The Scalpel and the Cross: A Theology of Surgery (Ordinary Theology)

In The Scalpel and the Cross, published in Zondervan Academic's acclaimed Ordinary Theology series, New Testament scholar Gene L. Green draws deeply upon his personal medical journey undergoing major open-heart surgery to construct a profound and tender theology of surgical intervention. Green observes that while modern medicine is frequently viewed through a purely sterile, mechanistic, or scientific lens, surgical practice inherently touches on sacred mysteries of the human body, suffering, vulnerability, and divine healing. Interweaving theological exegesis, church history, and bioethics with vivid reflections from surgeons and patients, the book explores how God's redemptive work involves physical embodiment and bodily restoration. Green challenges healthcare professionals, hospital chaplains, pastors, and patients facing serious surgery to see the operating room not as a place of secular dread, but as a liminal sanctuary where human skill participates in God's common grace and healing power. A deeply comforting and intellectually rich theological reflection.