Pharthan wrote:So many religion haters. I thought we Christians were supposed to be the intolerant ones. Looks like my religion is out of a job, now. Looks like we can go back to inventing important things. Like hospitals. (Irony?) (Yes, I understand there were infirmaries before Christians came along, but not full-blown hospitals.)
While I fully support modern medicine, I would like to point out there is merit in the ideals of "faith healing." Not like anything that get's publicized these days; it has more to deal with the human body itself and emotion; the happier you are, the more likely you are to be healthy or recover. For the same reason, those with pets and under the regular care of loved ones are more likely to recover. Having a faith gives a peace of mind (therefore, less stress which is taxing on the body as it is and can cause a number of issues on it's own), security, and generally has the body in a healthier, happier state. It's not going to cure cancer, but has shown to help a number of mental and physical medical issues. It also sets into place a number of routes for the human mind to take (i.e. a goal to strive for, something to live for, purpose in general). The human mind is an incredibly powerful thing (See: Placebo Effect) and with the proper tools and thought can do wonders.
It also generally helps, as history has proven, those who are religious survive major plagues for a multitude of reasons (chiefly that those of a religion are more likely to support each other outside of a medical field and provide care), which is actually why Christianity is so large today; plagues swept ancient Rome, and Christians survived more frequently than pagans due to the Christians actually following Christian practices of being selfless, kind, et cetera.
I also believe God can heal, as I am a Christian, but in the modern era I follow a "God helps those who help themselves," ideal and believe that medicine should not be forsworn in place of testing God (which generally is a stupid idea, and on a religious note has Biblical backing as being, again, a stupid idea.)
There certainly were hospitals before Christianity. Calling them "infirmaries" doesn't give you the right to claim hospitals as yours.
Mental well-being is certainly a great aid to recovering from illness, no one disputes that. How one achieves it is neither here nor there and there are any number of ways to do so that do not involve the supernatural (meditation, for one).
I will thank you for sources for Christians surviving plagues more often than pagans in ancient times.
