Religion and medicine.?

Question

Religious leaders have consistently come out against medical advances. Hundreds of years ago, they were against autopsies and medical use of cadavers for research. In the 1800’s Christians fought the use of anesthetics on the ground that suffering is God’s will and therefore must be endured. This was particularly true for a woman’s pain during childbirth, because they could quote the Bible to support their position. Currently, some religious groups prohibit life-saving blood transfusions. Children die every year because their parents withhold medical treatment, trusting in God instead. Many religious leaders are preventing access to birth control, disease prevention, and information about sexuality. They act as though they would prefer to see people dying of disease or starvation, rather than allow the population to have forbidden products and information. Recently some have come out against very promising areas of medicine, such as fetal cell research, stem cell research, and therapeutic cloning. They have also convinced our government that these areas of research should be prohibited or severely limited. This has real implications for reducing the possible medical treatments available for each of us and for tens of millions of people in the U.S. who have spinal cord injuries and diseases such as Parkinson's. Not all religions want this research limited; but many do, and they fail the medical test.

Answer 1

If we left the world to the religious leaders and religious dogma, we'd still be living in a 'flat-earth' society.

The persistent presence of religious belief systems within modern society restrains rational thought processes. Religion is the essence of irrationality and is a poor substitute for factual, scientific knowledge.

Religion, magic and superstition do not provide desired results because they rely on inherently faulty premises.

Science and rationality, based on knowledge and logic, has evolved as the only reliable method for achieving desired results. Scientists do not pray when a rocket takes off for outer space, they utilize technology and rely on hard science.

The Catholic Church has the blood of millions of Africans on their hands because of the Church's ban on condoms in a continent ravaged by Aids. Most third world countries, in Latin America, Africa and Asia have burgeoning populations leading to poverty, disease and hunger...all thanks to religion. I could go on, but you get my drift.

Answer 2

There are philosophical reasons why one could come out against stem cell research (although, I do not) which fit neatly into a religious paradigm. However, when some people blindly appeal to the Bible in order to combat medical advances, it is hypocritical at best, since most of these people will take antibiotics to combat infections. If one is a biblical literalist and rejects medical advances on Biblical grounds, then they should visit an exorcist when they are sick, not a medical doctor. The people in the Bible had no concept of viruses or bactieria, they believed (for the most part) that demons, some evil spirit, or God had divinely caused them to be sick. If an appeal to the Bible is the answer to thwarting medical advance, then those same people should also choose not to enjoy 21st century medicine. It is a matter of consistency.

Answer 3

I agree, but not all people are "religious". I'm a christian and do not associate it with being religious. Some of what you say is true and some is not. I am all for medicine healing people as long as it does not happen at the expense of another life. Since fetal cell and stem cell fits this category, I am strongly against it. Before it was an option, what did people do? We only want what we know can be obtained. Human nature is like that sometimes. And it is sad that you would ask a question to provoke others, fully knowing your motives are self serving.

Answer 4

You are not actually asking a question here, are you? You have stated some strong opinions and are just looking for someone to agree with you to give best answer to, right? this is actually against the rules in the community guidelines. It might be a waste of time to try to post an answer, no matter how well done, that has a different perspective than yours. But I've been doing research on this very subject... religion and medicine, more in the sense of healing holistically than in finding splits, but I have found some splits. I can agree with some of the points that you make,, but not others,, and to answer all of them would be a long answer. so I'll address a few.

1. You are talking about what we call Western Medicine,, which has evolved from the cultures of Rome and Greece, and goes back to Hippocrates.
2. Most cultures have religion and medicine together because of the fact that they both deal with the essence of life, and consider that sacred.
3. Hippocrates is noted for being the first one in the GrecoRoman culture to separate physical medicine from religion. He did believe in the gods of that time and Apollo, Asklepios, Panacea and Hygiea were the gods that were of the Hippocratic Oath. He began at one of the temples of Asklepios, as did Galen, who followed him. Our symbol for medicine, a stick with one serpent around it, is actually the symbol for the god, Asklepios. The Caduceus, with two snakes is a confusion of Asklepios with Hermes.
4. It was then that in the beginning of the Christian era that physicians, such as St Luke, kept the physical medicine as valid and switched to Jesus for the religion aspect.
5. Hippocrates believed in the four humours, and that belief was kept until the 16th century,, the same time that Galileo succeeded in refuting Copernicus,, and then it was that modern science began.
6. The Hippocratic Oath has been sworn by physicians up until very recent years, which promises to harm no one,, and that includes unborn babies.

For the present day,,, since the legalization of abortion, values have changed in regard to the Hippocratic Oath and not harming anyone. We have euthanasia and abortion. Those bring in justifications to use embryos, that are human beings, for the purpose of experiment and curing one person at the expense of killing another person who is weaker. Not all stem cell research is objected to, but only that which uses embryos that are killed. There are other sources of stem cells that are not objectionable to use. One source is from umbilical cords of babies just born, other sources are from the patient's own body,,, I believe from bone marrow is one source. Nobody is objecting to using those.
So it is not stem cell research in itself that is so objectionable as from where they are obtained.

Answer 5

Part of the reason for the clash between medicine and religion could be because ...

An Anti-Biotic is medication designed to kill bacteria and help make humans physically healthy again.

and,

An Anti-Christ is medication designed to kill religion and help make humans mentally healthy again.

If a human is mentally ill, or unable to think clearly due to physical illness, then it's much easier for religious preachers to brain-wash them into believing in God etc.

Answer 6

"maximum those that come to faith did so at a evaluate there existence while they have been at an ends and couldnt cope with the confusion of a meaningless existence" in the beginning, it truly is no longer genuine. even though it truly is genuine that many don't locate God till they have misplaced all wish of worldly therapeutic. it truly is no longer genuine that maximum folk wait till the very end to locate God. faith isn't a drugs. It does have the skill to heal, inspite of the undeniable fact that, once you're interior the depths of soreness and seek for the certainty.

Answer 7

Mojo, you make several points here for your quest in bringing your old atheist friends to the Lord and I applaud you. I see that underlying message of:
"We should not turn away ALL medical advancements because the Lord does provide in different ways for us to cope. Things that go against God's ways (such as cloning versus letting God's path for genetic make-up take place)."

Good job Mojo and keep it up!
http://planttel.net/~meharris1/mikescorner.html

Answer 8

Yes, its sick how some parents will deprive their children of medical treatment believing god will take care of them. Those type of people should be shot.

Answer 9

And your question is?