This article provides a brief history of healthcare and the beginning of hospitals. The author shows that Christians provided compassionate heathcare based on an understanding of man being created in the image of God and the command to love one's neighbour. Therefore, Christian caregivers today should still be motivated by this same conviction.

Why did the ancient Greeks and Romans have no place for hospitals? This article indicates that paganism had no real basis for compassion. But as Christ is full of compassion, Christians sought to emulate that compassion, which provided the driving force behind early Christian medical care.