NightTline Faceoff: Can Prayer Heal?
EmailLast year, an 11-year-old Wisconsin girl named Madeline Neumann died of untreated diabetes, while her parents relied on prayers and faith in God to heal her. Doctors say her condition was treatable, but her parents are members of a church that relies on God and not medicine. "Basically, you pray and do nothing but pray," Madeline’s mother, Althea Wormgoor told a jury two weeks ago. Wormgoor was convicted of second-degree reckless homicide last week. While many Americans depend on faith and spirituality to help cope with mental and physic al woes, some believe that this practice is futile. On Today’s NightTline Twittercast, two guests will face off on this controversial issue: Can Faith Heal? Dr. Dana King is a medical doctor, and professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. He will be arguing that prayer and spirituality are a welcome addition to the tools available to medical practitioners. He’ll join NightTline via Skype from the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston. Dr. King uses research to point to a clear link between people’s religious beliefs and practices and their health. On the other side of the issue is Dr. Richard Sloan, PhD. He has criticized purported links between religion, spirituality, and health that have appeared in popular and medical publications. Dr. Sloan is the author of Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine. Both Sloan and King will rely on a wide range of research to defend their various viewpoints. So what do you think? Is there room for faith in modern medicine, or should prayer and spirituality be left out altogether. Start Tweeting your thoughts now, and be sure to watch the Twittercast LIVE at 12:30pm E.D.T. on the Nightline page at ABCnews.com and on ABC News Now.
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Who do you think gave man the abilities to create and develop the medications? God did. So how could refuding to use medication for what ever illness be anything but of God? Prayer is gelpful but God also gave you a brain and expects you to use the thing.
Posted by: tjsillsga | May 27, 2009, 11:05 am 11:05 am
Synergy of positive spiritual and scientific forces. AND use of new technology to spread the word!
Posted by: KaRi from LBweekly | May 27, 2009, 11:57 am 11:57 am
Yes it can…as long as you pray to the right God (That’s called sarcasm)
Posted by: Jason | May 27, 2009, 12:29 pm 12:29 pm
No offence…prayer doesn’t do it…i have tried…i am now heathen
Posted by: raven brewer | May 27, 2009, 12:54 pm 12:54 pm
I think this comes down to just basic common sense. When it comes to prayer over medical attention, it shouldn’t take any kind of deep thought as what to do. When a person has a life threatening medical or Health issue, it takes more than just someone “praying for them to get better” If all it took to make everything better was to pray, then I would think that there would be No Sickness anywhere on Earth! My Grandfather would still be alive, Prayer is something that helps people get through tough times, and helps peopld think that there is somthing greater than themselves out there. What people need to think about is that if God only wanted to be the one who decided if a person should live, get better, or die, then he would never have made it possible for humans to evolve and become smarter, learning how to heal other humans and animals. So it is like the story, a man was stranded in the middle of the ocean, he prayed to God that he would save him. (To make a long story short) in the end He died and asked God why didn’t you save me. God answered I sent you three boats… God gave us doctors, surgons, People that havee the knowlege and ability to make us better. They are like the three boats in the story. He has given us these people who can save us, we just have to use them and let them help us…
Posted by: flamingobaye | May 27, 2009, 2:00 pm 2:00 pm
tjsillsga—Exactly!! WE have been the answer to our prayers…Doctors are Gods answer to help making us better. No they do not always succeed. Maybe that is God’s way of still keeping some of his power. But they (Doctors) Do Heal!! They do make miracles happen. They make people that are on thier death beds better, able to walk again, live again. If we lelt everyting up to prayer, then the whole world would be in utter chaos…If prayer was the answer to all of our problems then we as the world (humans) would have no illness, no hunger, no saddness. We would be in Eden. But there is No Eden anymore because we ate the apple. There is sin in the world, there is saddness, illness, and hurt. God gave us the people to help fix, heal, and give us peace. All we need to do is use them.
Posted by: flamingobaye | May 27, 2009, 2:10 pm 2:10 pm
Research shows “faith” has about the same therapeutic effect as pet ownership. Meaning…….believing in higher power and owning a pet have the same therapeutic value.
Research, also, shows prayer can have a negative effect on patients. If a patient knows they are being prayed for, they tend to do less well than if they don’t know. Apparently, the thought of being prayed for makes patients think their condition is actually worse than it may be.
Bottom line. Faith and pet ownership have the same therapeutic effect. Prayer, on the other hand, can have a negative effect on patients.
So much for clergy’s attempt to drum-up prayer business for themselves. Religious folks can stop paying “love offerings” for prayer. They are wasting their money.
Posted by: Sammy | May 27, 2009, 2:39 pm 2:39 pm
I don’t believe there is a tension between medicine and God’s healing power. Read Sirach chapter 38! Jesus healed many people while He was on earth. Has God stopped healing people? No. God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He healed then, and He heals now. Watch EWTN tonight (May 27th) at 8 pm eastern time.
Posted by: Jennifer | May 27, 2009, 6:38 pm 6:38 pm
This one is a no-brainer. Sick people should have the resources of modern medicine available to them, by all means. Medical care is the number-one priority to try and cure people and save lives from illnesses. This is why getting the people of this country a single-payer, universal, nationalized health-care system has to be the number-one priority of the Obama administration. The USA has waited much too long for a viable healthcare system.
As far as religion goes, people are welcome to pray. But, prayer should never be used as a reason for not letting sick people get medical care (once we all have access to it, after we get a national system for it). Prayer is only a supplemental thing to medical care. In fact, to the extent God heals, a medical system (once we get one) will be one of God’s primary vehicles for healing.
Posted by: Proud Native American and Independent Voter | May 27, 2009, 11:20 pm 11:20 pm
Man these Religious head-cases come a dime dozens and they still don’t get it, Prayers are pointless because they fall on deaf ears,because there is no one there to hear them.Faith Healing has a 99.9% of rate of failure for sure and only foolish people follow such backwooded thinking,We live in the 21st century yet these clock stoppers want to just keep on turning the hands back and keep us all in the dark ages.
Posted by: KWOLF443 | May 28, 2009, 3:41 am 3:41 am
Depending on one’s faith prayer can really help. Medical care is just as important as prayer, God put all the resources on this beautiful earth so we can use them for our advantage.
Posted by: Daniel | May 28, 2009, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm
to me the idea behind prayer and healing is to Let Go and Let God help handle the fears and anxieties that can overpower ones path to healing. Once you are able to find peace in accepting your illness and whatever treatment is needed you usually have a better outcome physiologically and psychologically for some prayer is what gives them this peacefulness. Can prayer be the only tool for healing, in some cases probably in others, they call that a miracle.
Posted by: Lisa | May 28, 2009, 4:14 pm 4:14 pm
==…prayer doesn’t do it…i have tried… ==
No, you haven’t.
Posted by: Mr. Incredible | May 28, 2009, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm
As a minister of 31 years I have prayed for the sick by the laying on of hands, (Book of James Chpt. 5, Matthew 28:20-21)People were healed of everything from malignant brain tumors to bleeding ulcers, (all verified through x rays, cat scans and tests). Some were not?
I have told countless doctors your job is to cut and sew, after that it’s all God’s domain. Within that Domain is the regenerative power we possess. Give me two people with the same illness, my stock goes with the one who is intelligent enough to rely on God and medicine.It’s called Faith, a well rounded faith.
Anyone taking money for a healing/healing prayer, stay far away! It’s not that green ink paper, I fondly call Obama pet litter, (that’s all it’s worth)but the love/greed of it.
“They that labor of the gospel, should live from the Gospel”…NOT LIVE IT UP! EXCESS DEFINED AS CHRISTIANS: “POSSESSION(S) BEYOND CURRENT NEED OR USE”.
In the end read Acts 2:38 experience a personal relationship with Jesus 1 on 1.
I promise it will be the most satisfying experience of your life and in the life to come.
Posted by: crackmeupp | May 29, 2009, 12:15 am 12:15 am
RELYING ON FAITH ONLY IN MEDICAL MATTERS IS NOT BIBLICAL. WHAT YA THINK, LUKE THE BELOVED PHYSICIAN GAVE UP PRACTICING MEDICINE.THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID TO TIMOTHY BISHOP OF EPHESUS ” DRINK A LITTLE WINE FOR THY STOMACH’S OFT INFIRMITIES”.
TO ALL THE GOSPEL TWISTING CRITTERS OUT THERE, THERE ARE OTHER MEDICATIONS BESIDES BOOZE AVAILABLE TODAY…DAA
FAITH ONLY IN MEDICAL MATTERS IS CHURCH DOGMA, MANS TEACHING AND NOT GOSPEL THEOLOGY, GOD’S TEACHING.
Posted by: crackmeupp | May 29, 2009, 12:31 am 12:31 am
Dear Sammy,
I notice you have not cited the institution you drew your conclusion from?
Please visit Harvard University medicine,
Sloane Kettering, all doing or completing studies on this very subject.
Their conclusions are quite different than yours.
Good luck
Posted by: crackmeupp | May 29, 2009, 12:49 am 12:49 am
Wow! This article is bull! This is why I never watch or read the news anymore, because its not even 1/2 ass true!!! You guys should be ashamed of yourself! Dont worry though, you will be judged by someone far greater than yourself!
My advice, before you share things with the world, you should probably get ALL the facts first, and the WHOLE story! – That is, if your seekers of truth. If not, then keep on lieing, you do well at it!
~Kara’s personal friend
to answer your question, I know for a fact Kara’s answer would be “Yes, prayer can heal! Many things happen, and during that moment we dont know why, but in the end its good!”
Posted by: karas friend | May 29, 2009, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm
Prayer can heal and it really doesn’t matter what the academics think! After all academia tends to oppose God and promulgate evolutionary origins so God just might not favor academia with signs and wonders like He does his elect.
Posted by: Ed Taylor | June 3, 2009, 12:43 am 12:43 am