Minimal
stressed for motivation and achievement2005-07-21
According to a recent study...
Prayer ‘no aid to heart patients’ [BBC News]
As an atheist, the above comes as no shock to me. That’s not to say, however, that I think religion has no worth. I wouldn’t be surprised if merely telling some patients from the above study that they were being prayed for had helped them. And you can bet your ass that if I lay dying in a car crash (touch wood), I’d be looking for the big fella to help me out. Anything to improve my brain chemistry in a traumatic situation.
Of course, for being so cynical, I’d probably end up being cast into Hades. Hey ho. ;)
Incidentally, I love the way studies like this are leapt upon by supporters of the findings and ignored by dissenters. I also love the way the same topic can be studied many different times, concluded differently each time and still given press coverage. Just look at the See Also section of the article above for a nice history of prayer-influenced healing studies. Incredible.
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