Summary
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss blood. For more than 1500 years popular imagination, western science and the Christian Church colluded in a belief that blood was the link between the human and the divine. The Greek physician, Galen, declared that it was blood that contained the force of life and linked the body to the soul, the Christian Church established The Eucharist – the taking of the body and blood of Christ. In our blood was our individuality, it was thought, our essence and our blood lines were special. Transfusion threatened all that and now itself is being questioned.Why is it that blood was used to define both man and messiah? And how has the tradition of blood in religious thought been affected by the progress of medicine?With Miri Rubin, Professor of European History at Queen Mary, University of London; Dr Anne Hardy, Reader in the History of Medicine at the Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London; Jonathan Sawday, Professor of English Studies at the University of Strathclyde.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Thanks for downloading the Inartime podcast. For more details about Inartime and for our terms of use |
| 0:05.4 | Please go to bbc.co.uk forward slash radio for I hope you enjoy the program |
| 0:11.4 | Hello for more than 1500 years, popular imagination, western signs and the Christian Church colluded in a belief that blood |
| 0:18.1 | Was the link between the human and the divine the Greek physician Galen declared that it was blood that contained the force of life and |
| 0:25.5 | Linked the body to the soul the Christian Church established the Eucharist the taking of the body and blood of Christ in our blood |
| 0:32.6 | Was our individuality it was thought our essence and our blood lines were special |
| 0:37.6 | Transfusion threatened all that and now itself is being questioned |
| 0:42.4 | Why is it that blood was used to define both man and Messiah and how has the tradition of blood in religious thought been affected by the progress of medicine? |
| 0:50.6 | With me to discuss the Oxygen Barra that causes throughout culture are Anne Hardy |
| 0:55.6 | Read in the history of medicine at the Welcome Trust Centre at University College London |
| 1:00.3 | Jonathan Sourday professor of English Studies at the University of Strathclyde and Miri Ruben professor of European history at Queen Mary |
| 1:07.8 | University of London. Miri Ruben before we come to the early Christian Church |
| 1:11.8 | Can you tell us what the religious attitudes towards blood were within Judaism? |
| 1:16.3 | Judaism has a total horror of the use the mundane use of blood |
| 1:23.5 | In blood courses the spirit the life power which is God given and it's an economy into which you know humans |
| 1:30.5 | You're not really at all intervene |
| 1:33.0 | But there is some use of blood in very particular ritual context and that is by the priest the temple as they sacrifice animals |
| 1:41.5 | They can sprinkle blood they can door |
| 1:44.7 | Various ritual artifacts in blood |
| 1:47.9 | There's even the use of blood in the process of perhaps healing lepers |
| 1:52.2 | But on the whole most people should not use blood in the normal course of their lives |
| 1:57.6 | I mean if they prick their thumb they can suck it okay |
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