to mean martial / warrior / military
So, my actual name - 林 如 武 can be interpreted as:
“Like a forest of warriors” or “Forest-like martial spirit”
The Chinese characters evoke a powerful image, calm, natural strength (forest), with the noble, disciplined energy of a warrior (武).
My registered name Lim Ju Boo has neither any meaning in Chinese or in English - a distinction lost due to a clerical error by a birth registrar. Often in life, we are misled or misnamed, missing the truth. But truth, once known, must be acknowledged.
May we all seek the truth, in both science and spirit, and live by it.
With reverence and affection,
Lin Ru Wu (林 如 武)
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