Tuesday, 19 August 2008
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Survey: 57% of U.S. Adults Believe In Divine Intervention For the Dying
MSNBC reports that according a survey conducted on 1,000 randomly-chosen American adults, more than 1 in 2 people believe that prayer can reverse a terminal prognosis - that God could grant patients a miracle despite scientific evidence that shows otherwise.
Furthermore, nearly 3/4 surveyed said that patients have a right to demand treatment that aligns with their spiritual beliefs about divine intervention, and nearly 20 percent of doctors and other medical workers also believe that God can intervene in a hopeless situation.
You can read the article here for more details about the study as well as personal accounts from people who have lost children to untimely deaths and doctors who have encountered patients that refuse to turn off the machine in hope that God will intervene for the patient.
What do you believe - could God (or does God ever) save someone even when the physician declares that further treatment would be pointless? If your close relative or loved one were dying, would you let the doctors work according to their findings, or would you hold out for God's intervention?
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Comments (17)
Of course God could. But sometimes there are bigger things at work. Everything is always leading to something else. We just have to remember that death is a gift, and God can use it here on earth for amazing things. We just have to let him.
It's really about listening to God and hearing what He wants for the person.
Yes, God can. And sometimes He does. It depends on whether it is a person's time to die. Sometimes God allows people to get to that point so that His glory will be shown through their healing. Other times He's allowing an illness because it's a person's time. We can't know the difference, but He always does. I believe we honor God by praying in faith no matter how hopeless a situation is.
"What do you believe - could God (or does God ever) save someone even
when the physician declares that further treatment would be pointless?"
Could God? Probably, yes. Does He? No, more likely than not.
"If your close relative or loved one were dying, would you let the
doctors work according to their findings, or would you hold out for
God's intervention?"
Let the doctors do their job.
I've seen a miraculous healing happen once, and in that one instance the person was ready to die anyways but still firmly convinced that the healing would happen (which it did). In many other cases, most of which were even more tragic, healing did not happen. I think people should hope for the best but make decisions that prepare for the worst. I've seen cases where people who tried to make a miracle happen or wait for one ended up having the loved one spend a long, languishing course that ended in a painful and lonely death anyways.
"What do you believe - could God (or does God ever) save someone even when the physician declares that further treatment would be pointless?"
If I said no, that would be giving the physician more power than God. If God created the entire universe, came to earth in the form of a man, and defeated sin and death, don't you think he could heal someone of a sickness?
How many times does the bible mention Jesus healing people of their diseases?
God is so powerful, there shouldn't be any doubt about what He can do!
I know he can. The question is will he when push comes to shove.
of course God can... but i don't think He does. i cannot imagine how intervening and stopping what should be a natural death would fit into His plans, or what would cause someone to be more worthy of intervention than others.
so yes, i would allow doctors to work.
I have always believed that God can save those who doctors cannot. Then, my fiance's cousin was ..well, dead. And if they took him off machines, and he did somehow survive, then he would without a doubt have been brain dead and incapable of anything but opening his eyes. But then ..well, he just woke up and was more or less fine all things considered. So I 100% believe that God still works very visible miracles.
I would let the doctors do their job, but at the same pray to God.If God wants to take that relative/family member or perform a miracle and intervene is His call. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with praying while letting the doctor his/her job.
It would have been more justified to say that out of 1000 people 570 believe in divine intervention.
What you wrote, "more than 1 in 2 people believe that prayer can reverse a terminal prognosis" More than 1 in 2 people means 2 people unless you start counting fractions of people which don't exist.
Of course God is able to save and deliver people from illnesses, even terminal ones. But we believe in the same God who allowed John the Baptist to be beheaded but sent an angel to deliver Peter from prison. God sent Jesus to bring Lazarus from the dead but God also had King Herod died from flesh-eating worms. Therefore, God is able but is not always willing for His Divine purposes. After all, if God is not powerful enough to allow His ultimate will for each individual to occur, then maybe He is not really that powerful.
I believe that God has the last say. Jesus has raised the dead and healed the sick. God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. If He could do it then - He can do it now.
God is the healer and the doctors are only able to heal through the power and ability God gives them so I would allow my loved ones to be treated medically because God works through people and He may see fit to work through some medical procedure.
I know that ultmately God is Sovereign and His will will be done.
God certainly can, and I've seen it happen both ways with my own father.
He was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and told to prepare for his death. He had his lung removed, and God healed his body and he was declared cancer free. The doctors were amazed. 3 months later my father choked on a grape and was without oxygen for 10 minutes. The doctors declared him brain dead with no hope of recovery. I prayed for a miracle, but after a few days there was no sign of hope and based on my fathers wishes according to his living will, we turned off the ventilator and he lived for another 6 hours and finally passed away.
God built my faith through both outcomes, so it's all really in his good hands. But the doctors were good and willing to wait for family to arrive to say goodbye and also while I prayed. They were also willing to do daily tests to see if there was any improvement, even though they knew there wouldn't be.
@thepurpleporpoise - To be fair, how much of the remission was due to the lung removal and how much was due to God?
@forgottenrevelations@xanga - It was a miracle that he survived the lung removal...he shouldn't have according to 6 different doctors....so I'm gonna go ahead and put that in the God category! Thanks for the skepticism though.
I think if you have enough courage, hope and willpower to pull through, your body heals itself. Ususally these 3 things come with family support.
I think people should give credit to themselves for miraculous healing, I dont think external forces have anything to do with it.