"Cura-me, Senhor, e eu serei curado" (JR 17,14): mística e práticas de cura de doenças no Antgo e no Novo Testamento em perspectiva comparada

Abstract

This present work aims to analyze, from a comparative perspective, the mystical thought and healing practices of diseases in the Old and New Testaments, with the objective of understanding how religion, myth, and magic were part of the ancient Judeo-Christian context. The biblical narratives did not arise in isolation and “purely”, but rather through continual processes of interaction and cultural exchanges with other ancient Mediterranean societies, in terms of mystical experiences. Based on these propositions, it is essential to relate magical healing practices to the concept of ancient mystical thought and its connection to biblical narratives. This involves identifying the presence of terms, words, objects, beliefs, practitioners, and magical practices in biblical documentation, in order to compare healing practices between the Old and New Testaments. Through an interdisciplinary perspective and constructive comparativism as theoretical and methodological supports, our objective is to contribute to the understanding of healing practices and their receptions among ancient Jewish and Christian audiences. Thus, this work contributes to broadening horizons on mystic as a widely disseminated framework of thought in antiquity, constituted by the triad of religion, myth, and magic, and its relevance in the study of Mediterranean societies in general, and Jewish and Christian cultures in particular.