February 2, 2011
Well, with all the winter weather slamming the nation, I thought a picture to remind us of spring was in order…
Dr. Oz discussed healing through faith on the show today [http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/man-faith-healer-pt-1]. This is one of my favorite topics in health communication. Dr. Oz introduced Issam Nemeh who was very comfortable answering all kinds of questions. For example, “Couldn’t the lung mass have really been a virus that cleared up on its own?” “A biopsy showed it to be a mass… It was there and then it wasn’t.”
My favorite phrase used several times during the show by several people, including the host and the guest–“it isn’t ‘either’ — ‘or’. It can be both” They were referring to…healing through faith and Western medicine…working together.
In ‘Talking about health’, Tina Harris tells the story of her brother when he was young and the years that her family dealt with his breathing difficulties. Her brother had many hospitalizations and saw many doctors over almost five years. During all of that time, they prayed for a healing of Ken. Then, the family found a doctor who shared their faith. The family prayed with him. The comfort they had based on the shared faith guided them to feel comfortable with scheduling a surgery with the doctor, believing that God would use the doctor’s own faith and skill to improve their son’s health. Then, the miracle they had been praying for happened. Ken was healed. He no longer needed surgery…and as Tina said, her brother sings the Lord’s praises every week in church…
Tina and I have explored the topic of the role of religious faith for beliefs about genes and health. We find, of course, that some people do not believe in God. Religious faith is a strongly held value. In a nation founded on religious freedom and among citizens who largely claim to be religious, openly declaring one’s own lack of religious faith is not a declaration likely to be done with little thought behind it. But expressing belief in God is also not a declaration done with little thought, and finding a way to make a space for either in conversations about health is important…to health and healing…
