Religion & Health

Many believe that religious beliefs can lead to better health, and there is some basis for that conclusion. The same people should not, however, ignore the evidence which also leads to the opposite conclusion: that religion can be detrimental to health.
In a sense, religion can be considered a form of complementary or supplementary therapy. However, I don' t believe that religious healing can be a substitute or alternative for standard medical care.

Some patients believe god will protect them or that their illness is a divine punishment, believing god is the ultimate decision-maker.

Illnesses in god’ s hands?

Depends on what you call religion....some believe that a vegetarian diet is what was created in the garden of eden and taught by Jesus if he was an Essene...And medical professions do agree with this...and, faith does work many times in heeling's, but not always...I do believe in miracles, and I've seen some...But I believe it is not so much a in "This name or that name." but a strong belief in a power...since this happens in many faiths across the world.

Some religions are very detrimental to a persons state of mind and or family and children with such odd restrictions and guilt that the human mind wasn't made to function in, that state which suppresses natural human emotions and can lead to problems later in life. Many families have broken up because of very restrictive or imagined guilt and superstitions.

Adam and eve were vegetarians because there was no sin no, so no animal was killed to cover their nakedness. before they sinned, between them and the animals, their was no killing and everyone got along.

Vegetarianism was in affect until the flood...If you want to go there....though I'm sure some ate meat....when looked up in a concordance, meat meant food, not flesh. After the flood God said they were allowed to eat meat/flesh.

Placebo

they ate meat after the fall and before the flood.

Originally posted by Storm
Many believe that religious beliefs can lead to better health, and there is some basis for that conclusion. The same people should not, however, ignore the evidence which also leads to the opposite conclusion: that religion can be detrimental to health.
In a sense, religion can be considered a form of complementary or supplementary therapy. However, I don' t believe that religious healing can be a substitute or alternative for standard medical care.

Some patients believe god will protect them or that their illness is a divine punishment, believing god is the ultimate decision-maker.

Illnesses in god’ s hands?

Originally posted by cking
they ate meat after the fall and before the flood.

They were not to eat meat until after the flood and that would be meat that had no blood in it...

King James Version
Genesis 8.

The Book of Genesis
Return to Index Henry's Commentary

Chapter 9

1 And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.
fruitful Gen 1:28, Gen 9:7, Lev 26:9, Psa 128:3

2 And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered.
fear Hos 2:18, James 3:7

3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you even as the green herb have I given you all things.

4 But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
blood Lev 17:10, Deut 12:16, 1st Sam 14:34, Acts 15:20, Acts 15:29

Originally posted by Storm
Many believe that religious beliefs can lead to better health, and there is some basis for that conclusion.

Try to keep it on topic please.

we try

Originally posted by Storm
Some patients believe god will protect them or that their illness is a divine punishment, believing god is the ultimate decision-maker.

Illnesses in god’ s hands?

There are many denominations that tell you that if you get ill it is because you have sin in your life and god is punishing you. Or, that god is CHASTENING you....OH, I hate that one...they use the verse...God chastens those He loves....Also, it's said that if your are having a real sh*tty life, then you must be doing something right, cause Satan attacks godly people..and you should bare it like Christ bared His cross...and this is a good thing? 😑 .....

I know people who won't leave a crappy job because they are waiting for gods word telling them they should leave, and if they are not hearing from Him then they must be needed there, and so they stay....

There seems to be two schools of thought....

1. If you're being persecuted it's because God is chastening you and loves you or...

2. You're a sinner and God has let this happen to you....

You pick

not true.

Originally posted by cking
not true.

Can you elaborate..

not all denominations teach that if a person is sick because of sin. it is just part of life, but sometimes it can, it just depends, but most of the time it isn't.

Many people turn to their faith and prayer when facing serious illness to help them get through this difficult time. Prayer has proven to be a powerful source of comfort and strength to those facing illness and death, but can prayer heal?

I believe that in many cases, people are more likely looking for sympathy and emotional support, rather than divine intervention when they ask for people' s prayers. They want to know that people are thinking about them and care enough to hope that things turn out well for them.

It depends on the intensity and direction of one's faith.

If a person believes that god will save them from any illness (and forgoes medicine as a result) they're going to die much sooner. But a person who believes that God is protecting him will have a much better chance of surviving an illness due to the fact that they are much more hopeful.

Religious faith can (in moderatiob) reduce stress in a person's life and thereby maintain the immune system.

So religious people probably would live longer depending on their faith.

As for illness coming from God. I somehow doubt that God would be bothered to go out and give people illnesses for their sins out of so sort to twisted spite.

Religion can be harmful to your health, especially your mental health ie thinking your going to burn in hell for doing something trivial.

A strong belief in anything can be helpful to your health and recovery, a belief in God, the doctor or just sheer force of will to get better. Much the same way as a placebo, if you think this pill is going to help you many times it does just because you believe it will.

Originally posted by FeceMan
Religious people tend to live longer lives. Yay?

According to what ?

Being happy and having self-confidence increases health, not religion specifically. If religion provides those things, then all is good.