Does Prayer Have The Power To Heal?

[Carol]

(CBS 11 News) The laying on of hands, visualization, meditation?does prayer have the power to heal?

Dr. Charles Tart, Professor of Psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in California and Professor Emeritus at The University of California at Davis, has devoted 50 years to the subject. He says there is definite evidence prayer plays a major role in how people heal, saying, ?It's quite clear that a person's faith can have enormous effects on how the body responds to disease.?

Others disagree.

One prominent recent study, supported by the John Templeton Foundation, studied more than 1800 patients. It found that prayer does not help in the healing process and can do more harm than good. Dr. Tim Gorski, an Arlington gynecologist, agrees. He said, "If these kinds of things worked in a real sense then none of our research would be reliable. We?ve gotta pay attention to what the objective facts are?the objective facts even in this most recent prayer study show no effect.?

Proponents of these types of studies say there have been many more studies that show the positive effects of prayer or positive energy on the body. The problem, say experts on both sides, are the methods by which the studies are conducted. Dr. Gorski insists all experiments and research must fall under the same scrutiny.

Theologians say the very premise upon which these studies are founded--testing faith--belies the nature of faith itself.

Gorski says, "to the extent science can study the supernatural then the supernatural becomes natural." Proponents for prayer study say almost every scientific concept known to man came from supernatural ideas.


One study was reported in the Southern Medical Journal in July of 1988. It said, ?In a controversial study carried out by cardiologist Randolph Byrd nearly 400 heart patients were randomly assigned to either a group that was prayed for by a home prayer group or a control group. This was a methodologically rigorous double-blind study designed to eliminate the psychological placebo effect. In such a study, neither the patient nor doctor knows who is receiving the intervention (i.e., prayer). Conclusion: Patients who received prayer had better health outcomes, including a reduced need for antibiotics and a lower incidence of pulmonary edema.?

Another study, conducted by Bernard Grad, sought to eliminate the placebo effect by planting damaged barley seeds with blessed water and another batch of damaged seeds with regular water. Dr. Tart says the results were revealing. He said, "Using the best of kinds of strict scientific methodologies the barley seeds that got watered with the healed water grew faster, they grew taller, they grew stronger.? Similar studies have been done on mice and bacterium.

Tart added that the current prejudice the scientific community has against this type of research can be best illustrated by tracing the concept of meditation. Tart says back in the late 60s meditation was considered by most scientific and medical experts to be the dominion of the Shinto priest perched atop the mountain. He adds that in 1975 the medical community found that meditation actually altered brainwave activity ? ?if the brain changed then meditation must be real.?

Prayer-centered, holistic and energetic healing is a billion dollar industry. Millions of people have claimed what they see as miraculous healings by combining conventional medicine with some kind of alternative methodology, and the medical community seems to be listening.

The Whole Body Healing Center in Lewisville, Texas is one which uses an assortment of alternative remedies: a device called the Quantum Scio Unit; a biofeedback system devised by a NASA scientist; holistic naturopathics; and prayer.

One devout Christian patient claims she was healed of breast cancer at the center. Fenancia Tillema was diagnosed with breast cancer after a mammogram detected a mass. Her church prayer group put her in touch with Shawn Sieracki, who works at the Whole Body Healing Center. She says he scanned her with the Scio Unit, and says it confirmed the diagnosis.

After treatments and prayer at the center, Tillema claimed the Whole Body Center conducted a new scan which then read she was cancer-free. She has never gone back to her regular doctor for confirmation, saying, ?I have not gone back to them but I know that I am healed."

Sieracki says he has urged Tillema to seek medical testing. He also added that he does not claim to render any diagnoses, and says he cannot he cure anyone of a medical condition. He also says the Whole Body Center?s policy is to recommend medical follow-through with their patients.

Testimonials like Tillema?s can actually be a problem for people who support the idea of alternative healing because she has no scientific proof that she is cured of cancer.

Ron Anderson, M.D., is CEO of Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He says using religion without the proper science is a recipe for disaster. "You can't use religion as a substitute for that and some of the studies have done that and they're criticized... and rightfully so."

Dr. Tart concurs and maintains that stories such as these only serve to illustrate the importance of such research. He says study on the efficacy of prayer to heal must be scientific and pursued vigorously. Dr. Tart says so far very little research is being done and even goes so far as to say that at the current pace, he doubts we will know any more in 20 years than we know now. He does, however, say he is prepared to forge ahead, adding, "Finding scientific ways to understand spirituality better [not explain it away] but to make it work better; that's so vital.?

Dr. Anderson sees it another way: "There's an old saying that God heals and doctors send the bill." The issue could have far reaching effects in the way patients are cared for. Many theologians say, in studying the final mystery of the human condition, the best prayer can only be quantified by one condition "According to Thy Will."

Source: http://cbs11tv.com/local/local_story_138175419.html