Prayer: The Other Alternative Medicine

[HuckleB]

Uh, it doesn't work, either.

Prayer does not heal the sick:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2112892,00.html

Praying Doesn't Help The Sick Get Better:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/healthnews.php?newsid=40765

[Ciggies and coffee]

1. An odd study, to say the least

A medical study saying prayer doesn't help is surely going to influence folks' religious beliefs. And endear those same folks to other essays from the same industry. :sarcasm:

Who funded this study, and why did they ask this question? Last time I checked, prayer was a personal thing, and can't cause the sick to get sicker. If the writers said that prayer was helpful, I doubt that the nonreligious would suddenly get faithful.

[HuckleB]

2. The John Templeton Foundation

http://www.templeton.org/about_the_foundation/index.asp

Which hoped to find the opposite conclusion. One certainly has to give them a great deal of credit for working so diligently to keep their bias out of the results. They do work hard to look at things openly and honestly. Still, there is no reason not to try to understand health care from all angles, and I see no reason for such research to be dismissed simply as "odd."

[Warpy]

4. The study was designed by believers who fully expected to find

that third party prayer did a lot of good. They were honest enough to publish the results that said if a person knew he was being prayed over, he had a slightly higher chance of developing complications. There was no effect if he didn't know he was prayed over, and complication rates for the group that didn't know plus the group that wasn't prayed over were the same.

This sounds like a pretty well designed study and should drive a stake into the hearts of those damn prayer groups we used to have to call the cops on when they'd show up and barge into patient rooms uninvited. ...nah, too much to hope for.

Other studies have said that prayer does the same thing that chanting and meditation do and that all 3 will center and relax a patient and slightly improve patient outcomes.

The lesson of this study is that if you believe in the power of prayer, do your own work. Do other people a favor, and don't announce that you're trying to order god around on their behalf. It raises their cortisol levels as they feel pressured to live up to the prayers and they get sicker.

[Celebration]

3. I find this to be a very weird study

Okay, just make the assumption that prayer works. That is, a bunch of people pray for someone to get well after an operation, and that person is more likely to have a better outcome. If that were the case, the prayer would have to be for that person and not another one, right? So why in the heck would using the first name and initial be enough information? How many people would that apply to? Wouldn't the prayer answerers be confused? If I were even the person praying I would be confused. Wouldn't it also be help to be able to visulaize the face of the person? If someone is going to the trouble and time to do this extensive study, one would think they would design it to be waaaaay more specific. The prayer used seems nonspecific too. I think a whole lot of time and money was wasted on this study. I'm not saying that a study with another design would have given positive results, but this one really had NO "PRAYER" of working even *if* prayer worked.

But John Templeton has a lot more money than I do. What can I say?

[NMMNG]

5. At the rate we're going

It's going to be the national health plan--"Faith based health care". Say two prayers and don't call me in the morning. :eyes:

[beam me up scottie]

6. Yes, it will fit in nicely

with the faith based family planning program. :mad:

[NMMNG]

7. Faith-based family planning

"Oh God, please don't let me get pregnant again!"

[beam me up scottie]

8. THis was posted by another DUer a while ago

I just had to save it.

[NMMNG]

9. Bwahahaha

Though would they actually let women open their legs that far? :rofl:

[beam me up scottie]

10. Brilliant cover.

Don't you think?

That would make an awesome poster or t-shirt.

[NMMNG]

11. That would make an excellent t-shirt

It would so piss off a bunch of wingnuts. :evilgrin: