http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/s.../GG16Wd03.html
Grist for discussion.

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Man up.

True,

The reason is because in Islam HEALING is NOT a factor for redemption. The greatest HEALING in Islam is correct knowledge and wisdom. It is known that the Quran is the greatest miracle in Islam. Believe this when I tell you that there existed many HEALING cults even during and before Prophet Jesus(pbuh) time on Earth. Many HEALING CULTS were PAGAN.

Therefore, the misleading conclusion is to assume that the Pagan cults have the answer.

Islam states this in the Hadiths:

Sahih Bukhari -

Volume 7, Book 70, Number 551:
Narrated 'Abdullah:

I visited Allah's Apostle while he was suffering from a high fever. I said, "O Allah's Apostle! You have a high fever." He said, "Yes, I have as much fever as two men of you." I said, "Is it because you will have a double reward?" He said, "Yes, it is so. No Muslim is afflicted with any harm, even if it were the prick of a thorn, but that Allah expiates his sins because of that, as a tree sheds its leaves."

Volume 7, Book 70, Number 545:
Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that."


Volume 7, Book 70, Number 544:

Narrated 'Aisha:

(the wife of the Prophet) Allah's Apostle said, "No calamity befalls a Muslim but that Allah expiates some of his sins because of it, even though it were the prick he receives from a thorn."


CONCERING THE QURAN :

Sahih Bukhari -

Volume 6, Book 61, Number 504:
Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given, is Divine Inspiration(The Quran) which Allah has revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection."

http://www.plim.org/PrayerDeb.htm
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/smj1.html

Interesting topic. The first thing I thought of is how do they know the patients who "received nothing" had no prayers for them? Obviously, it would be very difficult to have a control group in this type of study. Then I realized that often the power of prayer is (at least in part) in the mind of the person who knows others are praying for them or praying for themselves. So, in order to do a true study, they would have to tell some people they are being prayed for and then not actually pray for them to test the placebo effects. Whether it's due to a placebo effect or not, I believe that most doctors and nurses will say that a spiritual person needs less painkillers and is likely to heal faster.

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"Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves." ~Ronald Reagan

It's difficult to assess the validity of the study without looking at its design and methodology, but you have to ask yourself, "why would anyone welcome results that demonstrate human suffering has been prolonged?"

It's human nature to welcome test results that support your beliefs.

But more practically, it's always good news when an ineffective treatment is shown to be such. Then you can stop wasting time on it and move on to finding effective treatments.

Can prayer help heal? Hard to say. All this study tested was situations where the patient knew they were being prayed for by strangers. It's pretty much impossible to ethically control for other situations, though if I get a chance it'd be interesting to see a study on recovery rates among believers and atheists, for example.

Even if prayer were shown to help, is it anything more than the placebo effect, or the equally well-known bit about how having a positive attitude?

My view on prayer is that it's free and it can't hurt -- unless you use it as a substitute for more scientifically proven treatments.

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Man up.