
God created everything. Jesus is the Great Physician. God answers prayer. If we pray to the Great Physician, he will heal us. Or so Christians say, anyway.
Yet, when sickness and disease come their way, what do Christians do? They seek out medical care from physicians, specialists, and hospitals. When someone has a heart attack, what does he or his family do? Does he call for the elders of the church to anoint him with oil and pray over him so he will be healed? Of course not. He either dials 9-1-1 or has a family member take them to the emergency room. No time for prayer. Death is knocking on the door and the only hope lies not in Jesus’ blood and righteousness, but in the skills of medical professionals.
An anonymous YouTube commenter said, No Christian has ever had a heart attack and said, “Quick, get me to the church.”
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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A very pertinent post, given the recent case in Australia of the child who died because her parents thought that praying to god was more important than giving proper medical attention. This is a graphic illustration of a response to people who complain about atheists spending time undermining religious belief.
I could rant at length about the failings of faith healing, and the misguided fools who believe it should be seen as a valid alternative to medical practices. These idiots will frame modern medical care in the worst possible light, dishonestly misrepresenting data and facts to suit their misleading agenda. They are not capable of understanding reality, and so cling to their delusions.
It would not matter so much if adults were making choices that solely affected them. I would consider it rightly stupid, but so be it. It’s when they deny children the care they need, and cost their kids dearly, that it becomes truly outrageous.
Maybe I’m making this up, but I’ve got this vague notion that, didn’t you, Bruce, comment in one recent post about a preacher who had a heart attack in church or whilst preaching. An ambulance was called and you said something like, surely if the lawd heals and prayers work, why didn’t the congregation just gather round him, lay hands on him and get him immediately healed, no medical treatment necessary!
Yet some of these Christians are eschewing science-based medical care for colloidal silver or essential oils or raw milk or some other “natural remedy”. That’s why we have RF Brain Worm Kennedy Jr as candidate for Health Secretary. There’s a lot of money to be made off unregulated remedies, and a lot of people will suffer and die without actual medical care.
Death is a fact of life. It is part of the greater biology of the planet. I get to live; there are actions I can reasonably take to prolong my life as a US citizen, given our heath insurance issues; but at 65, I’m facing my last years. Ultimately, as a secular humanist, my focus is toward future generations. I have no children, but all the children of my country, and moreso of my state, can be affected by my pestering of congresscritters. I’m pestering. Friends in similar situations, I encourage you to do the same.
In my old Evangelical church, some people actually believed medical interventions were not only unnecessary, but also sacrilegious. But I am sure that if they had a heart attack or some other life-threatening condition, someone would call an ambulance.
That gets me to wondering about Christian Scientists: How many choose the ER over a Reading Room when their, or others’, lives are at stake?