If the people of one religion are no better off than people of another religion isn't that enough evidence?

Question

Enough evidence of a placebo effect?

If prayer yields the same results regardless who or what you pray to.

If people of all religions suffer.

If 1 religion is right then don't all others serve as placebos for this test and shouldn't we be able to discern the correct religion based on these studies?

Answer 1

Everyone suffers... Godly and Ungodly. The difference is where you end up when your life expires.

Answer 2

Being all imperfect, no religion is perfect unless no human is in it. But I am sure there is one that continues to adhere to bible standards.

The bible advises “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14) To go in the narrow gate means difficulty, no baggage, one straight way. thus, true religion that leads to everlasting life.

To go in the broad road means carrying everything with you and in excesses, a probablity of going back, an unsure path.

The Bible identifies the true God as the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2) He knows the heart of a person and though many pray to a god with different name, Jehovah reveals himself to those who truly seek him.

Answer 3

I’m not sure this is the correct test. Placebos have zero effect, but religions all have negative and detrimental effects – so, how do you tell which is worse?

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palomnik --

At least we do not inflict suffering on people and societies the way that Christians do.

A recent study in the ‘Journal of Religion & Society’ (Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies by Gregory S. Paul, Volume 7 (2005) http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html ) found that:


The United States is the most religious country among all developed nations. In fact, in terms of religiosity, the US is more similar to 2nd- and 3rd –world nations (like those that produce Islamic terrorists) than it is to any of the developed nations.

An examination of the world’s developed nations revealed that:


-- The LEAST RELIGIOUS and MOST PRO-EVOLUTION countries have FEWER and LOWER RATES OF ABORTION than the United States.

-- The LEAST RELIGIOUS and MOST PRO-EVOLUTION countries have FEWER and LOWER RATES OF HOMOCIDE than the United States.

-- The LEAST RELIGIOUS and MOST PRO-EVOLUTION countries have FEWER and LOWER RATES OF adolescent and adult SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES than the United States.

-- The LEAST RELIGIOUS and MOST PRO-EVOLUTION countries have FEWER and LOWER RATES of EARLY ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY AND BIRTH than the United States.

In summary, that study states:

-- “In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator correlate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, STD infection rates, teen pregnancy, and abortion.”


Looking only within the United States, the same pattern emerges:

In a comparison of the more secular New England region against the most pro-religion and anti-evolution regions in America (the South and the Midwest), the study found that:

-- the MOST RELIGIOUS states in America have MORE HOMICIDES than the most secular pro-evolution states,

-- the MOST RELIGIOUS states in America have HIGHER MORTALITY RATES than the most secular pro-evolution states,

-- the MOST RELIGIOUS states in America have MORE SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASESS than the most secular pro-evolution states,

-- the MOST RELIGIOUS states in America have MORE YOUTH PREGNANCIES than the most secular pro-evolution states,

-- the MOST RELIGIOUS states in America have MORE MARITAL, AND RELATED PERSONAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS than the most secular pro-evolution states.


According to the National School Safety Center (NSSC), over the last 20 years there have been more mass student murders in the religious us than in all of the secular developed nations of the world – COMBINED.

The study concludes with a severe negative judgment of THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF RELIGIOSITY ON AMERICAN LIFE AND SOCIETY:

-- “The United States is almost always the most dysfunctional of the developed democracies, sometimes spectacularly so”.

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dewcoons --

Actually, it is the 'least religious' that are the 'best off' (see above).

How do you explain that?

Answer 4

Well yeah, you ought to discern what is the correct religion. If you were in a lab, i suppose you would look at the original protocol and then compare the others.

There is only one successful out come, others may seem alike, but closer examination will prove themselves false.

Answer 5

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Forget religion.

Christ is the path of salvation.
Christ is the truth of God's Word.
Christ is the life eternal.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

Christ is the tree of life.

Gen 3:22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

God's Word is not a religion but a reality.
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Answer 6

Interesting to notice that the overwhelming majority of the countries with the highest standard of living are Protestant in their faith. When compared with the other religious, it is very easy to argue that their faith as made them the richest, healthiest, frees, and safest people in the world.

So the answer to your question is that there are good reasons to argue that the (Protestant) Christian faith has made people better off. So that is "proof", according to your thesis, that the Christian faith is real.

Answer 7

Makes sense to me. I always have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea of choosing just one religion. When someone says that their religion is the one true religion and the rest are all just frauds, that logic just boggles my mind.

Answer 8

Placebo: 1.A substance containing no medication and prescribed or given to reinforce a patient's expectation to get well.

2.Roman Catholic Church. the vespers of the office for the dead.

Answer 9

One religion is just as god as the other. Peace and love should prevail.

Answer 10

I don't begin to know. But thanks for thinking this out and posting it. If you do a study. be sure to let us know. Many of us have asked the same things, but in different ways.