What does your religious beliefs say about Faith Healing vs. Medical Treatment? Which one should come first? Do they work together or is one more powerful than the other?
Faith healing and medical healing should work together. I find it difficult to only rely on faith healing, especially when there are medical procedures or drugs that can aid the healing process. This question reminds me of a true story I heard about recently where an infant was allowed to die because this group or cult did not believe in medicines and doctors and believed that prayer alone would heal the child. They were charged and prosecuted for child negligence. I have no doubt in the power of faith and prayer, but it should not go so far as to neglect or reject medical remedies that are available.
We should seek for both methods, it would be kind of silly just to pray to be healed and then do nothing about it, let me give you an example: You are praying for your neighbour who is very poor and have nothing to eat, you pray so that God may provide food for him. The whole point missing is that you need to get up after praying and take food and help your neighbour, God will definetly bless us when we do the things that are needed. Now, I do believe powefully in Faith Healing, is a wonderful thing but we should use both methods.
I honestly don't know how my church "officially" views Faith Healing. However, I know that our priesthood holders do administer to the sick, and there have been miraculous results (I work with someone who recently had a miracle in this manner), although it is generally in combination with medical treatment.
I believe that they work together, prayer and modern medicine. I believe that God gave Man the intelligence and the tools needed to discover these medical cures and treatments and vaccines, and that it is an insult to Him to deny these gifts.
Roz
Offtopic but, or maybe not really offtopic, but I understand it is the faith of the one being prayed for, not the faith of those praying, that causes the healing. |
In my opinion God has given men the gift of the knowledge of healing to use it for the purpose of helping the sick and ill. Faith healing which in my understanding involves the use of prayer and strong mental connections in order to instigate unseen healing can also be from God once invoked in the correct manner, thus, as everyone has rightfully said... they 'both' are good to use as they 'both' come from God.
I believe that all truth comes from God - including medical knowledge. I may pray with energy and faith that a splinter will be removed from my finger, but the Lord isn't likely to zap it out if he has already blessed me with the manual dexterity and tweezers to take care of the problem myself.
That said, faith healing is real, and I have had undeniable experiences that prove to me that miracles of that type occur in our day. Sometimes doctors have been involved, and sometimes they have not. God uses many instruments to bless us. Often we presume to limit Him by ruling out options He can still exercise.
I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. We have probably all heard the expression "God helps those who help themselves." Well, to some extent, I believe, this is true. So, if I pray for a cure for my broken wrist, I really should be sure to visit a doctor to assist.
I had surgery on my right wrist a few years ago. I had suffered a great deal of pain for about 5 years before the surgery. I received a priesthood blessing that promised me a complete recovery as long as I did as my doctors instructed. I did exactly what they told me as far as therapy, etc. They medical professionals were all quite surprised at how quickly I recovered. I believe the speed of my recovery was the "miracle" or a result of the blessing, but I also believe that blessing was predicated upon my following the advice and recommendations/instructions of the medical professionals.
DOCTOR POLL: MOST HAVE BELIEF IN GOD
A survey examining religion in medicine found that most U.S. doctors believe in God and an afterlife -- a surprising degree of spirituality in a science-based field, researchers say.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/1%2C1249%2C...43533%2C00.html