Volck, Brian 1959-

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Volck, Brian 1959-

PERSONAL:

Born 1959; married Jill Huppert (a physician). Education: Washington University in Saint Louis, A.B., 1981, M.D., 1985; Seattle Pacific University, M.F.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Cincinnati, OH. Office—University of Cincinnati, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 231 Albert Sabin Way, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0535; fax: 513-558-4399. E-mail—brian.volck@uc.edu.

CAREER:

Pediatrician and academic. University Hospitals of Cleveland/Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Cleveland, OH, pediatrics resident, 1985-88, general academic pediatrics, 1988-89; U.S. Indian Health Service, Tuba City, AZ, worked for five years; University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, instructor. Board member of Ekklesia Project.

WRITINGS:

(With Joel Shuman) Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine, Brazos Press (Grand Rapids, MI), 2006.

Ekklesia Project online magazine editor.

SIDELIGHTS:

Brian Volck is a pediatrician and academic. Volck completed his medical degree at Washington University in Saint Louis and completed his residency at Cleveland hospitals. He later earned an M.F.A. from Seattle Pacific University, pursuing creative writing while practicing pediatrics.

In 2006 Volck published his first book, Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine. Written with ethicist Joel Shuman, the book, geared toward Christians, encourages its readers not to hold the medical establishment in such high esteem and, instead, begin "using medicine as if God mattered." The authors use modern-day stories, literature, and theological reflection to encourage Christians to be less reliant upon medicines in their old age and let their imminent return to God come in a more natural, less rebellious, way. The book covers the sociopoliti- cal basis of the American health and pharmaceutical industries and shows how modern medicine and Christianity do not actually have the same end goals, warning that many people deify modern medicine.

David Fisher, writing in Christianity Today, described Reclaiming the Body as "compelling." Fisher warned that the book "is not a quick read, and it shouldn't be." Fisher concluded by saying that the book "is a call to transformed Christian living, one that emphasizes the importance of viewing medicine through the lens of the larger community of the body of Christ. Christians who adopt this countercultural approach will not only put medicine in the proper place in their own lives, but will display to the world the glory of Christ through the simple, daily acts of caring for the sick and visiting the doctor." Mark Wilkins, writing in the American Catholic, called the work "challenging." Wilkins stated: "Each chapter shows what could happen if we turn the focus from the promises of modern medicine to the premises of our faith. Key to all of the doctors' assumptions is that as Christians we live out the vision community that we acknowledge and embody in liturgy. If God matters, then so do God's gathered people." A contributor to Publishers Weekly commented: "Brilliantly reasoned and artfully written, this quotable book should reach well beyond its obvious market" of spiritual and medical caregivers. Writing in Commonweal, Christine Rosen mentioned that "in exploring these many themes, Shuman and Volck offer very few concrete answers to the challenges they pose; this is in fact one of the great strengths of the book. The authors offer a new and more illuminating perspective, not merely prescriptions for behavior. The book is an extended conversation with medicine, not a condemnation, and it is a conversation that yields a wealth of insights into the challenges that our contemporary health technologies pose." A contributor to the Christian Century described Reclaiming the Body as "an accessible volume."