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EspañolFAITH HEALING
'Faith healing', also called 'divine healing' or 'spiritual healing', is the use of spiritual means in treating disease, It is purportedly a supernatural manifestation that brings healing and deliverance from all kinds of diseases whether organic, functional, or psychological.
'Faith healing' is sometimes accompanied with the refusal of modern medical techniques. Critics, such as James Randi, say it is a quack practice in which the "healers" trick desperate people.[1] As the supposed results of faith healing have never been substantiated, it is the subject of controversy.
Spiritual healing can also refer to the self-empowerment or self-actualization process or steps within those processes that often occurs with individuals seeking enlightenment or meaning in their lives. Often no "healing" is visible as no damage was visible. "Faith healing" may be intertwined with these processes but not always and those who believe in one might not believe in the other.
The term is sometimes used in reference to the belief of some Christians who hold that God heals people through the power of the Holy Spirit, often involving the "laying on of hands". Those who hold to this belief do not usually use the term "faith healing" in reference to the practice; that expression is often used descriptively by commentators outside of the faith movement in reference to the belief and practice.
Faith healing also reported by Catholics as the result of intercessory prayer of a saint or a person with the gift of healing. An example of a person reported to have the gift of healing is Blessed Brother Andre Besette, CSC, a Holy Cross Brother known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal". The Catholic Church requires one or two miracles for the canonization of a saint, depending on the case. These are most often cases of faith healing reported as resulting from that person's intercession.
Faith healing is not scientifically effective. What few controlled studies have been performed have evidenced no beneficial effect. Its practitioners only cite anecdotal evidence of cases where it has been successful, ignoring the far more numerous cases where the patient dies despite the efforts of faith healing. Doctors often ascribe any success to the placebo effect or to spontaneous remission: some people will heal with or without treatment, and it is generally natural to credit the most recent treatment for the cure (this logical fallacy is called post hoc ergo propter hoc). However, many faith healers may be aware that their 'cure' is ineffective, but they 'believe' in it, nevertheless. The objective of these 'faith' healers is to placate or reassure their patients. The faith healer ministers to the 'sick', but what is offered is known to have no actual effect on whatever is causing the patients's problems or anxiety. The 'placebo' effect can therefore be detrimental. The power of suggestion may convince a patient that he can walk on a broken leg, but while the patient may be able to stand and move, the bone will fail to mend properly because the actual injury has not been treated.
A different form of Faith healing (Mental healing) are very important aspects of The New Thought Movement. Denominations that have emerged in New Thought- Religious Science, Divine Science, Unity. In this belief system mans true nature is divine (The Christ consciousness). Through affrimitive prayer and meditation which aligns you with your true nature -Christ Mind- you will experience a mental and or a physical healing. In aligning with your Christ nature you become a channel for God to move through you, in you, as you. " You to shall do greater works than these" stated Jesus. In New Thought it is not enough to be Christian, but to embody and emulate The Christ (Budha Nature ect...). In doing so everyone has access to the healing attibutes of the the Christ . Unlike other form of Faith healing where by the belief in Jesus and his divinity heals you. New Thought does not dispute Jesus's divinity but states we all have that spark of the divine in each one of us and our ability to access it is what heals you.
Practitioners are used in both New Thought and Christian Science.
New Thought differs from Christian Science and other forms of Faith healing in that God is in everything and that includes medicine. So as you access the Christ consciousness you can also use a more traditional medical approach (Treatments can be simultaneous). Jesus states as you "believe it is done onto you" so it is the belief you can be healed that heals you. The medicine has a placebo effect so in essence your belief in it heals you (Christ mind). Each person is encouraged to explore the right course of treatment for themselves.
Christian Science is similar to the New Thought in its healing practices where they deviate is in there use of traditional medicine. Christian Science tenets frowns on the use of traditional medical treatment.
In the United States faith healing is popular in circles of Pentecostalism. In the 1920s and 1930s Aimee Semple McPherson was a controversial faith healer of growing popularity during the Great Depression. By the late 1940s Oral Roberts was well known and continued with faith healing until the 1980s. A friend of Roberts was another popular faith healer, Kathryn Kuhlman, who gained fame in the 1950s and had a television program on CBS.
Also in this era, Jack Coe and A. A. Allen were faith healers with large a following, and travelled with large tents to hold mobile, open air crusades. In contrast Ernest Angley in Akron, Ohio made his fame on television.
As Oral Roberts demand to use the television as a medium to gain a wider audience others followed suit. For example, Pat Robertson and Peter Popoff were well-known televangelists who claimed to heal the sick.
LeRoy Jenkins was a well-known and financially-successful faith healer during the 1970s, his operation grossing $3 million a year. In 1979, Jenkins ran afoul of the law and was sentenced to 12 years in South Carolina state prison for a multitude of crimes, including conspiring to burn down the homes of both a state trooper and a creditor. Released from prison early after serving 5 1/2 years, he resumed his faith-healing business. His tarnished reputation never healed.
Notably James Randi researched Peter Popoff who claimed to heal sick people and give personal details about their lives. Randi exposed the voice of God was really radio transmissions of Popoff's wife, Elizabeth, off-stage reading information which she and her aides had gathered from earlier conversation with members of the audience.[2]
Richard Rossi, known for advertising his healing clinics through secular television and radio, claimed he could demonstrate and prove God's power to unbelievers through indisputable miracles.
Modern healing evangelists include Benny Hinn and Peter Youngren, who based their work and model on Kuhlman. Hinn, like the others, was videotaped by hidden cameras and profiled on an episode CBC's The Fifth Estate over allegations of fraudulent activity.[3]
Faith healing poses serious ethical problems when faith healers encourage ill people not to receive medical treatment from licensed doctors. Notably in the 1980s, Peter Popoff encouraged people to throw away their medicine (such an insulin) during his "miracle crusade" when he asserted that he "healed" them.
The British Columbia Cancer Agency "strongly urges individuals who are ill not to seek treatment by psychic surgeon."[4]
Another issue is when parents decline or refuse traditional medical care for their children. In some countries, parents argue that constitutional guarantees of religious freedom include the right to rely on alternative healing to the exclusion of medical care. Advocates of conventional medicine argue studies have shown faith healing no more effective than a placebo, making it unethical to rely on, though advocates of spiritual healing argue there exist methodical and bias issues.
Doctors as a rule consider it their duty to do everything that they can in the interests of the patient. In consequence, where they judge medical treatment necessary to save a child's life or health, and balancing the question with legal and privacy concerns, they may act contrary to the preference of a patient's parents. In 2000, a UK government ruling allowed a child to be treated by doctors against the parents' wishes. In 2001, Herman and Trijntje Jongkind of New Zealand were tried with "neglecting to provide the necessaries of life" to their 17-month old son. The couple were refusing antibiotic treatment demanded by doctors in favor of organic remedies and prayer. In 2007 the Canadian government seized custody of Canada’s first sextuplets after "their struggle for life has provoked a ferocious battle pitching Church against State and a child’s right to life against parents’ rights to practise their faith."[5]
In the Christian Bible, the four separate accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus are called the Gospels. In the Gospels Jesus both performs healings through divine power and indirectly acknowledges the role of the doctor, such as when he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" Mark 2:17 [1]. Jesus endorsed the use of the medical assistance of the time (medicines of oil and wine) when he praised the fictitious Good Samaritan for acting as a physician; telling his disciples to go and do the same thing that the Samaritan did in the story.[6] Furthermore, the healing in the Gospels is referred to as a sign John 6:2 [2] to prove his divinity and to foster belief in himself as the Christ John 4:48 [3]. When asked for miracles Jesus refused Mat 12:38 [4]. It is commonly held that whatever can be performed on demand as an ordinary event can no longer be viewed as miraculous, for by its consistent and repeatable nature it becomes an expected facet of natural science. [5]. Faith-healing is not often considered a system of healthcare, but a sign of divine visitation.
Just as Jesus did not condemn the use of medicine, he used healing through God's power as a sign of his coming. According to the gospels of the New Testament, he allegedly cleansed lepers, returned sight to the blind, returned hearing to the deaf, and restored strength and mobility to the lame and paralyzed.
Some present day Christians believe these signs of healing through the direct application of God's power ought to, and do, continue:
; ; . (; ).
1. The Faith Healers, , James, Randi, Prometheus Books, 1989, ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 10
2. The Faith Healers, , James, Randi, Prometheus Books, 1989, ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 141
3. Do You Believe in Miracles? Bob McKeown
4. Unconventional therapies--Psychic surgery
5. Babies seized after Jehovah’s Witness mother refuses blood for sextuplets Catherine Philp
6. Faith Healing -- God’s Compassion, God’s Power, and God’s Sovereignty: Is a Christian permitted to seek medical assistance and to use medicine? Craig Booth
- Dr. Matthias Kamp, M.D.: ''Bruno Groening - A Revolution in Medicine. A medical documentation on spiritual healing.'' Grete Haeusler Publishing, 1998, (Chapters 1 - 4)
★ Psychic surgery
★ Pastoral care
★ Russian law conjures with magic, ''BBC''. 1 August 2005
★ The Association of Former Pentecostals (Critical of some faith healing claims.)
★ Faith Healing in The Skeptic's Dictionary
★ Laying on of hands
'Faith healing' is sometimes accompanied with the refusal of modern medical techniques. Critics, such as James Randi, say it is a quack practice in which the "healers" trick desperate people.[1] As the supposed results of faith healing have never been substantiated, it is the subject of controversy.
Spiritual healing can also refer to the self-empowerment or self-actualization process or steps within those processes that often occurs with individuals seeking enlightenment or meaning in their lives. Often no "healing" is visible as no damage was visible. "Faith healing" may be intertwined with these processes but not always and those who believe in one might not believe in the other.
| Contents |
| Background |
| New Thought healing (Mental healing) |
| In the United States |
| Medical issues |
| Theology |
| References |
| Bibliography |
| See also |
| External links |
Background
The term is sometimes used in reference to the belief of some Christians who hold that God heals people through the power of the Holy Spirit, often involving the "laying on of hands". Those who hold to this belief do not usually use the term "faith healing" in reference to the practice; that expression is often used descriptively by commentators outside of the faith movement in reference to the belief and practice.
Faith healing also reported by Catholics as the result of intercessory prayer of a saint or a person with the gift of healing. An example of a person reported to have the gift of healing is Blessed Brother Andre Besette, CSC, a Holy Cross Brother known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal". The Catholic Church requires one or two miracles for the canonization of a saint, depending on the case. These are most often cases of faith healing reported as resulting from that person's intercession.
Faith healing is not scientifically effective. What few controlled studies have been performed have evidenced no beneficial effect. Its practitioners only cite anecdotal evidence of cases where it has been successful, ignoring the far more numerous cases where the patient dies despite the efforts of faith healing. Doctors often ascribe any success to the placebo effect or to spontaneous remission: some people will heal with or without treatment, and it is generally natural to credit the most recent treatment for the cure (this logical fallacy is called post hoc ergo propter hoc). However, many faith healers may be aware that their 'cure' is ineffective, but they 'believe' in it, nevertheless. The objective of these 'faith' healers is to placate or reassure their patients. The faith healer ministers to the 'sick', but what is offered is known to have no actual effect on whatever is causing the patients's problems or anxiety. The 'placebo' effect can therefore be detrimental. The power of suggestion may convince a patient that he can walk on a broken leg, but while the patient may be able to stand and move, the bone will fail to mend properly because the actual injury has not been treated.
New Thought healing (Mental healing)
A different form of Faith healing (Mental healing) are very important aspects of The New Thought Movement. Denominations that have emerged in New Thought- Religious Science, Divine Science, Unity. In this belief system mans true nature is divine (The Christ consciousness). Through affrimitive prayer and meditation which aligns you with your true nature -Christ Mind- you will experience a mental and or a physical healing. In aligning with your Christ nature you become a channel for God to move through you, in you, as you. " You to shall do greater works than these" stated Jesus. In New Thought it is not enough to be Christian, but to embody and emulate The Christ (Budha Nature ect...). In doing so everyone has access to the healing attibutes of the the Christ . Unlike other form of Faith healing where by the belief in Jesus and his divinity heals you. New Thought does not dispute Jesus's divinity but states we all have that spark of the divine in each one of us and our ability to access it is what heals you.
Practitioners are used in both New Thought and Christian Science.
New Thought differs from Christian Science and other forms of Faith healing in that God is in everything and that includes medicine. So as you access the Christ consciousness you can also use a more traditional medical approach (Treatments can be simultaneous). Jesus states as you "believe it is done onto you" so it is the belief you can be healed that heals you. The medicine has a placebo effect so in essence your belief in it heals you (Christ mind). Each person is encouraged to explore the right course of treatment for themselves.
Christian Science is similar to the New Thought in its healing practices where they deviate is in there use of traditional medicine. Christian Science tenets frowns on the use of traditional medical treatment.
In the United States
In the United States faith healing is popular in circles of Pentecostalism. In the 1920s and 1930s Aimee Semple McPherson was a controversial faith healer of growing popularity during the Great Depression. By the late 1940s Oral Roberts was well known and continued with faith healing until the 1980s. A friend of Roberts was another popular faith healer, Kathryn Kuhlman, who gained fame in the 1950s and had a television program on CBS.
Also in this era, Jack Coe and A. A. Allen were faith healers with large a following, and travelled with large tents to hold mobile, open air crusades. In contrast Ernest Angley in Akron, Ohio made his fame on television.
As Oral Roberts demand to use the television as a medium to gain a wider audience others followed suit. For example, Pat Robertson and Peter Popoff were well-known televangelists who claimed to heal the sick.
LeRoy Jenkins was a well-known and financially-successful faith healer during the 1970s, his operation grossing $3 million a year. In 1979, Jenkins ran afoul of the law and was sentenced to 12 years in South Carolina state prison for a multitude of crimes, including conspiring to burn down the homes of both a state trooper and a creditor. Released from prison early after serving 5 1/2 years, he resumed his faith-healing business. His tarnished reputation never healed.
Notably James Randi researched Peter Popoff who claimed to heal sick people and give personal details about their lives. Randi exposed the voice of God was really radio transmissions of Popoff's wife, Elizabeth, off-stage reading information which she and her aides had gathered from earlier conversation with members of the audience.[2]
Richard Rossi, known for advertising his healing clinics through secular television and radio, claimed he could demonstrate and prove God's power to unbelievers through indisputable miracles.
Modern healing evangelists include Benny Hinn and Peter Youngren, who based their work and model on Kuhlman. Hinn, like the others, was videotaped by hidden cameras and profiled on an episode CBC's The Fifth Estate over allegations of fraudulent activity.[3]
Medical issues
Faith healing poses serious ethical problems when faith healers encourage ill people not to receive medical treatment from licensed doctors. Notably in the 1980s, Peter Popoff encouraged people to throw away their medicine (such an insulin) during his "miracle crusade" when he asserted that he "healed" them.
The British Columbia Cancer Agency "strongly urges individuals who are ill not to seek treatment by psychic surgeon."[4]
Another issue is when parents decline or refuse traditional medical care for their children. In some countries, parents argue that constitutional guarantees of religious freedom include the right to rely on alternative healing to the exclusion of medical care. Advocates of conventional medicine argue studies have shown faith healing no more effective than a placebo, making it unethical to rely on, though advocates of spiritual healing argue there exist methodical and bias issues.
Doctors as a rule consider it their duty to do everything that they can in the interests of the patient. In consequence, where they judge medical treatment necessary to save a child's life or health, and balancing the question with legal and privacy concerns, they may act contrary to the preference of a patient's parents. In 2000, a UK government ruling allowed a child to be treated by doctors against the parents' wishes. In 2001, Herman and Trijntje Jongkind of New Zealand were tried with "neglecting to provide the necessaries of life" to their 17-month old son. The couple were refusing antibiotic treatment demanded by doctors in favor of organic remedies and prayer. In 2007 the Canadian government seized custody of Canada’s first sextuplets after "their struggle for life has provoked a ferocious battle pitching Church against State and a child’s right to life against parents’ rights to practise their faith."[5]
Theology
In the Christian Bible, the four separate accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus are called the Gospels. In the Gospels Jesus both performs healings through divine power and indirectly acknowledges the role of the doctor, such as when he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" Mark 2:17 [1]. Jesus endorsed the use of the medical assistance of the time (medicines of oil and wine) when he praised the fictitious Good Samaritan for acting as a physician; telling his disciples to go and do the same thing that the Samaritan did in the story.[6] Furthermore, the healing in the Gospels is referred to as a sign John 6:2 [2] to prove his divinity and to foster belief in himself as the Christ John 4:48 [3]. When asked for miracles Jesus refused Mat 12:38 [4]. It is commonly held that whatever can be performed on demand as an ordinary event can no longer be viewed as miraculous, for by its consistent and repeatable nature it becomes an expected facet of natural science. [5]. Faith-healing is not often considered a system of healthcare, but a sign of divine visitation.
Just as Jesus did not condemn the use of medicine, he used healing through God's power as a sign of his coming. According to the gospels of the New Testament, he allegedly cleansed lepers, returned sight to the blind, returned hearing to the deaf, and restored strength and mobility to the lame and paralyzed.
Some present day Christians believe these signs of healing through the direct application of God's power ought to, and do, continue:
; ; . (; ).
References
1. The Faith Healers, , James, Randi, Prometheus Books, 1989, ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 10
2. The Faith Healers, , James, Randi, Prometheus Books, 1989, ISBN 0-87975-535-0 page 141
3. Do You Believe in Miracles? Bob McKeown
4. Unconventional therapies--Psychic surgery
5. Babies seized after Jehovah’s Witness mother refuses blood for sextuplets Catherine Philp
6. Faith Healing -- God’s Compassion, God’s Power, and God’s Sovereignty: Is a Christian permitted to seek medical assistance and to use medicine? Craig Booth
Bibliography
- Dr. Matthias Kamp, M.D.: ''Bruno Groening - A Revolution in Medicine. A medical documentation on spiritual healing.'' Grete Haeusler Publishing, 1998, (Chapters 1 - 4)
See also
★ Psychic surgery
★ Pastoral care
External links
★ Russian law conjures with magic, ''BBC''. 1 August 2005
★ The Association of Former Pentecostals (Critical of some faith healing claims.)
★ Faith Healing in The Skeptic's Dictionary
★ Laying on of hands
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