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PRESENTED BYOLAYINKA RABIU
RELIGION AND DIVINE HEALING
The topic of my research project is religion and divine healing. According to Dictionary.com, Religion is defined as “a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects, e.g. the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion. Whereas Divine healing involves a supernatural act which resolves a physical, emotional or spiritual problem (Dictionary.com). In a Christian context, which is my project focus, the supernatural element is God, many times through the agency of the Holy Spirit, who according their faith intercede for them in the time of their tribulations.
INTRODUCTION
The rationale behind this topic is the story of
the American couple; Herbert and Catherine
Schaible, who belong a fundamentalist Christian
church that believes in faith healing. They lost
their 8-month-old son, Brandon, after he
suff ered from diarrhoea and breathing
problems. The Christian couple, who were
sentenced on the 19 th February 2014 for the
killing of their second child, because they
refused to seek medical health when the boy
was ill due to their religious beliefs which
compel them to abstain from using medications.
From time to time, I hear stories about some
groups of Christians who object to taking
medicine when they are unwell. They strongly
believe in healing through prayers and perceive
their predicament as a test of faith.
However the news about the couple in America
who killed their son due to their religious
objection to medicine actually triggered my
interest to find out why some Christians were
against having medical treatments when they
needed it most.
AIMS
For this reason, I have chosen to investigate
whether the Bible states that the use of
medicine is forbidden and should be replaced
with prayers of healing, or if it is scriptural to
supplement medical treatment with prayers
without thinking that it is an act of disobedient
to their faith.
I hope at the end of this investigation, it would
be able to understand the truth of this topic.
In the course of my research, I identified some limitations which may influence the outcome or the interpretation of my findings. These are: The amount of time available to carry out the research is minimum which as a result disallowed me to spend enough time in gathering information on the topic. Another constraint is the sample size and accessibility. Although I had access to some of Christians, but I would have preferred to have more to avoid having a bias outcomes. The Christians groups available in conducting the research was limited and has impacted my findings.
.
LIMITATIONS
Primary method: Face to face conversation telephone conversationsReasons for using the above source are – *It is a good source of fi rst-hand information which has allowed me ask prepared questions and likewise questions which came up from the conversations. *The source expose me to the past and the present of the subject matter and gave me a glimpse of history that is not available in textbooks e.g. about my interviewee *The source gave the opportunity to employ my critical thinking and my analysis skills as information were unedited.
RESEARCH METHODS
Secondary sources –
Textbooks, Online blogs, Articles
Reason for using the above source was
because information were accessible
and available at no cost
Because I was able to interview two diff erent groups of Christian faith, I deduced two diff erent findings from my research.
Findings from the group of Christians who disagree with medications usageThey derived their strength and faith about divine healing from some Bible verses, such as book of Psalm 107, verses 19-21 which say “they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave”.
FINDINGS
They believed that wanted them to only call on Him when they are in any form of trouble. I discover that due to many promises like this in the Bible, these Christian groups refused to compromise their fait, as they strongly believe that He is capable to deliver them from the diseases.Findings from the group of Christians who agree with medications usage.The believe that there was no disobedient to the Bible by taking medication or seeking for medical health; going by what the Bible says in the book of Mathew 9 verse 12; 2 “When he heard it, he said those who are well have no need of physician, but those who are sick”.
Taking my fi nding into consideration, I arrived at
some factors which infl uence or manipulate the
believe of some Christians, including the couple
who sadly lost their son for the barbaric reason.
They are:
The infl uence of family upbringing on the
Christians’ children who were raised with such
beliefs, hardly depart from it and sadly pass it
down to their own children.
CONCLUSION
The influence of religion leaders has
blindfolded many Christians from following
the truth, as some of these leaders has
contaminated the mind of the follower with
wrong doctrines.
The misinterpretation of the Bible is when
the word is given a wrongful meaning in
order to suit the individual desires.
Extremism aff ected some Christians to
believe they are regions than other by being
extreme in their undertakings
BibliographyThe yoke breaker by Pastor A DanielThe Holy Bible
WebliographyTime.com/8750/faith-healing-parent-jail-after-second-childs-death
REFERENCES