Tuesday, June 24, 2008

You need to pray

“I can’t remember any prayer that I have prayed that has not been answered,” said Helen Catchings, 62, of Vienna, Va. God cured her of stuttering and gave her the resources for her home-care business, she said. And she said she has seen members of her church cured of cancer, brain tumors and other illnesses through prayer, baffling doctors. “I give Him all the credit,” Catchings said.

12 comments:

Jerome said...

Why do we still have hospitals if praying is so effective?

And why would one have to beg God to heal somebody? Isn't God capable of realizing by himself that healing people would be a good idea?

Intercessory praying is one of the most incoherent and stupid concepts there is.

Tom Weidig said...

Well, prayer might well work to some degree for some time as I presume it would trigger the placebo effect.

And ironically praying only works if you believe in prayers! Believe and be saved!

So I guess it would not work for you! :-)

How about untested medication and treatment people take against stuttering? Isn't it a form of praying, too?

ig88sir said...

Well some of us have recovered in our 20s w/o any intervention. I beleive attitute and desensitation of feared situations can help to a degree (mine has been very negative). We are all different and I guess the biased sample of the "lacking in brain plasticity" stutterers. What does this have to do with faith? I just wanted to blog though I am not religous. My Mom goes to church and prays for me every Sunday. Hasn't helped my stuttering though!

Anonymous said...

Tom,

You are a man of science and work with things that are able to be proven.

I agree though that if someone 'believes' so much that it will work that you will get a temporary placebo effect but it will not be long lasting.

I will pray that I win the national lottery - I somehow doubt that it will happen though with odds of nearly 14 million to 1 !!!

Stuttering is a complex animal and if it were able to be "cured" by prayer - pass me the good book as I'm a believer !!!

Anonymous said...

I think it's great that some people use a god as a placeholder for the misunderstood, but why are we mixing the belief in religion and god with this blog about stuttering?

Was this just a brief hiatus, a sort of comic relief, to this otherwise technical and science based blog?

As you may infer, I am a stutterer and also an atheist. But, this blog isn't about religion and god...it's about stuttering, the latest scientific research and the hope for a cure.

I appreciate the quote about prayer, but in my opinion, it is nothing more than coincidence or placebo affect. And while I may offend many people with this comment, I think the talk about prayer and religion shouldn't be part of this blog...it has it's own time and place.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Eric - This is a great forum for scientific breakthroughs and research on stuttering - I am too an atheist and dont think that "god" made us stutters nor will he cure us either.

Still - its got people talking which is a good thing

Tom Weidig said...

Actually God gave us email, SMS and blogs!

Anonymous said...

There are many interesting passages about stuttering in both the old and new Testament. It has often been said that Moses was a stutterer and the Lord let him use Aaron as his spokesman.

And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. Exodus 4:10 KJV

Isn't it interesting that the only person that ever saw God face to face was probably a stutterer? Was the slowness of speech one aspect affecting Moses's character that made him able to do God's will?

In that day in which believers look for:

4The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. Isaiah 32:4 KJV

Anonymous said...

I absolutely enjoy most of the posts, I also am a "born again" Christian. I also do not want to belittle what sounds like this women's need for some fresh intervention and possibly limited means. A relationship with God is personal, which is why this post should "hurt" even if I do not agree or would be skeptical of this woman's logic. Not a fun post.
Lynne

Tom Weidig said...

Dear Lynn,

her personal religious beliefs on cures clearly clash with reality, might induce some to false hopes and it is relevant to stuttering. In any case, I do not think that her statements represent the opinion of the major churches.

I do not avoid writing posts even if they are no fun for some. Often, reality is no fun or some people do not like them.

Best wishes,
Tom

Anonymous said...

Catchings didn't say "You need to pray". Tom did. :)

Anonymous said...

Catchings didn't say "You need to pray." Tom did. :)

If you are a Christian, you probably believe that God allowed you to have a stutter for a reason. It's actually a very beneficial disorder to have, for one's character.