When I was in high school, I was hospitalized in the neurology unit for severe muscle spasms. I spent nearly a month there, and in that time got to know a few of the people. This is the story of one of them.
A girl who I will call Jessica had been playing at her friend's house when she fell down with a seizure. The friend's family, of course, took her to the hospital, where they discovered she had an operable brain tumor. Without the operation she was given a prognosis of about six months to live, but they could get her the surgery within the week. Great news, right? Wrong. Jessica's family were all devout, fundamentalist Christian Scientists.
Jessica's family came to visit her in the hospital once they found out, but before asking her if she was alright or reassuring a scared 15 year old girl, they began by chastising her for going to a hospital in the first place. Though not representative of all Christian Scientists, this family believed that faith and prayer are all one needs to cure ailments. Obviously, Jessica wasn't praying hard enough, or her faith had faltered, causing this tumor. They expressly forbade her from getting the surgery, trying to get her to leave the hospital and go to their pastor for extensive prayer.
To make a long story short, Jessica sided with the doctors. I met her about a week after her surgery, which was a complete success. Despite all this, Jessica was horribly depressed. I discovered this was because her family completely disowned her for getting this surgery. She had gained the rest of her life, but lost the life she knew.
What do you think about the idea of healing through prayer versus healing through operations and medicine? If you were in my friend's situation, would you go against your family and get the surgery done?
True
Comments (124)
Gosh. I think her family is insane! How can you disown your own child when she's sick and recovering?
I'll say God sent the doctors to heal her. God put people around us for a purpose. It can never be wrong.
@StubbornFool@xanga - You're right. I'm skeptical of the story, but that is really great that the teacher survived. But I'm just skeptical because I don't pray and am not really a Christian. But this is a remarkable story.
Having the doctors and the scientists isn't that a blessing from god ? I think so . God gave these people their talent to help others if not that what would they be on this earth to do ? Praying is good for the soul and does help , but if u ask for help to cure some illness wouldn't god send u a doctor or a physcian ? of course he would.
All the best and a giant Hugg for Jessica , may she have a long happy and wondeful life. May all her dreams come true, and may God give her what she needs and wants for this to happen.
Just got back from vacation and wanted to point a few things out before reading and responding to comments:
1) That picture is not Jessica. Jessica was completely bald from having major brain surgery. The picture in this post is because Revelife decided that my post needed a picture and didn't feel that the month this post has been sitting on their shelf was enough time to ask me for an appropriate picture.
2) The question in bold was also added by Revelife to completely change the tone and message of my story.
3) After writing this, I did some sleuthing to see how "Jessica" is doing now. She had found a nice foster family, and was rebuilding her life when a member of her former church decided it was "God's will" to bludgeon her with a baseball bat. She has since moved out of the state, and from the tone of the people I talked to, probably isn't doing well. One even indicated that she is either homeless or has killed herself. So sorry, this story doesn't seem to have a "happily ever after" ending.
I blame Phineas P. Quinby.
Well obviously, Christian Scientists are not true Scotsmen, er, I mean Christians.
@merely_a_christian@xanga - When does one distinguish between the times when one should pray and when one should seek medical help?
@joycemiles@xanga - I lost contact with her years ago, but writing about it made me go hunting. She found a nice foster family, but someone from her old church found her and decided it was God's will to hit her with a baseball bat. She moved out of state into a different home after that, but at 18 she falls off the grid. Her first foster father told me she was extremely depressed and paranoid, but wouldn't see a psychiatrist because of the "Christian Science" beliefs still gripping her. He assumes the worst now, that she's either homeless or dead. Not what I was hoping to find out.
@SirNickDon@xanga - I'm glad you approve of the pic, once I found out that I got posted on Revelife right after changing my icon I was worried I'd catch flak for it. I'll hunt down your post after I wade through the comments on this site.
@GodlessLiberal@xanga - Don't hunt too hard. I haven't written it yet. But I will.
@deepestrecesses - Why is it disappointing if it happens rarely? It still is something I believe people, especially here on Revelife, need to know what religious wrongthinking can lead to. I stated many times in my post that I don't think it is indicative of all Christians, or even all Christian Scientists.
@Camouflaged_by_night@xanga - You could do all of those things, but you'd have one of the shortest-lived religions ever.
@sarahzthoughts@xanga - Jehovah's Witnesses don't believe in blood transfusions. Christian Scientists (it still makes me vomit in my mouth a little bit each time I have to add the word "scientist" to their title) take it much further.
@KimisBarbie@xanga - Abraham was going to kill Isaac because it was God's will. I suppose they felt they had a similar mindset.
@laytexduckie@xanga - Hey, germ theory is JUST A THEORY!
@TheGreatBout@xanga - A well thought-out response. Unfortunately, as I've mentioned it doesn't look like life got better for "Jessica", at least not long-term.
@MDrabing83@xanga - [First of all, Scientology is not
Christian.....it is a cult. (just read their doctrine & you can
see; even the foundings of it is humanistic & not based on the
Bible at all but on science & refutes many things from the Bible,
just as Mormons & Jehovah's Witness's do)]
This is about Christian Science, which is nothing like Scientology. Christian Science, Mormonism and the Witnesses did not base their religions on "humanistic" ideals or any form of "science." The fact that they have the audacity to put the term "scientist" into their title makes me angry enough to want to destroy some furniture in my apartment.
@emmy_and_co@xanga - This was around six years ago now, and I'm sure the last thing this girl would have wanted would be media attention.
@Ex_Adyto_Cordis@xanga - [What about "God helps those who help themselves?"]
Technically, that passage isn't in the Bible anywhere. It's just a popular aphorism.
@StubbornFool@xanga - Technically it was for disobeying their god.
@addposterchild@xanga - I'm guessing that they thought the Pope was a false prophet anyway, since many fundamentalist protestants believe Catholicism to be a form of idolatry.
@GodlessLiberal@xanga - Although you actually only stated that once, I had missed it the first time I read through this post-- or if I saw it, it didn't register.
You'd asked why I am disappointed; I did not mean to attack you personally. In fact I joined revelife to understand peoples opinions and views of "Christian Stuff" and to occassionally throw my point-of-view out there.
This comment is from a while back, so I dont' remember exactly, but I would guess it was probably made as a result of being tired and constantly hearing the opinions of extremist, non-fundamental, Christian views that are actually not representative of Christianity as a whole.
Perhaps if you can think of a time when you see a web-page or group consistently bringing up the "extreme" view of your side that you do not agree with. Similarly I think that this kind of behavior is one of the primary reasons why people think poorly of Christians-- and in my opinion, it's a completely un-founded viewpoint that the Apostles would probably write letters about saying "you moron, what were you thinkin?" (ok, so probably wouldn't say moron... but anyway).
I hope I didn't come off as attacking you, if I did, I am sorry.
I believe in the power of prayer, but sometimes medical treatment is necessary!
Only when medical fails, prayer comes in
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Look I have witnessed people healed by the power of prayer, when doctors have said there is nothing else you can do. No medicine will help, or nothing. It is not just a "mental thing," and it's not science either.
I know of a person who actually died, and they pronounced him dead. After about an hour he came back screaming that he saw Jesus, and the gates hell opened up. He begged Christ for another chance, and he came. He used to be guy who didn't care anything about God. Now he's an evangelist. God told him, according to him, that the reason he is given another chance in this life, is because he had a praying mother who prayed for her son in tears ever night.
So don't tell me prayer alone doesn't work!
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