Question for atheists?

Question

I feel atheism is very sensible. But I can't find a suitable explanation for a particular event in my life. Other events have happened that some would term 'supernatural', but this is the only one I cannot provide a suitable explanation for.

Some time ago I became a born-again Christian through a relationship with one. I visited, with someone close to me, a healing session led by an evangelist. His name is Jonathan Conrathe if you want to look him up. I didn't overly like the man, but he was good at speaking.

In his team of healers and evangelists were two women. I wear glasses and went up to the main guy to get my eyes healed. I had all the faith in the world. It didn't work. Anyway, this person who is very close to me was approached by these two women. I am running out of space, but her 'twisted spine' and lifelong backache was healed. It remains healed today. And she had no faith, she hated anything supernatural. Any non placebo-effect explanations?

Right I'll add a few more details for clarification.

As I say I saw this actually happening... how I mean it was that I saw (this was VERY weird and scary) this person being almost pushed back in the chair as if something invisible was trying to make her get out and lie on floor. She said she wasn't scared or hurt by this but was embarrassed about looking like a nutter so wanted to stay in her chair and not get healed! But in the end she had no choice, to lie down or fall over. When she lay down, her back started being healed. Every night in bed it had hurt so much she'd had to turn over. It's 5 years later and it's still gone. Even she doesn't know what to make of this.

Anyone who can offer a good explanation I will marry!

This was my mother. She hates anything supernatural. She just came along cos I didnt want to go on my own! I cant see how it couldve been a trick because all that happened was the two women said a simple prayer and left. The rest was just my mother on her own, and the entire time she wanted it to stop and get outta there, but shes glad now her backs healed...

Sorry for all these edits! Thankyou all so much for your input but please can you at least skim-read first? I know this person very well, she's not a plant! In fact I edited to tell you it's actually my mother I'm talking about. I'll sit back and read now. Thanks :]

Answer 1

Plenty of people have fallen for this. It's just a trick.

Either your mother is a liar or it was a case of the placebo effect.

I have to wonder about a family who believes in faith healings and offers to marry perfect strangers over the internet.

Answer 2

What you believe you saw, my dear, was not necessarily what happened. You thought someone with back trouble was "healed" by someone else. Yet you apparently are unaware that such scenes are set-ups.
These "evangelical healers" travel in groups. There is the charismatic speaker who does most of the preaching. There's his co-pastor, often his wife, who plays a critical supporting role.
Then there's his shadowy assistants - the people who seem to come out of the audience, step forward, and "receive healing".
That leads others in the audience who are not part of the evangelist's team to step forward in their turn.
Do you notice that by the time a couple of folks have been "healed", the atmosphere is almost on fire with emotion and religious fervor? That leads vulnerable people to a mental/emotional state where they'll believe almost anything - and is a profoundly powerful placebo. A person with a very real physical shortcoming that is very painful can actually be led to believe he or she is healed and pain-free and that feeling can last for several minutes to nearly an hour -quite long enough for the "healers" to move on to others and to other topics. And when these poor gullible folks realize, usually within minutes, that they really have NOT been healed, they're far too embarrassed to admit in front of the rest of the audience that they've been snookered.
Hon, I was one of those assistants for such "faith healers". I used to meet them as they arrived mid-week at my uncle's farm where they set up their big revival tent and I'd go catch garter snakes and bull snakes and sell 'em to the "healers" who would use the snakes in the public meetings/revivals to pretend they were casting demons out of people - the "demon possessed" would hide one of these non-poisonous snakes in their clothes, and when the "healer" approached and loudly ordered the devil to come out of them, they'd fall down writhing in the aisle and release the snake - which terrified critter made a beeline for the tall grass...and convinced the gullible that the Devil done been cast out!
See how it works, child? It's all a scam - and a successful one. Many of those evangelistic "healers" are rich off the aches and pains of gullible people - and nobody really gets healed.
Such people are among the lowest, dirtiest, vilest, wickedest people ever to profane God's good earth. Curse them to everlasting fire!

Answer 3

It isn't a controlled experiment. So there is no way to isolate any type of cause/effect. To be valid you would have to take large groups to eliminate any chance and really isolate what is going on.

The placebo effect is pretty powerful though and that has been experimentally shown to work. There have been experiments done on prayer, and when you set proper controls you will find that it has no effect at all outside the placebo effect. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?ex=1301461200&en=4acf338be4900000&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Look it is really easy to get caught up in things and think you saw something that isn't real. I saw a ghost once. That doesn't mean that I believe in ghosts. Human perception sucks and you will see all kinds of patterns that aren't there.

Answer 4

On the off chance it wasn't a "plant"...

The human mind is a funny thing. I truly believe that if someone wants something bad enough, the mind will forge a way for it to happen...whether it is simply getting a job...healing the body...or sometimes things involving others.

Science has not explained the mind completely, and likely never will. I believe these healing meetings prey (no pun intended) on those who are desperate, and all they need is one person who is ready for this action and they claim success.

Answer 5

How do people say its a trick or its fake when they don't do any research on anything but type?!? WTF is wrong with people now a days??? Get off your lazy fat asses and start looking for real proof if this is the truth or not. Science which I love is prove by one group to be countered by another group. Mostly this is do to money, so science has to believed on faith mostly as well, is world flat? Did we really go to the moon etc.. But healing like this can be proven with science and doctors. X-Rays etc... It is documented some place. My Q's is why do people want to hide the truth? Do Atheist really want to believe were just one big accident? What good is living if we are just an accident?
I going to be going to these places and checking this stuff out think I will bring my video camera. If this is true or not I have to find out myself. If God is real or not I think this will be the most important thing in my life and if God is real then in my death as well or eternal life then.
Don't let people that don't know squat about anything tell you something is real or not real do the research yourself. To many people think there smarted then everyone else but they can't even tie their shoe's.

I went 2 hours out of my way to go to a church my friend said moved in the Spirit of the Lord. This guy did a healing on the everyone in the church he didn't stop till everyone was touched this took hours and I was getting hungery and sleepy. Only thing I had was a stiff neck that I have everyday. I not a believer yet but if my stiff next don't come back in a week then something did happen.
How can it be a set up if he does everyone in the whole Church!?! Even me, well I going to another place this Saterday and Sunday I am going to find out the truth. I don't like leaving this kind of thing to people who don't like getting there feet wet.
All I know is the Churchs that meet not on Sundays seems like there is more true believers, they seem a little crazy to me but nice people. There are churchs I finding out that won't let the Spirit of the Lord move go figure that one out. They seem dry but shiner, Kind of reminds me of fast food resturants don't know why that hit me but if fast food is bad for you and you know there's foods out there that will be great for you but you have to work at getting them more, I don't know were I going with this.
Good luck with your adventures!

Answer 6

I wonder if the woman was put into the crowd by the evangelists? Possibly placed there, not really hurt and twisted, but making it look as if she was to get others to believe their powers?

EDIT: Ok....then it wasn't fake. Sometimes things happen-- they're proof of a spiritual world, but that doesn't mean it's the Christian one. I've spoken to dead people, beloved spirits...but none ever told me of God. It depends if a spirit did it-- since you believed, what more did you need to convince you? She didn't believe, so they surprised her. Sometimes they're kind, sometimes they're cruel. They're like us humans :)

Answer 7

its possible her back wasnt as bad as it could have been and the act of forcing her to lay down could have helped a bit. but alas i am but a 17 year old high school senior and, though i did take advanced biology last year i am not an expert of the human anatomy by any stretch. did you take her to see a doctor? if you havent im sure they might be able to explain it better than anybody here can. unless there is somebody here who is a doctor who specializes in spine injuries.

Answer 8

I don't know, but I know this...

No matter if a person believes in gods or not... What are we really to think of these people who try to lead others to believe they are above other humans, that they have magical powers and can heal? I don't buy it. I don't trust those types because they put themselves in front of a crowed because they want to have that power over others.

Answer 9

You know that they plant people in the audience, right? I've no doubt it's a sham.

Oh, and if you actually know the person as well as the second detail makes it seem (the one I didn't read, coincidentally), never, ever underestimate the power of the human mind.

Answer 10

If faith healers could really heal people, then why don't they go around healing everyone instead of keeping it to just a few? I believe it is totally faked.

atheist