Alternative Healing Today Magazine 09

8/9/2019 Alternative Healing Today Magazine 09

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The lasT decade has seen a growing global

interest in alternative healing popularised in

the west by Dr Deepak Chopra. In 1998 alone,

Americans spent 32 billion dollars on alternative

healing.

South African shopping malls and suburban

homes have become new healing centres. Local

book stores are stacked high with mind-body-spirit

literature and magazines advertise a variety of

alternative healing services. Even the traditional

Sunday Service TV is replaced with a New Age

spirituality in which all religions and alternative

healing is offered without bias in a user-friendly

manner.

Hundreds of alternative healing products

and methods are offered such as acupuncture,

homeopathy, aromatherapy, Reiki, chiropractics,

guided visualisation, psychic healing and

shamanism. Some practices are natural, holistic

therapies providing an alternative to clinical drug

based treatments. Others have ancient mystical

roots, whilst others bring healing and personal

spirituality in a New Age unity. In the midst of

this new awakening is a global multi-billion dollar

industry promising alternative healing.

Examining altErnativEs

The Churchs response to the subject of

alternative healing ranges from extreme rejection,

labelling all alternative healing practices as

Whats theALTERNATIVE?

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fm ct pptv.

by D sey auu

60 TodaYSEPTEMBER 2009


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2009 AUGUST TODAY 6

eastern, New Age and therefore demonic

to the other extreme of indifference. This

is a complex topic requiring educated

discussion based on biblical reasoning

and deep sensitivity to those in and

outside the church.

How should Christians deal with

alternative healing? The apostle Paul

advised that we need to examine

everything carefully and hold fast to that

which is good, (1 Thes 5:21). At the

same time as we are firm in defending

our faith we do this with a spirit ofgentleness and respect (1 Pet 3:15). In

this journey we will start by examining the

roots of western medicine; why there is

a growing interest in alternative healing

and how this new spiritual landscape can

be a postmodern missionary ground for

people seeking God in foreign places.

WHAT IS ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE?

This has no easy answer. In the last

decade it referred to all treatments not

taught to doctors of western (allopathic)

medicine. However this definition ischanging as 34 of the 125 medical

schools in the US including Harvard

now teach alternative healing courses

in an emerging discipline known as

complementary or integrative medicine.

What is considered alternative healing

in western society is an integral part of

other cultures and traditions. Alternative

medicine originates from the traditions

of ancient cultures such as China and

India. Larimore and OMathna in their

bookAlternative Medicine: The Christian

Handbook give examples of ancient

medicine. The Chinese had over 16000

healing preparations. In South Africa too,

African traditional medicine is finding a

respected place. Every ancient culture

has a rich tradition of healing practice

integral to these societies.

To what extent these practices are

effective, or not, present a different

discussion. Alternative healing is not

regulated to the same standards

of western allopathic medicine. Its

practitioners are a mix of highly trained

professionals to self proclaimed

neighbourhood healers. Despite the

limited scientific proof of effectiveness

many people still seek out alternative

healing reporting varying degrees

of success. Their need for healing

extends beyond clinical proof to deeperdimensions of personal and holistic

wellbeing.

WHY IS IT ATTRACTIVE?

Modern medicine has made

remarkable contributions to global

health bringing under control once

deadly epidemics such as small pox,

yellow fever, leprosy, malaria and scarlet

fever. Despite the success of biomedical

medicine we paradoxically have an

increase in health conditions not easily

understood or treated by our modern

scientific model. These include cancer,

strokes, heart disease and mental

illness.

The age of Modernism replaced faith,

customs, tradition, magic, witchcraft

and sadly also the Church as a healing

community with scientific rationalism.

Seeing is believing became the motto

of the scientific age in which God was

rejected.

In our postmodern age there is

disillusionment with the promise of

rationalism. There is a deeper hunger for

personal spirituality and holistic healing.

People are desperate to be heard,

touched and compassionately ministered

to without judgment or dogma or clinical

precision. They are experiencing this in

alternative healing communities. In the

midst of this mission field, many churches

are still offering quick fix positive thinking

solutions, entertaining programmes and

clinical efficiency; everything desperateseekers are running away from in modern

society.

We will examine a Christian response

to alternative healing in a series of

discussions over the next months. We will

discuss what we stand for as Christians

and not only what were against. In doing

this we will systematically examine the

major systems of alternative healing;

understand how they work; what their

roots are and their consistency with a

biblical view of health and healing. We will

also explore ways of discerning the manyavailable practices. Most importantly we

will constantly consider the restoration of

the Church as a healing community.

Dr Stanley Arumugam is a Counselling

and Community Psychologist. He can

be contacted at stanley_arumugam@

yahoo.com.

Seeing isbelieving becamethe motto of the

scientic age

I should examine everything

and hold on to what is

good.

God is the ultimate Healer.

I am the Lord who heals

you, (Exodus 15:26). STOCKTAKEWHAT CAN I LEARN

FROM DR STANLEY?


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There is a caTegory of alTernaTive healing known as

complementary medicine which can work effectively with

conventional medicine. Certain practices are forbidden

in the Bible, including divination and consulting psychicmediums (see Leviticus 20:27) but the majority of

alternative therapies fall into the third broad category of

the new age which is quite blurry and requires handling

with care.

Applying Two TesTs

Tt 1: s; this is the foundation of modern

medical practice and suggests that any practice that is not

open to rigorous research and verication is unconvincing

and at worse quackery. This test is a good way to provide

protection to patients through clinical trials before any

practice or drug therapy is approved.

However, the problem arises when practices that falloutside of rational science are rejected as though science

is the ultimate test of credibility. Many alternative therapies

fall into this category and are subject to this scientic bias.

Christian prayer is also scientically unveriable and often

issues of faith are discarded by scientic rationalism. We

would argue that science is not required to prove the Bible.

Similarly we have to be careful not to make a blanket

rejection of alternative therapies because they cannot be

rationalised by science.

Rapha?Reiki

Informed evangelicals are both

passionately for and against alternative

therapies, thats why we need to

carefully examine the multitude of

available practices.

B D st aumum

or


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Test 2: The Bible; what is the worldviewof the alternative therapy and how does it

guide an understanding of illness, healing

and God? We know that healing is not just

a function of the medication prescribed

by the doctor or the therapy model used

by psychologists or the oils used by a

therapist. Healing is a function of the

relationship between practitioner and

patient; its the shared understanding of

healing (belief system) and the experience

of care and compassion.

I remember as a child when I had a

fever, my mother would usually give mean aspirin always with a prayer for my

healing. My healing was a combination

of the pharmacological properties of

the tablet and more importantly it was

an acknowledgment of Jesus Christ

as the real source of healing. In using

conventional and alternative therapies we

need to ask who the source of healing is. Is

it Jesus Christ, a universal energy or self?

Genuine healing is from God and always

leads us to God.

Most alternative therapists are caring,

sincere and concerned about your wholebeing body, mind and soul unlike

practitioners of conventional medicine.

However, check the label before you buy!

This applies to alternative therapies just

as it does to conventional medicine.

Dr Robina Coker ( Alternative Medicine,

Monarch) suggests the following questions

as a starting point for investigating a

therapy:

Do the claims for this therapy t the

facts?

Is there a rational scientic basis for the

therapy?Is the method or the principle behind

the therapy effective?

Does the therapy involve the occult?

What is the therapists world view?

Three CaTegories

There are so many practices and some fall

into more than one group making biblical

discernment more necessary.

a CriTiCal look

Of all the alternative practices, life

energy therapies need to be considered

with great care and caution. Dening

features include:

1. Practitioners believe that life energy

ows throughout the universe with

different names such as Chi (Chinese)

and Prana (Indian). This is NOT the

energy of the Holy Spirit.2. Human beings are composed of

energy systems.

3. Disease is believed to be the result of

imbalance or blockage in the energy ow

between the universe and the individual.

4. Life energy can be directed to the

offending illness and bring healing.

New Age adherents believe that life

energy is in essence God. Many ideas that

are the roots of energy therapies are based

on pantheism or Eastern mysticism. The

reality of Christ as the ultimate source of

healing and as a distinct Divine being (notan extension of the universe) is rejected.

WhaT abouT reiki?

One of the most popular life energy

therapies is Reiki. To become a Reiki

Master, the student needs attunement or

initiation. This requires a spiritual transfer

from the Master to the student, the

same energy from the 1800s Japanese

Buddhist founder passed down. Recently

one of my Christian friends joined a Reiki

class wanting to learn to become a healing

practitioner. She was initially welcomed in

the eclectic group of new age seekers but

soon was criticised for her faith in Christ.

She also experienced spiritual discomfort

in the group as classes progressed and

she eventually dropped out.

Of all alternative therapies the USCatholic Bishops Conference on Doctrine

in May 2009 made a clear pronouncement

that Reiki is not compatible with either

Christian teaching or scientic evidence

and should not be promoted or provided in

any Catholic institution.

Call for DisCernmenT

Indiscriminate use of alternative

therapies which are clearly incompatible

with Christianity may leave a person

vulnerable to spiritual, emotional or

physical harm. To help you examinespecic therapies carefully, I highly

recommend a free internet resource

prepared by the Evangelical Christian

Alliance Handle with Care. A Christian

Introduction to Alternative Medicine.

May God grant us the wisdom to choose

carefully, leading those in need to the

ultimate Healer of our body, mind and soul

our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Alternative Healing Category

1. Complementary medicine

e.g. naturopathy, ayurvedic

medicine

2. Scientifcally unverifed

e.g. herbal remedies, Chinese

acupuncture

3. Life energy therapies New Age

Healing e.g. Reiki, therapeutictouch, psychic healing

Core Features

Provide sound advice in

lifestyle issues of diet, exercise

and stress.

Mixed reports of effectiveness.

Practitioners not making overt

spiritual linkages.

Healing is essentially balancing

energies in the human being anduniverse spiritual roots inform

practice (Taoist and Hinduism)

2009 OCTOBER TODAY 4


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52 TODAYNOVEMBER 2009

MANY PEOPLE FROM WITHIN AND

outside of the Church have become

disillusioned with modern medicine and

are now exploring alternative therapies.

There is no absolute one response to this

subject; some therapies are beneficial

and others clearly biblically forbidden. It

seems that holistic healing is not a New

Age invention but a lost witness of the

Church.

HOLISTIC AND NEW AGE

One of the tenets of the new age

movement is holism the whole is

greater than the sum of its parts. Holism

views human beings as a complete

entity of body, mind (soul) and spirit.

This is perfectly a biblical perspective as

described in the Word: May your whole

spirit, soul and body be kept blameless

at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

(1 Thes 5:23). Yet, it is much neglected

in the approach of modern medicine

which separates the human body, soul

and spirit.

Sadly the Church has done the

same in separating the soul and body

from the spirit. The Church is often

mostly concerned with salvation and

spiritual care. Other human needs are

outsourced to the medical doctor (body)

or to the psychologist (soul / mind). This

is not a biblical view which considers

human beings as an integrated whole in

the image of God.

Our holistic needs in body, soul and

spirit do not vanish because we ignore

them. If they are not met in the Church,

people may seek a New Age experience.

Could it be that the Church has sold its

holistic healing birthright to the New Age

Movement?

Holistic HealingThe Church should

function as a healing

community.

By Stanley Arumugam


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2009 NOVEMBER TODAY 53

The New Age healing movement is

renowned for its open mindedness.

This is a space of non-judgment where

wisdom from different sources is

considered in an integrated manner.

People are treated with care and

compassion; not processed in clinical

lines either in the doctors waiting room

or in dogmatic church prayer lines.

Sadly many local churches have lost

their mandate as a healing community.

Searching and needy people are

coming to the church with the hope of

finding healing for body, soul and spirit,

and often only experience a clinical

spirituality. The church is not just a place

for preaching but also of discipleship,

pastoral care, teaching and service; a

place where the family of God is lived

out.

A HEALING COMMUNITY

Many believers are disillusioned and

harmed spiritually and physically through

quick fix formula healings. Sound biblical

teaching on health and healing must

be provided. The local church must be

a place where biblical principles and

lifestyle issues are clearly addressed

and people are encouraged to seek out

with wisdom the healing ministry of the

local church and other agents of healing

in the wider community.

At the centre of our understanding

of health and healing is the recognition

that Jesus Christ is ultimately the Lord

of Healing. As we recognise Christ as our

Healer, we recognise that His healing

should not be limited to the physical

only but is for our whole being. Our

ultimate healing is the restoration of our

relationship with God through salvation.

A HOLISTIC JOURNEY

The woman with the issue of blood

healed by Jesus is a great illustration

of holistic healing. She was ill for 12

years with a haemorrhaging disease.

(Matt 9:20-22) By the time she heard

of Jesus, she was a deeply desperate

woman. The Bible says she had tried

different alternatives available to her

in her Jewish context. She tried doctors

and other alternative healers practicing

customary healing. In desperation she

explored all available options.

In the process of her

prolonged illness, this woman

not only experienced the pain

and discomfort of her physical

condition. Over time she also

experienced the scourge of

social and religious isolation.

In a Jewish context she was

marginalised first as a woman, then by

virtue of Levitical prescriptions which

considered her condition unholy and

grounds for social exclusion. Here was

a lonely woman who lost all her money,

dignity, sense of community and also felt

rejected by God.

When she came to Jesus in the

pressing crowd she believed, based on

her Jewish teaching, that if she could

only touch the hem of a Rabbis garment

she would be healed. She clearly had

a desperate faith but was wrongly

informed, not knowing that this Rabbi

was the Son of God. As she touches

Jesus she is physically healed. Jesus

responds to her physical healing by

calling her out of the crowd and restoring

her social dignity as a woman and a

child of God. Amidst the consternation

of His disciples and other followers, He

opens the door to her holistic healing of

body, mind and soul. She joins Him, not

as the beneficiary of a miracle worker,

but a redeemed disciple of Christ.

Holistic healing is not a

New Age invention but a

lost witness of the Church.

The woman with the issue

of blood teaches us several

lessons about biblical healing:

1. Its holistic including body,

soul and spirit. Sometimes we come

to God with a deep need in one or

more of these areas. Ultimately

God is concerned about our whole

wellbeing. Health is not just an

eradication of illness. We can have

perfectly groomed bodies but lack

spiritual wellbeing. Similarly we can

have spiritual sense but lack common

sense in being good stewards of our

bodies or entertain distorted thinking

about God, ourselves, health and

illness.

2. In community healing is not

a private, mystical experience. God

performs His healing work in the

context of community. Almost half

of the healing accounts of Jesus

are attributed to the faith of those

around the sick person; friends,

father, mother, brother and sister. Our

healing restores us as whole beings

and also serves as a testament of

Gods healing grace. Our healing is

not only for our good but for the glory

of God as a sign of hope to others.

3. In partnership God works in

and through human agency. Healing

is not a self help endeavour. In

our healing journey we are invited to

participate with and depend on others

who care about us. God can and does

work through friends, family, pastors,

doctors, psychologists and alternative

healers.

4. Towards God our healing is not

an end in itself but brings us back

to God. Its a visible demonstration

of the ultimate nature of God as

Healer. It is also a reminder of Gods

redemptive work and restoration.

One day we will need no healing, until

then God gives us glimpses of our

inheritance in Him.

Documents

Alternative Healing Today Magazine 09