Religion works sometimes
 

I heard and absolutely amazing story yesterday and it made me rethink my opinions on their being a man upstairs.

A lady came into our office yesterday who is well known by staff and they seemed quite shocked at how well she looked as last year she was given months to live because of cancer, her treatments had stopped etc because of something to do with her blood work and all hope was given up. Through a friend she was put in touch with a "faith healer" who told her everything was going to be ok and that she would beat cancer, which is a pretty massive claim considering the doctors have just told her, that her bloodwork is shot to pieces. Having outlived the length of time given by the doctors whilst seeing this "faith healer" she recently went back to the doctors for check ups etc and she seems to be completely in the clear, which is why she was in with us as she wanted to celebrate by getting a new truck!

Now I don't understand it and I don't have all the facts but I find that completely remarkable. Was is the faith healer? was it God? or was it strenght given to her just by believing in the a higher power? I don't know but I hope that if I am ever in a no win situation, I can at least have some sort of faith like this.

Perhaps her body just sorted it out, perhaps she had a random combination of Cheese Dorito's, Blue WKD and a specific combination of three red, six orange and one slightly mishapen 10 percent oversize blue Smartie at the exact right time in a room at the exact right temperature whilst someone told a really good joke that release endorphins that were the exact right set of chemicals that killed the cancer off ?

Perhaps it was six months of Chemo and Radiotherapy, the attentions of the best minds in Oncology and the treatment eventually took, perhaps the bloodwork got mixed up with some other poor sod who then expired unexpectedly having been recently given the all clear.

Sometimes the religious like to do a little promotion and aren't beyond bending things in favour of their faith, if it worked then everybody would be at it and nobody would die of cancer.

it would be odd if no one ever made a recovery in these seemingly hopeless cases

You can perhaps all you wish but for me, I'm happy to just believe that her faith helped her recover as she had more to live for.

My godfather died last year, he was old and lived a happy life. His faith helped him die peacefully and unafraid as he knew it was his time and that he was going to a better place.

I don't have faith but I really do admire people who do have it.

Why do people find id so hard to believe in God, it would appear harder not to believe than to believe IMHO.

Take creation for example, what a wonderful example of a higher being's intentional design & creativity.

Is it so difficult to believe that God being God could take on human form in Jesus to communicate truth, spiritual principles & practices.

Ever wondered why our souls desperately search for love, purpose, significance & meaning. We are haunted by our fears, insecurities & uncertainty yet when we place our faith & trust in Jesus our soul finds a place of rest with the promise of eternal life.

People with terminal diseases sometimes it appears find a place of complete healing that the medical profession have no answer for.

Individuals who's lives are full of brokenness & pain find peace, love & acceptance.

Come guys wake up & smell the coffee for once!!

Lack of evidence.

You produce one that actually exists and I 'might' sway.

Complete bullsh1t TBH. ;)

Placebo effect - for example http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/...o-effect_N.htm

Death I am not bothered about, it is the whole Life thing that gives me all the agro, I am not keen on pain so bring the death on if thats getting too bad or life is too **** to contemplate like that poor sod onthe news the other week that cant move after a stroke, life can go from awesome to **** in 1 second with no chance of parole so let the poor ****er die.

I dont beleive in the Christian God, there may be a higher purpose but to be honest I aint wasting my time to please him, her, it by praying or offering due deference as it may be a right **** or a total easygoing, chilled out deity that cant understand why people would want to honour it by saying crappy prayers and sorry arsed hymms, I suspct it wouldnt care for **** blowing up in its name or people growing beards and it would probably apologise for the annoying beard hair thing but say it was a chemical design issue we couldnt avoid whilst handing over a nice fat Bacon Butty and wondering why mr beard looks horrified at the prospect and then explainging that Pigs were designed specifically to eat rubbish, look cute when young and taste awesome.

The Higher being would then hand over a glass of nectar which to be fair would be some Vodka type stuff with a bit of Juice in it as really nobody on something as **** as earth should go without the booze we provided to make it tolerable, what, wait you decided it was not in the higher beings best interest, "you know what, you guys kill me, next you will be telling me you dont knock one out, surely I made that one easy to decide upon..."

Any bloke who denies the last part is full of sh1t! :D

Wasnt her twin is a mad profiteering ruse was it? pay me money and Ill get you in touch with said healer?

I was brought up in a deeply religious family, went to church 3 times on a Sunday - plus bibleclasses and boys brigade in the week.

I have seen people speaking in tongues, I have seen people walk out of the church when they arrived in a wheelchair, I have seen people roll about the isles with the devil inside them, I have seen hope, passion, love and charity.

Without fail, prayers were said each week for one of the congregation who were ill .... sometimes we saw them again, recovered, sometimes we attended a funeral in the same church where prayers were said for their illness to be cured.

The answer to my questions was always the same .... "It's gods will" .... it's gods will if they die, it's gods will if they live. And, I'm sorry, but that's having your cake and eating it!!

One night, I prayed for a scalextric set ..... there wasn't one there in the morning - as it wasn't Xmas and that's when Santa comes!!

With religion, it's either Xmas - or it isn't .... you either get, or you don't get - same as it would be if there were no religion ... in fact!

When I die I may have got it badly wrong and I may suffer eternity in the fires of hell - or, on the other hand, I may just die .... and that is it - within 50 years from that time, most will not know that I ever lived.

It's a great subject to discuss ... I have not seen much eveidence to support a higher being watching over me - but, then again, things have happened in my life for which that would be the easiest explaination.

I shall sit on this fence until I'm shoved off by either death or an experience which makes me believe unconditionally.

What a load of effing uneducated BOLLOCKS!!:mad::razz:

Nothing that remarkable, even in the small number of patients I look after there are stories a little like this, that become more like this when they are retold, with reasonable regularity, with or without faith.

Yes. Evolutionary advantage to doing so is the reason I would cite. I didn't know any Christians that were really in a place of rest, they were as screwed up as non-believers and you could tell they didn't really believe in the promise of eternal life because they didn't behave as though they really did. When I was a believer, I couldn't get rid of the nagging doubts as I couldn't subdue the rational enough. Eventually it won out.

It is called apoptosis and was discovered by my ex-flatmate's father, who happened to be a Christian.

Not from what I saw. They just had a veneer of belief over the top of their ongoing troubles. The drug users and alcoholics still dabbled. Those in unhappy marriages were still unhappy. The poor were still poor despite tithing out of a pittance. I was encouraged to tithe out of an income that wasn't enough to live off and required debt to eat. The same people repeatedly attended healing meetings, it must have been that good the first time (although you could ask why ill patients keep attending their doctors, but doctors don't often claim to cure disease).

People, you need to believe in Almighty God.if when you die and there is no God, well then you've lost nothing. If on the other hand you find out there is then you benefit either way :thumb: come and join my cult!

Not sure if serious, but if you die and there is no god, you've wasted your life labouring under a delusion that is supposed to underpin everything you think. Not only that but you're supposed to proselytise everyone else and receive dogma. The beliefs are in opposition not only to common sense, not subjecting themselves to reason as they step outside of it. They are mutually exclusive to the beliefs of other religions where people are encouraged towards violence to uphold them. I'd say that is quite a loss to the individual and society.

What a waste of valuble "drinking time":nono:

Pascal's wager.

I've pre paid for my room in hell :thumb:
Nice and warm.....full of dirty slappers......my idea of heaven :)

You might think you've wasted your life believing, but what's worse eternal hellfire or having faith in God? U don't have to spend all day in church or a mosque.it's win win! I'm trying to save your souls guys lol.

Sorry this has gone a lil offtopic

Why would you conclude that someone has wasted their life if at the end there was no God?
I would have a tendency to see it differently John as faith can, has & will continue to improve lives. Although I do agree that there are those who may come to faith and not necessarily live a life that is ultimately enhanced.

As far as proselytise & dogma go yes one is expected to share & show one's faith but in a natural & organic manner unlike the bible bashing community believe.

Again I think people misunderstand what Christianity is, it is not a religion, it is a way of life following the truth, principles & practices of Jesus as best one can.

So if there was no God I would say through my own life & that of others that society & community will have been considerably enhanced.

Quite the opposite in fact

Which religions are these?

dl

No need to be so insulting

dl

Yeah why not? Western medicine is just one way.

"Cause then there was this boy whose
Parents made him come directly home right after school
And when they went to their church
They shook and lurched all over the church floor
He couldn't quite explain it
They'd always just gone there"

Well if the world was run 100% by any religion it would a hell, no pun intended, of a lot better than the ****hole we live in now.
Secular humanism has destroyed society all over. Just look at the once impregnable European nations running around with begging bowls.society is only going to get worse when a few individuals make the rules according to mans whims and desires.

mmmmmmh

I once asked my father a question ..... "If he was brought up in an Islamic Family, in an Islamic country - would he still be a Christian?"

He wanted to say "YES!" ...... but, after some thought, didn't actually answer!! He could see the point I was making, but didn't want to think about it ...... blind faith I call it.