Музей форума дьякона Кураева (1999 - 2006)

В этой теме будут размещаться некоторые отклики на научные исследования влияния посреднических молитв на состояние больных. В теме 55994 «Иследование 1800 пациентов-сердечников показало, что молитвы не помогают выздоровлению» уже были анонсированы отрицательные результаты последнего исследования, которое продолжалось 9 лет. Грустные данные, но мне кажется, что лучше знать о них, чем не знать. Лучше иметь их в поле внимания, чем не иметь.New study casts doubt on medicinal value of prayerBy Christine Casatelli Science & Theology News, March 31, 2006http://www.stnews.org/News-2754.htmThe largest-ever study of prayer offers nothing but discouragement to religious believers hoping for evidence that prayer for God's intervention in the natural order is effective. The study of third-party prayer, also known as intercessory prayer, says that praying for the health of patients from a distance is not effective in reducing complications after heart surgery.The study used a sample of 1,802 bypass patients from six hospitals who were randomly assigned to one of three groups: Group 1 received intercessory prayer after being told they may or may not receive it, Group 2 did not receive intercessory prayers after being told they may or may not receive it, and Group 3 were told they would be receiving intercessory prayer and did receive it. STEP findings are scheduled to appear in the April issue of American Heart Journal.The Rev. Dean Marek, director of chaplain services at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.,also pointed to the problem with conducting studies on prayer that reduce it to a replicable commodity — because the effect of prayer can't be replicated. But a study such as STEP can yield other benefits. “I hope this leads to some further discussion as to the nature and relevance and power of this thing we call prayer,” he said.Medicine and prayer don't mixBy Dr. Richard Sloan Science & Theology News, April 3, 2006http://www.stnews.org/Commentary-2757.htmWelcome to the brave new world of religion-and-health — where science, medicine, faith and ethics coexist in a potentially explosive mixture. It’s all part of a concerted effort to make religious practices part of clinical medicine. But before we go any further down this path, we should answer three central questions about these efforts: Are they based on good scientific evidence? Do they represent good medical practice? Are they good for religion? In each case, the answer is no. Finally, and perhaps most important, efforts to connect religion and medical practice are bad for religion itself. Bringing religion into the laboratory subjects it to the reductionism of scientific materialism, stripping away all elements of transcendence. The recent report that religious experience is based on the neurochemistry of the serotonin system in the brain is a perfect example of how religion is trivialized by studying it scientifically.Attempts to closely connect religion and medicine unwittingly imply that religion has no strengths of its own and instead needs the methods of science to establish validity. Proponents forget the advantage of religion over science (…). In these efforts, they demean rather than value religion. Separating fact from fictionBy Dr. Harold G. Koenig (editor in chief) Science & Theology News, April 3, 2006http://www.stnews.org/Commentary-2758.htmThe majority of patients in most studies — as many as 78 percent — indicate that they would like their physicians to pray with them, especially if they are religious and if they are in a situation of high stress. Many patients, however, are afraid to ask their doctors because they are afraid such a request would offend the doctor.Are studies in religion-and-health based on good scientific evidence? Yes. There are literally hundreds of cross-sectional studies, prospective studies and clinical trials that have demonstrated significant positive associations.Of course, it is not religion by itself through some supernatural process that is responsible for the religion-health relationship. Religion affects health by enhancing social support, improving health behaviors, and conveying hope and optimism in the face of the most difficult of life’s challenges. These are the mechanisms by which religion has its effects. They explain the religion-health relationship, and they by no means explain away the relationship.Is it important to study the health implications of religion? Yes, depending on what the research is designed to accomplish. If the research is designed to prove that prayer works in some supernatural way or that God exists or that angels are real, then such research does indeed do religion a disservice. However, 95 percent of the research being done in this field is not trying to do that. Instead, this research is trying to understand the effects of devout religious belief and practice on the health of people, the prevention of disease and the outcome of illness — by understandable scientific pathways.