Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jmoon@lehi3b15.csee.lehigh.edu (Jonggu Moon [890911]) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Misconceptions about JW's (Re: Lazarus again) Message-ID: Date: 10 Apr 91 08:32:51 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: CSEE Dept. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA Lines: 37 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) writes: >In Mark and Luke, Jesus tells his disciples not to turn against a >non-disciple casting out demons in the name of Jesus. If the man is >casting out demons in the name of Jesus, must he not be doing the work >of the spirit? (It appears the verses are all talking about not >interfering with the work of the spirit.) My family watched a video tape of a lady in Korea "laying on hands" and healing the sick ( and apparantly making a ton of money and fame in the process ). My parents are physicians and several small details in the tape kept setting off warning bells in their heads that this lady may not be the miracle healer that she claims to be. There is the possibility that she is using rather sophisticated parlor tricks and psychological manipulation to woo the patient and the crowd into frenzied hallelujia's. But my mom said that at least she is giving temporary relief in the form of hope to the patients and look at all those people in the audience who are amazed into belief and conversion. I countered that maybe for the moment it is nice, but when the adrenaline is used up, the pain and illness will return. And if this lady is a fraud, and if she is discovered, all the people she convinced to become Christians may give up in disillusionment. ^>*<^ jmoon [If you're interested in this sort of thing, I suggest Nolan's book "Healing". Nolan is an M.D. who investigated various kinds of claimed faith healing. It's clear that the people he looked at were frauds, except for one who was probably self-deluded. That's not to say that there are no real faith healings. But a study of this sort is helpful in pointing out how easy it is to be misled (either intentionally or through ignorance), and may help people trying to evaluate claims of this kind. When you look at the long-term results, I'm not inclined to think "temporary relief" is a justification. --clh]