Julia
In Memoriam
- Joined
- 10 May 2005
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On attribution of miracles: the mother of a friend of mine was diagnosed about two years ago with bladder cancer. She was told it was advanced and not treatable. She was recommended to have an examination every year just to see if it was spreading further. Never any symptoms from this tumour.
Last week the results of the most recent examination came back: there is no tumour. It has completely vanished.
If they'd been religious and prayed to God for deliverance from this tumour, then likely its non-existence would be attributed to the goodness and wonder of God.
Maybe there was an error in the interpretation of the original scan and there never was any tumour?
Maybe it has indeed just vanished and we need to say nothing more than "we don't know what may have happened".
But whatever, to a religious devotee this would probably be considered proof of god fulfilling a prayer.
.......
Last week the results of the most recent examination came back: there is no tumour. It has completely vanished.
.......
Maybe there was an error in the interpretation of the original scan and there never was any tumour?
Maybe it has indeed just vanished and we need to say nothing more than "we don't know what may have happened".
But whatever, to a religious devotee this would probably be considered proof of god fulfilling a prayer.
Lets not get to carried away.
Its Africa and mostly Christian and very very tribal, and Male dominated and poorly policed....anything could be behind that assault.
Yes, thanks, artist.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3312698/
"The spontaneous healing of cancer is a phenomenon that has been observed for hundreds and thousands of years and after having been the subject of many controversies, it is now accepted as an indisputable fact.
.......
Spontaneous regression of cancer is not a rare occurrence as thought to be; in an average month during 2002, medical journals published more than four articles on the subject.
.......
Regression is more commonly associated with groups of tumors like the embryonal tumors in children, carcinoma of the female breast, chorionepithelioma, adenocarcinoma of the kidney, neuroblastoma, malignant melanoma, sarcomas, and carcinoma of the bladder and skin"
Yes, thanks, artist.
The point in posting was not particularly to comment on the incidence of either misdiagnosis or spontaneous regression. Rather offering an example of what a religious person who had prayed for a cure of cancer, might attribute to the work of God. In other words, existing bias forming a conclusion which would not be shared by non-religious people.
Isn't something along these lines what some Catholic nun was made a saint for a couple of years ago? I think the name was something like MacKillop. The necessary criteria for sainthood was a couple of 'miracles', I believe.
Isn't something along these lines what some Catholic nun was made a saint for a couple of years ago? I think the name was something like MacKillop. The necessary criteria for sainthood was a couple of 'miracles', I believe.
Interesting that it took the Catholic church 70 odd years to decide whether to make Mary Mackillop a saint.....must be plenty of procrastinators in the hierarchy of the RCC!
You’ve gotta admit that this Raphael feller is pretty darned impressive – he’s not only a people healer extraordinaire with the level of skills that most doctors and naturopaths can only dream of, but he’s an accomplished vet as well.
On Sunday, September 14, when Reverend Juan McFarland stood behind the pulpit to deliver his sermon, rather than offering the members of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a word from the Lord, the minister dropped one hell of a bombshell on his congregants.
According to numerous accounts from Shiloh members in attendance that day, Pastor McFarland told his longtime church family that he had full-blown AIDS.
As if that news wasn’t shocking enough, McFarland, who’s served as Shiloh’s pastor for more than 20 years and allegedly learned of his HIV diagnosis in 2003, also admitted to having numerous sexual encounters with women””some of whom were members of his own church””all the while knowing he was infected with HIV. (A local NBC affiliate reported that, when reached by phone, McFarland had confirmed the details of his revelation.)
What prompted the longtime pastor’s sudden confession? Well, according to those who heard Pastor McFarland’s confessional sermon series, the preacher implied that it was God who told him it was time to confess his sins to his church.
According to Nathan Williams Jr., an 80-year-old member of Shiloh and onetime chairman of the church’s deacon board, some of McFarland’s sexual encounters happened on the church’s property but never in the sanctuary.
“Like that made any difference,” said Williams in an interview.
However, that wasn’t the end of Pastor McFarland’s revelations. On the following two Sundays””yes, he was allowed to remain the pastor for two more Sundays!””McFarland, while sermonizing, added to his initial confession. While it’s unclear what details were disclosed when, in addition to the long list sex-related sins, he also allegedly admitted to using illegal drugs and misappropriating church funds.
That the church didn’t fire McFarland after the first confession is downright unbelievable. Instead, according to one anonymous source who spoke to WSFA, “The church was very accepting of Reverend McFarland and was willing to help him in any way possible.” Deacon Williams seemed to confirm this sentiment, saying, “as Christian people, we wanted him to get well.” He added, “I thought of him as one of my sons.”
The preacher implied that it was God who told him it was time to confess his sins to his church.
Finally, on October 5, the church’s deacon board voted unanimously to remove McFarland as pastor. However, apparently not everybody thought that was a good or fair decision””after the announcement about the firing was made, the news caused an uproar among church members. In fact, the feud became big enough that the Montgomery Police Department was reportedly called in, though no official police report was filed.
What remains unclear is just how many women McFarland may have knowingly put in danger of contracting HIV.
One parishioner””who wanted to remain anonymous”” told Montgomery’s WSFA, “I know a young lady who is a member of the church who says she has slept with him and that she didn't want this to go public, and she running out now trying to find out if there is anything wrong with her. And my heart goes out to her because she's been a wonderful church member, and then for something like this to happen. The fact that he didn't tell them at all. That's a crime in itself.”
Meanwhile, Pastor McFarland isn’t walking away without a fight. The pastor, along with a few of his supporters, has reportedly changed the locks on the church, forcing Williams and other church leaders to seek legal counsel.
Williams told WSFA, “Our moves are going to come directly from counsel. We want peace and we want to do things right, legally. We are not looking to hurt him. We are looking to get the church back. That’s our theme: Get the church back. We want the church back. That’s it.”
Others believe McFarland should be charged.
“Let [a] judge decide if he should go to jail or not,” an unnamed source told the local TV news channel. “We tend to sweep things under the rug, especially if they’re the leader.”
According to the Montgomery Police Department, transmitting a sexually transmitted disease is a class C misdemeanor.
As of press time, no charges have been filed against Pastor McFarland.
Do Australians think they are immune or protected from this absolute change to society? The following video reveals the Theological Determinism of the religion known as islam. This is happening in the U.K. now where a foothold has been gained and is being built upon.
[video=youtube_share;KaVXXQsAOjM]http://youtu.be/KaVXXQsAOjM[/video]
Anyone foresee upcoming religious influences on Australian society?
Good luck to anyone who thinks Muslims will just slot in and become ordinary Aussies like the millions of immigrants from other religions and countries who have come down to Australia and quickly fitted in and become one of us. What a rude awakening you’re in for! By the time you wake up and open your eyes it’ll probably be too late. It probably already is.
The brothers all lived at home in Sydney’s western suburbs with their Lebanese-born mother, their father, who works as a taxi driver, and their teenage sister.
It is understood the youngest was studying for his HSC at a public high school and the older brothers had stable jobs before they left.
Unlike other Australians recruited to IS, the siblings were not known to authorities and had not been on any watch lists.
Dr Rifi said the brothers were religious, but not “hard line or radical”.
A Sydney mother has been devastated by the news that her four sons ”” aged 17, 23, 25 and 28 ”” have been lost to the barbaric jihadist group.Bunyip,there is little chance of the present generation of Islamists who were born here of slotting in. Take for example the four brothers who absconded to Syria to kill infidels.
To all intents and purposes they had slotted but they never lose the barbarity instilled in them by their religion, and which excuses any barbarity on their part providing it is against infidels, or with IS, other muslims they regard as inferior.
So there you go. And there are probably thousands of men and boys like them, with no real grievances to speak of, against us, who are itching to join the IS and lop off a few heads and end up in paradise.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/th...to-islamic-state/story-fni0fiyv-1227125456838
I have just watched that interview with Geert Wilders (is that a wigWhen Dutch politician Geert Wilders came to Australia to tell us about the enormous problems his country has landed itself with by laying out the welcome mat to Islamists, and to try and warn us that we’ll face the same trouble from Muslims here in Australia unless we take steps to prevent it, he was ridiculed and condemned by many stupid people, including twits like Q & A host Tony Jones, and that airhead Mark Dreyfus who served as Attorney General in the Gillard government.
A Sydney mother has been devastated by the news that her four sons ”” aged 17, 23, 25 and 28 ”” have been lost to the barbaric jihadist group.
The brothers all lived at home in Sydney’s western suburbs with their Lebanese-born mother, their father, who works as a taxi driver, and their teenage sister.
Calliope – I’d wager that the parents of these boys have done next to nothing to leave their oppressive religion behind them in the country they came from, and start a completely new life in Australia, free from the attitudes and constraints of Islam. You can't start a new life in a new country by recreating the life you left behind in your old country.
I’ll bet they still dress like Muslims, think like Muslims, have the same backward attitudes of Muslims, pray several times a day to Allah, and have made little effort to fit into our lifestyle and culture and become one of us.
If that’s the case then the parents are partly responsible for the choice their sons have made.
A Sydney mother has been devastated by the news that her four sons ”” aged 17, 23, 25 and 28 ”” have been lost to the barbaric jihadist group.
Perhaps if she had instilled some scepticism in them, and raised them with a bit of doubt and not told them the Qu'ran was the infallible word of a god things might have been different.
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