Imagine a father who sincerely believes the Bible. He desires to put the book which he believes is the perfect word of the "one true God" into practice in his life. When his child becomes seriously ill, he decides that prayer to his loving and all-powerful deity is a better remedy for his child than the best medical treatments fallible men could offer. He prays expecting Yahweh to answer and he reflects on the scriptures that promise Yahweh will deliver for him.
John 14:12-14
Matthew 18:18-20
Acts 4:29-30
Matthew 17:20
If the child recovers, should the father be lauded for his faith? What if the child dies? In both cases, the parent was acting "in good faith". Most believers I have known explain instances where a loved one isn't healed by saying the healing of their loved one wasn't a part of Yahweh's perfect plan. What if it could be shown that Yahweh answers no far more often than he says yes? How would you distinguish between an imagined deity and a deity that always answers prayer, but tends to do nothing most of the time?
Modern medicine, which does not invoke magic or deities, has improved our lives in so many ways. From biblical times up until the last couple of centuries, there was a high rate of infant mortality and the average life span was only around 40 years. In some eras, life expectancy was even lower than that. Vaccines for polio, small pox, etc, the development of antibiotics, and other medical breakthroughs have made an incredible difference in the longevity and quality of life. Compare that with prayer. People in the 1st through the 18th centuries certainly had prayer and faith. Yet their children succumbed to sickness and disease that prayer could not vanquish.
On one side, we have medical science with a proven record of success. Science is not perfect, and it can't heal every malady or injury. However, there is a measurable and substantial difference between the health and life span of people who are cared for by medical professionals. People who rely on prayer and other religious rituals to request healing from gods do not have any measurable results that are different from people who do nothing to treat their injuries/illness.
If Yahweh exists and really wants people to have faith that he will answer their prayers AND he is genuinely a loving deity who cares about the wellbeing of children, doesn't it stand to reason that he would heal children when parents pray? Wouldn't it be reasonable to expect that a benevolent and omnipotent god would be demonstrably more effective in healing children than fallible men? Thankfully, most believers today do not reject medical science. But at the same time, the Christians I have known still believe that prayer somehow factors into the equation with the healing process for their loved ones. To those believers I would suggest that they simply do a Google search for "Prayer Study". The same science that you are trusting to help you or your loved one recover from an illness or injury has been applied to test the power of prayer. Prayer yields no result.
This post has taken me a while longer to finish than many of the others I have done. The reason is that I wasn't sure how I wanted to end it. This blog post is not a dare. I don't want believers to take this as a challenge to their faith and begin to forgo medical attention for their children thereby risking the lives of their children, but I do want to challenge believers to question their faith. What I found out was that there have been plenty of families and faith communities who have already performed the experiment for us. We don't need to put our own children at risk by trusting in an imagined deity. But we can see the results and we can learn from their experiences without jeopardizing the lives and safety of our own children.
**DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME**
Here are a few articles detailing the results of people who, in faith, trusted Yahweh, the "great healer" to mend their children's ailments and rejected the wisdom of man.
http://www.katu.com/news/investigators/Fallen-followers-Investigation-finds-10-more-dead-children-of-faith-healers-231050911.html
http://issuehawk.com/tamar/2014/04/25/80-child-deaths-linked-to-oregon-church-parents-say-it-is-a-matter-of-faith.html
http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2013/07/death-by-prayer-christian-fundamentalist-parents-denied-their-children-medicine-and-watched-them-die/
Clearly the people in these stories had faith. They believed that Yahweh was capable and powerful and loving. Western science based medicine could have saved their children. Prayers to Yahweh did nothing to save them. Why?
I Kings 18:27 "About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
The results are in. The best thing you can do for your children and other loved ones when their health is threatened is to bring them to medical professionals. Instead of wasting time praying to a deity, be it Yahweh, Allah, Zeus, or anyone else, take them to see a medical doctor. When you're with the doctor, listen, ask questions, and think. Spend time with your loved one and communicate with them.
As always, thanks for dropping by. Share and give me a "Plus" if you agree. If you disagree with me, comment and let me know where I've gone wrong.
Gavagai
John 14:12-14
Matthew 18:18-20
Acts 4:29-30
Matthew 17:20
If the child recovers, should the father be lauded for his faith? What if the child dies? In both cases, the parent was acting "in good faith". Most believers I have known explain instances where a loved one isn't healed by saying the healing of their loved one wasn't a part of Yahweh's perfect plan. What if it could be shown that Yahweh answers no far more often than he says yes? How would you distinguish between an imagined deity and a deity that always answers prayer, but tends to do nothing most of the time?Modern medicine, which does not invoke magic or deities, has improved our lives in so many ways. From biblical times up until the last couple of centuries, there was a high rate of infant mortality and the average life span was only around 40 years. In some eras, life expectancy was even lower than that. Vaccines for polio, small pox, etc, the development of antibiotics, and other medical breakthroughs have made an incredible difference in the longevity and quality of life. Compare that with prayer. People in the 1st through the 18th centuries certainly had prayer and faith. Yet their children succumbed to sickness and disease that prayer could not vanquish.
On one side, we have medical science with a proven record of success. Science is not perfect, and it can't heal every malady or injury. However, there is a measurable and substantial difference between the health and life span of people who are cared for by medical professionals. People who rely on prayer and other religious rituals to request healing from gods do not have any measurable results that are different from people who do nothing to treat their injuries/illness.
If Yahweh exists and really wants people to have faith that he will answer their prayers AND he is genuinely a loving deity who cares about the wellbeing of children, doesn't it stand to reason that he would heal children when parents pray? Wouldn't it be reasonable to expect that a benevolent and omnipotent god would be demonstrably more effective in healing children than fallible men? Thankfully, most believers today do not reject medical science. But at the same time, the Christians I have known still believe that prayer somehow factors into the equation with the healing process for their loved ones. To those believers I would suggest that they simply do a Google search for "Prayer Study". The same science that you are trusting to help you or your loved one recover from an illness or injury has been applied to test the power of prayer. Prayer yields no result.
This post has taken me a while longer to finish than many of the others I have done. The reason is that I wasn't sure how I wanted to end it. This blog post is not a dare. I don't want believers to take this as a challenge to their faith and begin to forgo medical attention for their children thereby risking the lives of their children, but I do want to challenge believers to question their faith. What I found out was that there have been plenty of families and faith communities who have already performed the experiment for us. We don't need to put our own children at risk by trusting in an imagined deity. But we can see the results and we can learn from their experiences without jeopardizing the lives and safety of our own children.
**DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME**
Here are a few articles detailing the results of people who, in faith, trusted Yahweh, the "great healer" to mend their children's ailments and rejected the wisdom of man.
http://www.katu.com/news/investigators/Fallen-followers-Investigation-finds-10-more-dead-children-of-faith-healers-231050911.html
http://issuehawk.com/tamar/2014/04/25/80-child-deaths-linked-to-oregon-church-parents-say-it-is-a-matter-of-faith.html
http://www.theobjectivestandard.com/2013/07/death-by-prayer-christian-fundamentalist-parents-denied-their-children-medicine-and-watched-them-die/
I Kings 18:27 "About noontime Elijah began mocking them. “You’ll have to shout louder,” he scoffed, “for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming, or is relieving himself. Or maybe he is away on a trip, or is asleep and needs to be wakened!”
The results are in. The best thing you can do for your children and other loved ones when their health is threatened is to bring them to medical professionals. Instead of wasting time praying to a deity, be it Yahweh, Allah, Zeus, or anyone else, take them to see a medical doctor. When you're with the doctor, listen, ask questions, and think. Spend time with your loved one and communicate with them.
As always, thanks for dropping by. Share and give me a "Plus" if you agree. If you disagree with me, comment and let me know where I've gone wrong.
Gavagai
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