Does prayer play a role in healing?

The science vs. faith debate. When you're sick, would you rather rely on science and modern medicine, or faith to make you well?

Have you ever been very sick, and had to go to the hospital for treatment? Or do you know anyone else who has?

Yes

Did a doctor come by your room one day, and inform you and your family that you had some chronic terminal disease, or you would be sick for the rest of your life? And despite their best efforts--with all the medicines and machines they have today--nothing can be done? You just have to learn to live with it.

Yes, I have an incurable condition or disease. My physician has told me about it. I got to go home, but I have to take medicine every day to keep it under control. I have my bad days, but overall, I try not to let it get the better of me.

No, I'm relatively healthy. Thank God. I thought I was getting sick, but it just turned out to be a temporary thing. My health care team gave me medicine and other treatments in the hospital, and I was back to my old self again very soon.

During a time such as this, if you were told nothing could be done to help you (through modern medicine)...by any chance, did you resort to your faith in God to help you? Did you send a silent prayer to Heaven to make you well? And if so, did it work?

Yes, I did, and believe it or not, yes--it DID work! I asked God to make me better. The next thing you know, the doctors came by a few weeks later and told me that they could find absolutely no trace of the disease left in my body. They have no scientific explanation for it; meaning, this should not have happened. But it did. I was cured, and sent home shortly afterward.

Well, I did pray for a miracle, but nothing has changed...yet. I remain optimistic, though. I'm still waiting. I trust that God will help me; it just takes time.

No, actually, I never thought about doing something like that. To tell you the truth, I'm just not a very religious person. I'm more "scientific-minded", like the doctors. I want to wait and see if they can come up with something new to help me; maybe a different drug will work better.

In light of this situation, I pose a serious question to you: Do you believe that prayer can play a role in healing the body (when all else fails)?

Yes

Have you ever heard of this concept that some people talk about: the so-called "Mind-Body" connection? There are folks who believe that the mind has special power to heal the body, through ideas such as prayer, positive thinking and a strong attitude, a commitment and will to survive, etc. Do you believe in that?

Yes, I think that is true. The human mind can work wonders, in ways that we still don't understand. I believe that when the body is ill or in pain, a deep commitment to becoming better and one's faith can be a powerful tool to wellness.

No, I don't necessarily subscribe to that theory. The way I see it, the mind--to be more specific, the WAY we use it, through our thoughts, etc.--and the pathological and physiological processes of the body are mutually exclusive. You can't use your faith and will yourself to be healed. Only modern science does that.

Answer this question: Do you think that some doctors have a "God" complex-type of personality? Meaning, they think they know all and can do anything?

Yes, even in this day and age, there are some professionals who believe they are invincible and all-powerful; that they can give you a 'magic pill' that will cure anything...they're shocked when they find out they're wrong...and then they send you an outrageous bill! These people make me sick (no pun intended)! I have a message for them: "Hey, doc, face it, you're human, just like me and everyone else! Despite what you may think, you DON'T have the answer for everything!"

My family physician isn't like that. He or she knows that mistakes will be made, and they will guess wrong or give the wrong medicine. They are smart enough to realize they can't save the whole world. He doesn't have a swelled head, like some of them do.

Do you think that faith and prayer should be regarded as a tool for doctors to consider for their patients, when modern medicine has failed? I have heard that when some people claim to resort to prayer and their faith to make them better, that a miracle has occured, and doctors, scientists and other professionals dismiss these ideas as "a bunch of baloney, or hocus-pocus mumbo-jumbo" nonsense. Do you feel that doctors should be more sensitive and accepting of such ideals?

Yes, you are absolutely right! These guys need to get down from their pedestal and learn about the unknown. I believe that things like faith and prayer are just a type of science that we have not figured out yet. In fact, I think that medical school students should take a class in accepting this as a new idea.

I wouldn't go that far. Like I said before, I am more inclined to have a "scientific or logical-based" mindset. I side with the doctors. I figure, what good is it going to do me if I say a prayer to God--whom I doubt the existence of, anyway--and hope that something will happen, when I can just take medicine from my doctor--a method that has a more likely chance of working?

I think it may depend sometimes on the individual circumstances. If a doctor gives you medicine or treatment, and it works and you get better, then you have no need to ask God for help. You will know that science provided the answer. However, if science can not help you, then I see nothing wrong with someone saying prayers to Heaven. It might not help, but at the same time, it's not going to hurt anything; it won't make things worse. And besides, if it makes the person feel better, so be it.

What is your opinion of these cases you hear about in the news, every once in a while--where a Judge in a courtroom orders a couple to seek medical treatment for their child, who is dying of a disease...instead of allowing the parents to use God and religion to help?

I think it's a good thing. These people are a bunch of nutjobs and are hiding behind religious quackery as an excuse to murder their child. This is the modern world; for crying out loud, you wackos, wake up and join the 21st Century!

I don't think it's right. These people's rights are being violated. Who is to say that a miracle won't happen? Besides, sometimes, the cure can be worse than the disease.

This poll was created on 2012-04-30 08:38:37 by Captain Fantastic