Prayer Does Not Heal the Sick
A new study shows that praying does not heal the sick. This is actually kind of funny. Talk about the dream study of every agnostic in academia. Or maybe this is just further evidence for the long-held American War on Christianity--yes, I'm being sarcastic...
Members of three congregations - St. Paul's Monastery in St. Paul; the Community of Teresian Carmelites in Worcester, Massachussetts[sic]; and Silent Unity, a Missouri prayer ministry near Kansas City - were asked to pray for the patients, who were divided into three groups: those who would be told they were being prayed for, those who would receive prayers but not know, and those who would not be prayed for at all.The worshippers starting praying for the patients the night before surgery and for the next two weeks, asking God to grant "a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications".
The study found no appreciable difference between the health of those who did not know they were being prayed for and those who received no prayers. Fifty-two per cent of patients in both groups suffered complications after surgery. But 59 per cent of those who knew they were prayed for went on to develop complications.
Yikes...
Hat-tip to Op-Ed News.
posted by Shlomo Boudreaux @ 6:12 PM
1 Comments:
I think praying for someone is more for the benefit person doing the praying than the sick person. I mean, praying allows a religious person to feel like they can have a positive impact over something that they really have no control over. I don't necessarily mean this to sound like I think they're being selfish (some people really belive that if they pray hard enough it will be answered). But I think people pray so they can feel less helpless.
Another interesting study to do would be to see if there is any change in the stress / anxiety levels of people who pray for their sick loved ones.
Davey D
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