Category: philosophy/religion topics
I've had that discussion in my family recently, so I got curious what other people think about it:
Those of you who believe in God, do you think he does miracles? Like healing blind people from blindness or something like that?
Looking forward to hearing your opinions
Judith
Judith, My answer is yes. I'm assuming it is the same worldwide, but here in the States we have individuals who are famous as what we call "faith healers." I've been told by many people that "If you go see (Person's name), he/she can heal you of your blindness." Forgetting the issue of whether or not someone would or would not want to be healed, I think people don't remember that it has more to do with one's Higher Power than any individual. The people who are sending one to a faith healer almost act as though the individual, and not one's higher power are responsible for the healing, and that's where I have a real problem.
Interesting topic.
Lou
i don't agree.
while i have no problems with people believing in what they like, i won't believe in it until i've either sen it for myself, or i know someone's it's happened too.
sure you see those programmes on tv, but i think that's all luck.
I believe that The Gods can do whatever They choose, and sometimes, They do miraculous things. Each of Them has this ability, but I'd venture to say that Hermes has it even more so as luck bringer. And of course, Asklepios, as the god of health, can do incredible things for the benefit of everyone. As for faith healers, I don't really believe in them. While I do believe in psychic ability in things like remote viewing, spiritual communication and divination, I'm very skeptical about an individual's ability to heal someone with faith alone. If it does happen, it's extremely rare and should never be relied upon as the only means of treatment unless the illness is so great that no naturopathic or allopathic medicine can cure it.
I'm with the third poster on this in that I don't agree. I won't believe in anything unless there's solid proof to back it up.
I was forced to several "faith healers" throughout my childhood in ordrer to try to "cure" my blindness. They did not work, and they were kind of uncomfortable people to be around.
I believe that the unexpected can happen and that there is always a way to beat the odds. However, I think in the realm of medicine, there are no "miracles" - there are brave doctors, capable nurses and wonderful surgeons who go above and beyond the call of duty to help the sick and injured, and people of faith are too busy thanking God to thank the people right in front of them.
I've had clients damaged by faith healers and well-meaning believers of various faiths. They told my clients when they were not healed they must not have enough faith. What damage such statements can do to a person's sense of self-worth.
Children and the mentally retarded etc. aside, you'd have to be pretty gullible to honestly believe that it's your lack of belief that's keeping you ill. Along those lines are the people who give tens of thousands of dollars for some potion that they themselves haven't researched, at least a little, for it's healing properties, and then complain because they were conned. Yes, I want to see. But if someone told me to give him/her $50,000 so they can give me an amulet and take away the bad spirits that are making me blind, I'd look at them like they were nuts and would probably report them to the police. On the other hand, if someone wanted me to pay them a reasonable amount so that I could learn proper meditation and open my mind to things, that wouldn't be too bad. But I wouldn't expect it to cure me.
According to my belief in God, God can make improbable things happen when they are right. God is on the side of the righteous.
Note: I said improbable, not impossible.
I believe in miracles, but I don't believe that other human beings can heal others only because of faith. I believe that god can do miracles and that for god nothing's impossible. But he doesn't do everything he could. We can't predict the time or the location where or when god will do a miracle, but I believe that he can do them.
Yeah, my parents talked about those "Faith Healers" as well, but I don't believe in them. If someone can heal, then only God. He's above us and I also think that everything's possible with him. Don't know anyone who has been healed though.
Okay, here's my view:
Yes, I believe in miracles. Absolutely.
But I do not accept that there must be a big faith healer praying for you.
In my opinion, if you love god and if you really spend time getting to know him and not just serving a dead religion, then you can pray for people and they get healed. It makes me mad when people think only because people like Benny Hinn are praying for them, only then they are healed. That is rubbish. So they think they get the healing power because they're famous and can preach well? Um no, I don't think so.
Now I am not saying that I go around praying for people's blind eyes. I don't even know if I want to receive my sight myself. Just scary to imagine since I am only used to being blind.
But god can heal and my fiance is living prove of that. And again it does not take an amazing faith healer.
Oh and one more thing:
In the christian society, the teaching that if someone prays for you and you are not healed, you don't have enough faith, is unfortunately very widely preached. And that's another thing that makes me mad because I know that this can damage a person.
Personally, if someone wants prayer for healing and they don't get healed, it has other reasons. It's not their faith. And that's another thing why I don't like big faith healers. They receive anointing from god, if you will, and they heal people, and then appeal for money, and when someone isn't healed they blame someone else instead of their own relationship with god. that's arrogance.
Right sorry, rant over. I was just skimming through your post guys and had to get this off my chest.
Oh my gosh daughter of light, I agree with you one hundred percent! I can't tell you how many times I've had people tell me that the reason for me not having sight is lack of faith! That is so not true! I really believe that god made me blind for a reason, I'm not sure what, but that is what I believe! I've had people tell me that I should go to a Benny Hyn crewsade so I can get healed! No thanks!
I like the way I am. I don't want my sight, I'm so used to being with out it. I really hate it when we're in church, and someone atomatically starts praying for me to see! that's not what I ask fore!
I agree with you on some of that, though not all. I think that The Gods made me blind for a reason, but it's impossible for us mortals to truly know why They do things without Them telling us. That said, I also believe that if They want me to see, They'll make it possible, either through surgery or through a noninvasive means like The VOIC, the Brain Port etc. I've been totally blind since I was two-months-old, and though the idea of seeing scares me a little, I'd certainly never turn it down. I'd take sight eagerly.
I had never been a realigious person or even thought about this question. About 10 months ago my mom went in to a rehab though after being a alcoholic since she was 16. She said when she called me the night before drunk that god spoke to her and she was going to get better. Now note I was like yeah go to hell at the time but let me tell you she went there, got better, and has not picked up a drink since. Some stuff has happened that would make me drink if I was recovering like her but she stays strong to this day. That changed me a lot and now I can proudly say heck yes I believe in miracle because I now have my mom.
yes i believe in miracles. however, i don't believe they are faith healers on tv. remember television can lie. it really can. this shouldn't be a shock to any of us.
to me miracles are people I know who defy terminal illness and live much longer. My daughter in law's dad has brain cancer. He was he was given six months to live five years ago. he's still kicking today. that's a miracle.
oh yes, i believe that if they admit it or not god can guide doctor's hands. otherwise why would they have been given the skills and tools to do what they do?
Turricane, yes, there are faith healers and they have some sort of power. BUT THEY ARE NOT ALL-POWERFUL!! And I believe god will take the anointing if they lift themselves up.
I have a couple of problems with miracles, orwhat we call miracles:
Firstly, when someone survives a deadly disease or a plane crash, that is a miracle, but when someone goes on a plane and suffers a crash, that is not amiracle, the odds of, say winning the lottery and having a plane crash are about equal, yet one would be an amazing miracle, the other just bad luck. If you imagine the probability of things happening as a graph, it would be a bell shaped curve with lines that get thinner as you move away from the center, in other words, as things become less likely.
We only ake the positive thing of it and call it miracles, the negative thing we ignore. I find that deceiving.
Secondly, why do we only look for certain types of miracles. Why is it a miracle to wve your hand to turn water into wine (and in any case that is not good for alcoholics), but it is not a miracle how sunlight and rain/water helps vines grow grapes, then the juice is squeezed from them and stored in wooden barrels for a few years and then ... you knew it, we have wine. That is turning water into wine, in a totally magical way, if you ask me.
Is ee miracles everywhere around me, in the little things, and I don't hve to pay $30 for a hotline for someone to pray for me or some such, to wait for one.
Of course miracles happen, my parents did go to a faith healer type guy when I was dying of cancer as a child and they claim till this day he helped to turn it around and I had a successful surgery a year later and was cancer free.
May be it is God, may be some sort of mental energy, may be it was a complete coincidence, it depends what we want to make of it.
In most cases when someone says miracle, especially on tv, it is followed by a donation pledge, and I am practically offended, so I am beginning to have a negative association with that word.
I am another that believes in miracles or maybe it's chance. Either way, I think while a person can make certain choices to make their chances of what they want to happen happen and that lots of things can be explained by science, I think that God still plays a big part in what happens. This might offend some (and I'm sorry for that), but I honestly believe that both good and bad things happen for a reason (some we don't understand right at that moment), so I guess any good thing that happens when something bad or worse could have happened otherwise, is a miracle.
As for faith healers, I think it is possible that there are some out there, just like there can be real psychics, but I agree that people give too much attention to that person themselves and expect that person to personally heal them when it doesn't work like that. I think it's the faith-healer's strong belief in God, that the healer works thru that, and not that the faith-healer has any sort of magic or anything. Mom used to take me and one of my brothers (who has mild cerebral palsy) to some church services that were for praying to heal people, and although I probably wouldn't have became fully sighted anyway, I kept expecting something to happen also. But at the same time I don't think a person should blame another person's not being healed on that their faith in God isn't strong enough, I think the faith has to be there naturally and even then, it may not be meant for the person to be healed. Another experience was when I had attended some Billy Graham Crusade things when I was a teen. I was just going with Mom for company, (I didn't know what they were about and had never heard of them), and although I can't say I felt any special during the talks and concerts, when I got out of each gathering, I felt at peace. I had been going thru some negative thinking because of some stuff that had happened to me around that time, but after each gathering/concert and for at least several days after that, I wasn't thinking negatively and my mind just felt peaceful. The same thing happens when I go to Confession where I feel at peace afterward. Although the Confessions could probably be explained by me having gotten out the bad things I've done and thought to someone else, the Billy Graham times can't be explained like that, so I can say for sure that those times were honestly miracles.
Oddly perhaps I am both a convert to Christianity and agree with Wildebrew. The mystical / spiritual inconsistencies drive me nuts. But Wildebrew's right; you can't cut it both ways. Either unusual phenomena are referred to as miracles or not irrespective of outcome. Plus the default response is generally (within Christendom) that 'all things work together for good ...' there's more to that quote but you get my drift: no matter what happens it is presumed to be working for somebody's good anyway and I cannot fully resolve this in my mind. I am more than willing to be part of the solution, for me that generally involves doing something concrete to provide assistance but yes I definitely think the phenomena are there, but they would cease to be miraculous if we knew how they worked.
I say they'd cease to be miraculous but they well might still be awesome. I think some are better at dealing with things on the spiritual level than others. I'm more impressed by the human genome, and dare I say, see God's hand in it, than I am with a restriction to six rather improbable days part of which includes plant life being developed before the sun. What is it's meaning? I'll leave that to someone else. I frankly am far more taken with fantastic engineering, than puff the magic dragon, no irreverence intended. Just my two cents as I'm working my own way through this stuff ...