The Reality
I thought I would tell you what I was doing earlier this evening – using terms inspired by a comment of Wrathnar the Unreasonable on another thread.
I conjured up in my mind thoughts about a mythical invisible being, the result of the imaginings of some mediaeval conmen (mediaeval was Wrathnar’s term, though in my mind they were quite a few centuries older than that.) And I asked a group of friends to do the same thing, which they were happy to do.
I’ve had constant muscular pain in my let arm for the last eight weeks. I’m not sure what caused it, gardening possibly; I expected it to wear off after a few days or a week or so. But it didn’t. It’s just been there, day in, day out, always sore.
My friends started to verbalise their thoughts about these conmen’s mythical invisible being, and to invoke its help with regards to the pain in my left arm. There we were, like a bunch of morons, speaking into the empty air requesting medical and physiological intervention from a fairy tale character.
OK, just to be clear, what we were actually doing was praying to the living God who created me and who loves me. We were exercising a gift of healing from God, asking him to take away the pain and fix whatever had caused it – a perfectly logical thing to do. Elysia delighted us the other day with how her Lucy fell into her toy box. She called to her Mummy to help her. Of course she did, it’s only natural; she knew her Mummy loves her and would get her out. What could be more natural than for me to turn to my heavenly Father who loves me, for help.
One man’s imaginings of ancient conmen.
Another’s constant Friend, Lord and loving Father.
My arm? Well for those who are interested, all the pain is gone. I can lift heavy articles without wincing, again. I want publicly to give thanks to God for healing me.
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29 Comments
(And for the record, falling in the toybox has now become something of a game... little monkey!)
I don't believe in God.
I always wonder why he helps some and not others? I suppose the answer is you have to have absolute faith and trust in him.
Despite my view (which isn't meant as a slur) it must be nice to know in your heart that he is there for you! Unquestionably believing is the key. Enviously yours... Minx
He's for everyone, not just a few
There is a danger in going to the wishing well when you don't need to or relying on divine intervention to overcome stupidity, fate or bad luck.
That is not to say that I don't believe in an eternal spiritual entity.
But for me it is not in his remit to deal with the odd muscle spasms.
I would presume that this work is subbed out to lesser sorts in the miracle production division of God plc.
Just my view, not written on any tablets of gold anywhere...
Prop
I know people who have had similar experiences.
Thanks - I do sometimes talk to 'him upstairs'.
Today I received what I think I might call a break. Somewhat more significant than a painful arm mending if I may make so bold. Anyway, I asked no help or favour of anyone or any thing. Yet I have the outcome I hoped for. I think I'll put it down to my good fortune.
Prop's hypothesis sounds perfectly logical. It's the way we humans would have organised things if we'd been in charge, isn't it? But the wonderful thing about Christianity is that everyone - no exceptions - has access straight to God through his son, Jesus. As the Bible puts it, "There is ons God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." So no one gets palmed off with an underling.
And as for not wanting to 'use up' His good will on more trivial matters, what the Bible has to say about that is very interesting, too. Most people know, regarless of whether or not they believe the message, that Jesus tought the people the good news (the gospel) about the Kingdom of God and salvation from our sins. That wasn't his whole message, however. He spent as much time healing people's sicknesses and diseases as he did teaching them about God. When he sent out the appostles, the Bible says, "He called his twelve desciples together and gave them power and authority ove all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." It's all part of the same package.
When Peter was writing about Christ's death for the forgiveness of our sins, he said, "...who Himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes [from the flailing of his back] you were healed." So it's all tied up together. No need to hold back, prop. This well won't run dry!
Minxie makes a good point, wondering why God seems to help some and not others. With regards to healings, this is a mystery. Even Jesus didn't heal everyone. We do know it was nothing to do with some being less worthy than others, or those that were healed being somehow more worthy - I can vouch for that, believe me! We have to accept the sovereign nature of God "in whom all thing work together for good" whether we are able to understand it at the time, or not.
In a more general sense, God's help IS very definitely available to all. The Bible says, "He is not willing that ANY should perish, but to as many as received Him, to them He gives the power to become the sons [and daughters] of God." Sadly, many CHOOSE not to receive Him. But while we have life we can always reverse that choice. God doesn't hold grudges :-) the Bible says, "If you seek [him], you shall find [him]" - as Appy proved for himself when he was 18.
The Bible is now in its King James form, at least a third hand translation and parts of it are 2200 years old. So I think that it loses alot if you go too literal.
Many religious doctrines included adverts of the time. The idea of washing hands feet and faces five times a day is a public health advert. Same is true for burying the dead as quickly as possible. To include these things in religious doctrines helps enforece them and get a greater compliance with the general populace. Not sure if the body of Christ and the blood of Christ bit of Holy Communion is a diet or canabalism....
Going too literal also opens things up to direct criticisms from agnostics and athiests. These can deflect from the whole premise and reduce both sides of the equation to a farce.
the Jovy guys who beat on the door and ask me if I have seen God today, and I reply "I didn't know he was missing." deserve all the stick they get for intruding into w2hat is a very personal matter. I knew an ex Jovy witness who told me they are sent out deliberately to get doors slammed in their faces so that the idea that they are safest among their own kind is re-enforced.
Organised religion.....err not really for me.
But to each, his own, for me, the night sky or the grandsons' smiles are enough for me to know that this just can't be an accident of physics.
And Alan, I am delighted to hear your news. I remember you mentioning tests some time ago, so I assume that they're the source of the outcome you wanted. You must be incredibly relieved.
I do like your last para, prop. As the Bible, itself says, "The heaven's declare the glory of God." You are so right.
Much of the King James Version used as its source Tyndale's (and others') translations from Erasmus' Greek and his Latin New Testament translations; and the Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint. It wasn't so much a 'new' translation as an improvement on Tyndale's already excelent work. However, more modern English translations such as the New International Version and the American Standard Version, for example, are not at all 'third hand'. They have used the earliest surviving copies for the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts - and as older and older early manuscripts are discovered, they constantly reveal how uncannily accurate our our modern translations are. Christians believe the original text of the 66 books that make up the Bible written by about 40 different men over an approximately 4000 year period, were each God-inspired. The amazing accuracy with which it has been preserved and translated over recent centuries would suggest that He has kept a watching brief, too, over the hundreds of scholars and theologians who have undertaken the task. The fact that parts of it are (more like) 6000 years old, with the New Testament books dating from arround 1900 years ago, only makes it more amazing how relevant its teachings are for us, today.
As to the communion bread and wine, Jesus often used the verb To be in a figurative manner. He said, "I am the door," "I am the way, the truth and the life," "I am the true vine," "I am the Good Shepherd." None of these was litterally true; they were all metaphors to help his listeners understand him a little better, and they were recognised as such, both then and now. When he took the bread at the Last Supper and said, "This is my body broken for you," and the wine and said, "This is my blood shed for you. Eat and drink it in remembrance of me," his disciples knew he was talking figuratively; it was perfectly clear. He used a, frankly rather revolting image, to shake them out of their complacency and wake them up to the seriousness and eternal importance of what was about to take place at Calvary.
Equally the Bible is quite clear when it is talking literally. There is nothing figurative in the text when it talks about healing.
I take your point, prop, about laying ourselves open to criticisms, which as you say could deflect attention from vital issues. To pick and choose which parts of Biblical teaching to defend and which parts to ignore on the grounds that atheists or agnostics might ridicule them, is however a deadly path, down which I, for one, would never dare to travel. If the Bible is not true - and I mean from cover to cover - then it is not worth defending at all.
And, in fact, who am I kidding? It was the great theologian Charles Spurgeon who, when asked how he would defend the Bible, replied, "You don't defend a lion; you let it loose."
It's interesting. I am not a stupid person and not belonging to any of the available religions I believe that dead is rather dead. Yet I wasn't frightened. I was pissed off. Now I am not pissed off. I think I may write something.
It would be impossible to comment (for me or anyone else) on the veracity of the translations unless you have a full understanding of Arimaic or old Greek. I don't , so I will only speculate that the possibility for the "modern" translations to have been editied a bit for updating. Divine inspiration or not.
I admire you your faith. But I dont envy it. I am happy enough mulling about with my own interpretations which would not be too far from yours if you accept the idea of metaphoric lessons from stories about how to live a just life.
As long as the lesson is true, the story is relevant. True or not. Arguing about the vintage of wine from water is absurd.
Alan, intregued....elaborate please when it suits you.
And there you have it.
I had an aids test when I rotated out of Africa in the late 80's and had to have the re-test as in those days false positives were common. so I understand your "reprive" completely.
Thanks for that. and enjoy the feeling.
Prop
To Alan: It's great you've got the all-clear. I had that same ultrasound probe insertion a couple of months ago, with the projectile sample taker. (I like your discription.) I'm sorry it hurt you so much. With the local anaesthetic I felt hardly any pain. I found it very uncomfortable but each sample was just like a slight pinprick, not pleasant - I was glad when they finished - but not sore, either. Of the twelve samples taken, eleven were fine and one was slightly abnormal, but nothing to worry about, they said. So that was good.
I do believe in 'mind over matter' to an extent and I expect some people can achieve more than others in this direction. If suffering some temporary pain - for example, having banged my thumb with a hammer, or say, toothache for a longer-term example, I sometimes simply tell myself to ignore the pain. The thing about pain is that it tends to grab our whole attention and keep on dragging us back to concentrating on the pain and how sore it is. With our mind we can choose not to pay attention to it and I have found this can lessen its effect. (I've only done this very occasionally.)
However, that experience is quite different from have the source of the pain healed. So while I can believe in the power of the mind to influence how we perceive (for example) pain, I can't believe that Belief, itself can work miracles - perhaps for some it can? But not me, I'm afraid. I 'believe' that God can work miracles, but it's God who works the miracle, not my belief that He can. I mean, some people still believe the Earth is flat, but their belief doen't make it true. If God didn't exit, or couldn't work miracles, my belief that he does, and can, wouldn't make the miracle happen. So when it does happen, it's got to be down to God, not my belief. That's how I see it.
GD. Just so you know I have been a Manchester United supporter for nearly 40 years. Still am.
GD: lol. Just imagine, a fair sprinkling of Christians on the Crystal Palace benches and a roughly equal number among the Manchester supporters - all praying for their side to win. Who'd be God, eh?
Prop....off for the day to Bath and the Rec, to enjoy the grand game in it's most spectacular setting. and among supporters of both sides who swap banter and share flasks....
If I wasn't already me, I'd wish I was.
As to healing, all bodies grow older and decay in the natural order of things... see Richard Baird's challenging novel 'Lazarus' for an imagination of what might happen otherwise. But some lose the fight before their time, and that is a great challenge, both for those who have faith and for those who don't. I have faith, because God, experience and my simple mind have made it so... it's just a part of who I am. I'm happy to challenge, question and parody my faith, because that which I tentatively call God is more, fuller and deeper than our silly human responses to some entity we put in a box called God.
I see healing more in terms of relationship, of finding peace, which ultimately may result in physical healing, but may not. That relationship could be with God or with your GP or with your own inner turmoil, but healing is about more than mechanics. The healings Jesus seemed almost unable to stop himself performing in the gospel accounts all had an element of broken relationship made whole – not alway with the 'victim', sometimes it was other people's perceptions of the victim. A person who brought healing also made relationships with all the people excluded in the society of his time. Surprising? I don't think so.
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