Reverend AtheiStar Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/03/30/praye...y.ap/index.html Study: Prayer doesn't affect heart patients Thursday, March 30, 2006; Posted: 2:26 p.m NEW YORK (AP) -- In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications. Researchers emphasized their work does not address whether God exists or answers prayers made on another's behalf. The study can only look for an effect from prayers offered as part of the research, they said. They also said they had no explanation for the higher complication rate in patients who knew they were being prayed for, in comparison to patients who only knew it was possible prayers were being said for them. The work, which followed about 1,800 patients at six medical centers, was financed by the Templeton Foundation, which supports research into science and religion. It will appear in the American Heart Journal. Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School and other scientists tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for "a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications" for specific patients, for whom they were given the first name and first initial of the last name. The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility. The researchers did not ask patients or their families and friends to alter any plans they had for prayer, saying such a step would have been unethical and impractical. The study looked for any complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery. But 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for developed a complication, versus 52 percent of those who were told it was just a possibility. Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center, who did not take part in the study, said the results did not surprise him. "There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said. Science, he said, "is not designed to study the supernatural." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entgegen Posted March 31, 2006 Share Posted March 31, 2006 Damn, you beat me to it. I read this earlier today and figured I'd post a link to it here, but apparently you had the same idea. But yeah, I found it pretty amusing, especially the part where there was a higher incidence of complications during recovery in patients who knew they were being prayed for. Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center, who did not take part in the study, said the results did not surprise him. "There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said. Science, he said, "is not designed to study the supernatural." But you can sure as hell bet that they all would have been throwing around "behold the power of prayer" BS if the study had gone in their favor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend AtheiStar Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 Damn, you beat me to it. I read this earlier today and figured I'd post a link to it here, but apparently you had the same idea. But yeah, I found it pretty amusing, especially the part where there was a higher incidence of complications during recovery in patients who knew they were being prayed for. Yeah, that is pretty funny. But I'm sure it's another instance of us humans seeing a pattern where there is none. "There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said. There's no theological grounds? The Bible says that if you ask Jesus for something you'll get it. Sounds like grounds to me. Science, he said, "is not designed to study the supernatural." No, but it does wonderfully when applied to debunking bullshit supernatural claims! I love shows on that! But you can sure as hell bet that they all would have been throwing around "behold the power of prayer" BS if the study had gone in their favor. They sure would. They did that last time. This time it's our turn and you can bet that it's going on my site for future reference! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend AtheiStar Posted March 31, 2006 Author Share Posted March 31, 2006 This article has now been archived for future reference here: http://www.reverendatheistar.com/prayer_failure.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caretaker Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Slashdot posted the story, and there was a quote there that bears repeating. What is the point of this study? Its not like it is going to convince the millions of people who don't like mixing science with their religion that they shouldn't waste time praying for their loved ones. Those people can trust science to make more fuel efficient SUVs, better bombs for Iraq and cure diseases. But when it proves that the earth is round, that the universe is 13-15 billion years old and that prayer doesn't really do anything, they think its hogwash. http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot?m=4664 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Entgegen Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 QUOTE(suso @ Monday April 03, 7:59AM)What is the point of this study? Its not like it is going to convince the millions of people who don't like mixing science with their religion that they shouldn't waste time praying for their loved ones. Those people can trust science to make more fuel efficient SUVs, better bombs for Iraq and cure diseases. But when it proves that the earth is round, that the universe is 13-15 billion years old and that prayer doesn't really do anything, they think its hogwash. Yeah, that's pretty much how things operate with those people, unfortunately. They're cool with anything that doesn't conflict with their belief systems. It's sorta' like how people throw around "evolution is just a theory," but then again, so is fuckin' gravity, and general relativity, and how cells in the body are organized and operate, etc. But none of those other theories happen to rub people the wrong way, so somehow the definition of the word "thoery" can vary depending on the subject at hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caretaker Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 QUOTE(suso @ Monday April 03, 7:59AM)What is the point of this study? Its not like it is going to convince the millions of people who don't like mixing science with their religion that they shouldn't waste time praying for their loved ones. Those people can trust science to make more fuel efficient SUVs, better bombs for Iraq and cure diseases. But when it proves that the earth is round, that the universe is 13-15 billion years old and that prayer doesn't really do anything, they think its hogwash. Yeah, that's pretty much how things operate with those people, unfortunately. They're cool with anything that doesn't conflict with their belief systems. It's sorta' like how people throw around "evolution is just a theory," but then again, so is fuckin' gravity, and general relativity, and how cells in the body are organized and operate, etc. But none of those other theories happen to rub people the wrong way, so somehow the definition of the word "thoery" can vary depending on the subject at hand. Gravity's a theory??? Well then! I must say that I am a staunch proponent of intelligent falling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts