Anonymous A (OP) replied with this 12 years ago, 3 minutes later, 5 minutes after the original post[^][v]#498,964
@previous (B)
I do not need sources about "faith healers".
I need sources for why a belief or faith in God or a god can or can't cure human diseases.
> cracked
lol
(Edited 14 seconds later.)
Anonymous B replied with this 12 years ago, 11 minutes later, 16 minutes after the original post[^][v]#498,965
@previous (A)
God never cured my oral herpes. You can quote me on that.
Anonymous C joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 51 minutes later, 1 hour after the original post[^][v]#498,971
Ummm... scholar.google.com? "Religiousity" is a common term for a measure of one's faith and "healing" is probably a good term to connect to it. A quick search shows a number of articles linking religion to better recovery, but they're mostly religious publications. :/
I don't know if a serious study of this (as a phenomena on the whole) has been done or could be done. I recall reading about the efficacy of intercessory prayer years ago, and the author of that article took a Bayesian approach and pretty much killed the idea of efficacy within the confines of what was being considered within the article. (but that's not really faith within the afflicted which seems to be what you are looking for...)
Just spit-balling, I would imagine that any kind of hope (religious or otherwise) would help in a dire situation and lead to less of a willingness to "let go"?? Dunno. It could plausibly be argued that religious faith could lead one to "give in" more easily rather than fight a disease, and, of course, refusing medical treatment on religious grounds (as seen in some sects) is probably a step backward. I don't really know, but I would like to. What kind of illnesses are you talking about specifically? Are you interested in terminal-illnesses like cancer or just getting over the common cold?
Killer Lettuce !!iNo3FkiZx joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 1 hour later, 2 hours after the original post[^][v]#498,977
Placebo effect for how it could help, a perceived lack of a locus of control for how it could hinder.
Anonymous E joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 12 minutes later, 3 hours after the original post[^][v]#498,984
Just do an experiment. Put two identical things next to each other. Pray for one of them to change. See if it does.
Anonymous F joined in and replied with this 12 years ago, 43 minutes later, 3 hours after the original post[^][v]#498,995