Does praying for a sick person's recovery do any good?In the largest scientific test of its kind, heart surgery patients showed no benefit when strangers prayed for their recovery...
The study "did not move us forward or backward" in understanding the effects of prayer, said Dr. Charles Bethea, a co-author and cardiologist at the Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City. "Intercessory prayer under our restricted format had a neutral effect."
Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School, co-principal investigator of the study, agreed. "We cannot come to a conclusion, except to say that by this study design, with its limitations, this is what we found," he said.
Researchers also said they didn't know why patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of complications than patients who only knew that such prayers were a possibility.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
And then you die
The Washington Post reports on a finding that has absolutely astounding results. I was going to ask all of you readers to pray that I win the lottery, but screw that now. I'm going to try get one of these grants instead. I could use some help with research ideas. SERIOUS ONES ONLY, PLEASE (example: does singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" every morning change the principles of quantum mechanics?).
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3 comments:
Wait a minute. First of all, "The study "did not move us forward or backward" in understanding the effects of prayer..."
Well, since prayer had no measurable effect, I'd say we moved somewhere, wouldn't you?
And then: "We cannot come to a conclusion, except to say that by this study design, with its limitations, this is what we found," he said.
Pssst...what you found....that's your conclusion!
But here's my favorite: "....patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of complications than patients who only knew that such prayers were a possibility."
BWWAAAAHAHAH!
So: does singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" every morning alter reality? We're looking for answers here.
More seriously, "What the @#$%^ Do We Know" and "The Matrix" are based on the idea that we can create our own realities. How much have they contributed to the unrealities we now face every day on the news follies? Or, for extra credit, which came first?
CKR
Right on, Roxtar. "There's nothing really to say" is hardly worth $2.4 million, but I'd gladly do a grant where that's the conclusion: "not much to say since I was drunk in Tahiti the whole time."
No, I'm not Puffy, Cheryl. Just came to mind as a possible funding opportunity.
Yeah, those who want to see the world in a certain way where the world provides constant resistance nonetheless have the reins on the money. I'm sure they'll keep at it until someone comes up with some glimmer of hope that they're right. I like how religious conservatives rail against moral and cultural relativism, but the most radical relativism at the root of their entire project.
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