Most Doctors believe in God, afterlife

[Magnetic Poles]

Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8318894/

CHICAGO - A survey examining religion in medicine found that most U.S. doctors believe in God and an afterlife — a surprising degree of spirituality in a science-based field, researchers say.

In the survey of 1,044 doctors nationwide, 76 percent said they believe in God, 59 percent said they believe in some sort of afterlife, and 55 percent said their religious beliefs influence how they practice medicine.

 

[Benjamin]

Possibly the testimony of faith from people that are suffering being witnessed by doctors could be a strong influence.

 

[FBCPastorsWife]

I know that when I am in the hospital I make it known that I am a Christian and very strong in my faith. After that is made known most of the nurses and doctors talk to me about their faith and what church they go to and how God has worked miracles in their lives as well.

 

[Marcia]

I do believe there are a lot of Christian doctors out there, but the survey fails in telling us what kind of God and afterlife these people believe in.

New Agers, Hindus, Mormons, Christian Scientists, universalists, Unity, and others believe in "God" and "afterlife."

Just identifying them by general groups doesn't tell much, as there are people with New Age views who call themselves Catholics or Protestants. A lot of them. Mormons might even do that.

 

[Jim1999]

the majority of doctors also believe in evolution!

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Victory in Jesus]

Originally posted by Magnetic Poles:
A survey examining religion in medicine found that most U.S. doctors believe in God ...

Problem with THAT is the only "god" they believe in is themselves.

What's that old joke?:

What's the difference between God and doctors? God doesn't believe He's a doctor. (Although, technically, He says He IS the Great Phgysician, so that joke is blown)

Originally posted by Jim1999:
the majority of doctors also believe in evolution!

If something happens to me (cancer, for instance), I don't want a doctor giving me or anyone else my odds if making it...especially if he believes my ancestors are apes and doesn't believe in God.

I know it seems like I rag on certain people...like doctors...but I was diagnosed with two things this year that began showing symptoms over 25 years ago.

THEN a third problem appeared, I had surgery for that, spent months in rehab, and the doctor STILL hasn't given me a precise diagnosis for that. How can they do surgery if they don't even know what's wrong? Yeah, I know about exploratory surgery, but it wasn't exploratory.

He's considered a "specialist", but all that means to me is that a specialist confines his attention and study on one particular area of the body and ignores the rest. Rainman was a specialist in math. The "specialist" I went to didn't know what endometriosis was...he defined it as "an infection of the endometrial tissue" and is therefore "confined to the uterus only". Then he snickered at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. I looked at the nurse, she grinned with embarassment and looked down at the floor. I brought in an article on the disease and groggly handed it to the nurse right before I was wheeled into surgery and told her to give it to my doctor so he could read up on a disease he knew nothing about---not a good idea in hindsight...but in my defense, I was drugged up (although I wasn't drugged up when I took the artical with me into the hospital).

My husband and I have both been trying to tell him my shoulder is "pushed in"...that it doesn't look right (the fact that my husband notices it tells me it's pretty prominent). I demanded x-rays, which he took, and initially said it looked fine. My husband spoke up and said, "it doesn't look right!". At second glance (yeah, I said "glance"), he said, "Oh, well, this is assymetrical, but nobody is symetric." I told him it wasn't normal for ME and he just shrugged it off and changed the subject.

Doctors may have put several years into medical school studying the human body, but I've lived in this one my entire life (honest! I'm not kidding!) and I know when something doesn't feel right. AND how much of the time in medical school did they spend partying and goofing off? How do I know what kind of grades my doctors got in college? They should publicise these things.

And now the only doctor I DO trust (hesitantly...waiting for him to foul up, but so far, he's doing great) wants me to see a neurologist to rule out brain things like aneurism and tumor. I've been through all those tests before and they didn't show anything then. I don't want to sit in yet another doctor's office and feel like I'm wasting my time and money.

But, all this makes sense when you take into consideration that they believe we came from apes.

I just figured out what my problem is! My tail is missing and THAT'S why I keep falling to the ground every time I grab for a branch! Welp, I'd write more, but I have to visit Uncle Bobo and Aunt Bonza at the zoo....hmmm...think I'll grab a banana on the way out...

 

[Deacon]

Seems to me that YOU expect doctors to be gods!

Rob

 

[PastorSBC1303]

Originally posted by Victory in Jesus:

I know it seems like I rag on certain people...like doctors...but I was diagnosed with two things this year that began showing symptoms over 25 years ago.

THEN a third problem appeared, I had surgery for that, spent months in rehab, and the doctor STILL hasn't given me a precise diagnosis for that. How can they do surgery if they don't even know what's wrong? Yeah, I know about exploratory surgery, but it wasn't exploratory.

He's considered a "specialist", but all that means to me is that a specialist confines his attention and study on one particular area of the body and ignores the rest. Rainman was a specialist in math. The "specialist" I went to didn't know what endometriosis was...he defined it as "an infection of the endometrial tissue" and is therefore "confined to the uterus only". Then he snickered at me like I didn't know what I was talking about. I looked at the nurse, she grinned with embarassment and looked down at the floor. I brought in an article on the disease and groggly handed it to the nurse right before I was wheeled into surgery and told her to give it to my doctor so he could read up on a disease he knew nothing about---not a good idea in hindsight...but in my defense, I was drugged up (although I wasn't drugged up when I took the artical with me into the hospital).

My husband and I have both been trying to tell him my shoulder is "pushed in"...that it doesn't look right (the fact that my husband notices it tells me it's pretty prominent). I demanded x-rays, which he took, and initially said it looked fine. My husband spoke up and said, "it doesn't look right!". At second glance (yeah, I said "glance"), he said, "Oh, well, this is assymetrical, but nobody is symetric." I told him it wasn't normal for ME and he just shrugged it off and changed the subject.

Wow, if things were really that bad, why did you let a doctor operate and work on you? Don't you have any responsiblity here?

 

[Jim1999]

Evolution does not preclude origin from apes. Many fine theologians believe in Theistic evolution.

Secondly, the patient has every responsibility for his/her own medical care. There is selection.

Finally, there are good, bad and indifferent in every profession, including ministry.

I was just pointing out how silly most surveys are. I trust doctors. My daughter is one, but I wouldn't attend her services. All her patients are dead!.......Oh, she's a forensics pathologist.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Victory in Jesus]

Originally posted by Deacon:
Seems to me that YOU expect doctors to be gods!

Rob

No, Deacon, I expect a doctor to earn his pay. By earning it, I would expect him to know a little more than I know about medicine (which is not very much).

Originally posted by PastorSBC1303:

Wow, if things were really that bad, why did you let a doctor operate and work on you? Don't you have any responsiblity here? [/QUOTE]

I shouldn't have let him work on me. But sometimes we don't know things until hindsight, which is 20/20. I didn't know at the time what treatment I needed and I didn't have the luxury of a painfree life and a medical degree to aid me in making the right decision. I was in horrible pain (I'd use the word "excruciating", but that's preserved for the Lord), and all I wanted was to be fixed. I was desperate, and we don't make the right decisions when we're desperate.

Unfortunately, my experiences have left me skeptical to any doctor's treatment-especially if he specializes in anything. Specialty only means he's an idiot in every other area of the medical field from what I've learned. "Duh...I tink I'ma gonna specialize in eyelashes!"

I realize I'm being mean, but I paid enough money to earn the right to express how I feel.

You may disagree, but I don't care. I know what I've been through, and can't share all of it here. But I would expect more doctors (NOT gods, but humans who PROFESS TO KNOWING SOMETHING ABOUT MEDICINE AND THE HUMAN BODY) to know what they're doing or get out of the profession.

 

[Victory in Jesus]

I do know that from now on, I'm taking my camera with me to the doctor's office. In his presence, I'm going to take pictures of his diplomas and office. If he objects or acts nervous, I'm getting out of there before he touches me.

 

[Charles Meadows]

I do believe there are a lot of Christian doctors out there, but the survey fails in telling us what kind of God and afterlife these people believe in.

Marcia raises a good point here.

Most other doctors I know would claim to believe in God - but that belief is often a loose deistic one.

I'll have to admit that there is a pretty good amount of intellectual arrogance in medicine. To see one's self as having a deep understanding of "things" necessitates one having considered "spiritual matters".

Medicine is a hard place to witness because we tend to think we know it all!

 

[Jim1999]

Charles, you are in the profession, if I remember correctly. Don't you think that part of the arrogance in doctors is self defence? They know their inadequacies, but still drive on to provide the best medical care possible. Modern medicine is just that, modern. We don't know as much as we think. Just 60 odd years ago we started using a simple medicine such as penicillan in place of sulpha drugs.

Like many preachers, we put the doctors on their pedestal and we expect perfection. For a doctor to say, "I just don't know" is unthinkable.

I still believe the majority of doctors go above and beyond the call in service to their patients, at least mine have over the years.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[Victory in Jesus]

Originally posted by Jim1999:


[1] Evolution does not preclude origin from apes. Many fine theologians believe in Theistic evolution.

[2] Secondly, the patient has every responsibility for his/her own medical care. There is selection.

[3] Finally, there are good, bad and indifferent in every profession, including ministry.

[4] I was just pointing out how silly most surveys are. I trust doctors. My daughter is one, but I wouldn't attend her services. All her patients are dead!.......Oh, she's a forensics pathologist.

Cheers,

Jim

[I added numbers to your quote to make it easier to follow along]

[1] I can't agree with that, and I don't care who believes or disbelieves. If we came from apes, they would have found the "missing link" by now and there wouldn't be monkeys and apes today...they'd be human.

[2]I'm taking that responsibility now, Jim. I've made the decision to stay away from specialists.

[3] I agree with you, there. I haven't found a profesion that doesn't have it's jerks and morons. Unfortunately, they make the rest of their profession look bad.

[4] LOL! I'd hate to be her patient!

I'd love to work in forensics. I know some of you may be thinking "If you want to work in forensics, you need to rely on evidence and not gut feelings" to which my reply is, "I do".

My experiences may not be the same as yours. I think I'll make a blog of all the experiences I've faced to steer you there if you're more curious.

I'm not withholding information for my benefit, I'm doing so for yours. I realize my posts grow quickly, and there's not enough bandwidth to hold everything I would have to post.

Plus, I realize my life experiences are not interesting to others....and it wouldn't be fair to take up all the space to try to prove (or point out) why I feel the way I do toward doctors.

I'm sure many people have had bad experiences with police officers (I've heard about some in Louisianna), and my husband is one. He wouldn't do anything that other officers have been caught doing (carrying a throw-down gun, raiding the evidence room, buying coke, taking bribes, etc). I know this for a fact (until he proves me otherwise), but for a person who's always suspicious, I would have seen this in him. Yet others swear that all officers are bad.

SO...I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and agree there must be some decent doctors who work to earn their pay and aren't jerks. I haven't met one, yet, but I haven't seen God, either. I just know He exists (and no, I am NOT still expecting doctors to be gods).

I didn't come here to cause trouble. I don't want to turn people against me. I'm just too daggone honest sometimes, it's a curse. LOL

 

[Victory in Jesus]

Originally posted by Jim1999:
Charles, you are in the profession, if I remember correctly. Don't you think that part of the arrogance in doctors is self defence? They know their inadequacies, but still drive on to provide the best medical care possible. Modern medicine is just that, modern. We don't know as much as we think. Just 60 odd years ago we started using a simple medicine such as penicillan in place of sulpha drugs.

Like many preachers, we put the doctors on their pedestal and we expect perfection. For a doctor to say, "I just don't know" is unthinkable.

I still believe the majority of doctors go above and beyond the call in service to their patients, at least mine have over the years.

Cheers,

Jim

Jim, you have a good point. If I ever have to see a doctor again, I'm going to tell him straight off that I want him to admit if he doesn't know the answer to something.

I admit they have to pay a high price for insurance because some people just want a REASON to sue (if that were my case, I would have sued at least four times in my life and had reason to do so). I don't want quick money, but I do want honest answers...even if that answer is "I don't know". Would I leave a doctor if he told me "I don't know"? I haven't yet. The one doctor I still see admits when he's wrong or doesn't know something. I respect him for that.

But not every patient is me. The doctors don't know how each patient is going to react.

I do admit doctors have it rough in this respect (which could be why your daughter chose to work on dead people...who knows? (I don't)) I will admit that the one thing in the profession I'd hate most about being a doctor would be the patients. I'd chose to be a coma doctor or one that works on patients who can't talk back (mute is unexceptable...they have hands and would break their fingers trying to cuss me out). I guess that would make me a veternarian. LOL! Oh, wait...then I'd have to deal with their owners...

Good points, though.

 

[Charles Meadows]

Jim,

Don't you think that part of the arrogance in doctors is self defence?

Very much so. Seeing 6 year olds die of leukemia and that sort of thing affects the human soul. Doctors tend to dissociate themselves emotionally so as not to be so affected by these things.

Modern medicine can do alot. But there is much more that we CANNOT do. I think the average person overestimates the capabilities of "modern medicine."

I think most doctors do go above and beyond - but there ARE some bad apples.

Regarding the lawsuits - well - people still have bad outcomes - even when everything is done right. Today's mentality is that everything should always go 100% right. If it does not then someone must be to blame. If lawyers see an opportunity to make money they will generally take it. That's capitalism.

 

[gb93433]

Several years ago I read the book To Hell and Back: Life After Death Startling New Evidence by Maurice Rawlings. Dr. Rawlings became a Christian after interviewing patients who had a "hell" and heaven experience. I found the book to be very good support for hell and heaven.

 

[benz]

Praise the Lord Jesus
This shouldnt surprise us, seeing how complex and specialized our organs, blood(dna),fingerprint,heartbeat and senses are so unique and different from one person to another...