From: riggs@descartes.tec.army.mil (Bill Riggs)
Newsgroups: sci.skeptic
Subject: Faith Healing (Was: Reincarnation)
Date: 9 Oct 92 00:23:06 GMT
Followup-To: sci.skeptic
Organization: LNK Corporation, Riverdale, MD

In article <1b0h5vINN9be@gap.caltech.edu> carl@SOL1.GPS.CALTECH.EDU writes:
>In article <1992Oct6.105047.10775@hfsi.uucp>, ata@hfsi.uucp (John Ata - FSO) writes:
>>>A study could be done to determine if religious beliefs changed the cure rate
>>>for a series of terminal diseases.  (This has been tried, I believe.)
>>
>>All that would tell you is how benificial to the human health is that set of
>>religious beliefs.  It does not tell you anything about the validity of those
>>beliefs unless that religious belief defined itself in terms of physical
>>health (which is extremely unlikely).
>         ???????????????????????????
>
>You've *GOT* to be kidding.  In case you're not, consider the following facts:
>
>o A substantial percentage of televangelists are faith healers, as well.  

	Correct, however, their actions in this area reflect significantly 
on their credibility and the validity of their teachings. It is the
LACK of faith of American Protestants which has made some of these people
notorious, and wealthy. There was a time which church-going people regarded
them as quacks, and their followers were mostly apostates who were either
too spiritually proud or too spiritually lazy to commit themselves to going
to church with the hypocrites. There is still an element of truth to this
today, though there is certainly much more to choose from. If I subscribe
to the cable in Fredericksburg, VA, I can get good solid Roman Catholic
doctrine 24 hours a day !! (No miracles on the screen, although they do
run the Mass periodically, with all that entails...)

>o There are several Christian sects which teach that medicine is evil, and that
>  illness can better be treated through prayer.  Unfortunately, it's all too
>  frequently the small children of members of these sects who end up dying for
>  lack of treatment.

	It is grossly unfair to (pre)judge all Christians based on the
teachings of Christian Science. 

>o Even outside those sects, there are quite a few others that, while not
>  frowning on medicine, still ascribe any cures to their prayers being answered.

	Well, if you go to "testimony time" at those little country churches
up in Eastern Kentucky, you can listen to all kinds of stories of this
sort...one would do well to hang out with such people for awhile before
challenging their veracity and their intelligence.

>
>>I was only observing that, at least in the cases we were talking about,
>>the superstitious beliefs could be scientifically tested but the religious
>>beliefs could not.
>
>And only by (deliberately?) ignoring some reasonably prevalent religious
>beliefs could you reach such a stupendously stupid conclusion.

	Once again, our modern skeptic blindly refuses to accept
the ancient distinction between superstition and piety."Superstitious" was
always a term of disdain. It is only in recent times that "pious" also became
a term of scorn.

	Bill R.

	"My opinions do not represent those of my employer or any
government agency."
-- 
Bill R.