Have you or anybody you know been healed by God? Physically?

[bullsfan009]

I'm asking this in all seriousness- please share TRUE stories...if any-

Thanks, this is something important for me right now.

[Ty-Land]

No.


And I don't believe anybody will answer this thread seriously. Personally, I believe in a god, but all the rest to me is a load of crap. I believe in John Lennon with more faith than any 'god' though. But yeah, as a heads up, prepare for a few jokes to run through this thread, as I don;t think this is the place you will find any religious enlightenment.

[Nick]

[---]

You actually saved that pic?

[Oznogrd]

nope...God i think if there is one would have more important things to do than to "heal" anyone and everyone....all televangelists/faith healers are full of shit also; they preach for the money and then that night go sleep wit h5 hookers or worse. If you need proof of their corruption, look at their finances. Over 90% of them have tax shelters...

As a disclaimer: i have nothing against the christian idea of God, i have a problem with the bullshit hypocrisy that permeates this country when it comes to living a "christian" lifestyle. I'm from the bible belt and i've met 2 and only 2 people who live the christian lifestyle they preach in 20 years of life. But anyway; all major religions teach the same thing if you look at the basics: be nice to each other, have faith things will work out, and do what you gotta do to live your life with as much compassion as possible

[bullsfan009]

No.


And I don't believe anybody will answer this thread seriously. Personally, I believe in a god, but all the rest to me is a load of crap. I believe in John Lennon with more faith than any 'god' though. But yeah, as a heads up, prepare for a few jokes to run through this thread, as I don;t think this is the place you will find any religious enlightenment.

Well I've had some great conversations here before, actually...it's been over a year now. Thanks for the heads-up, but the jokes don't bother me.

nope...God i think if there is one would have more important things to do than to "heal" anyone and everyone....all televangelists/faith healers are full of shit also; they preach for the money and then that night go sleep wit h5 hookers or worse. If you need proof of their corruption, look at their finances. Over 90% of them have tax shelters...

yeah that’s really bad, no excuses for that crap of course…but I have heard testimonies from young men & women, probably in their early 20s, who receive images/words/etc. from God and heal people in Jesus’ name. When I heard this it really tripped me out, because all the questions came to mind: “So what about doctors and hospitals? Medicine?” “So every time you see someone sick or injured you can just call on God and they will be healed?” It just sounds toooo crazy, except many many people have testified to be recipients or witnesses of miraculous healings- more overseas (non-U.S.) where they believe more fervently…I don't know the answers to these questions, but I'm seeking, because I really and truly believe in God.

As a disclaimer: i have nothing against the christian idea of God, i have a problem with the bullshit hypocrisy that permeates this country when it comes to living a "christian" lifestyle. I'm from the bible belt and i've met 2 and only 2 people who live the christian lifestyle they preach in 20 years of life. But anyway; all major religions teach the same thing if you look at the basics: be nice to each other, have faith things will work out, and do what you gotta do to live your life with as much compassion as possible

yeah, gotcha- the hypocrisy is sickening to me too (and very humbling when I find it in myself )... I say 2 people is a lot to know who are geniune. I'm telling you, it's a real struggle to let God be #1 in all aspects of your life. But being nice isn't what it's all about- it's about being loving, and there's a big difference, I've been learning. Like take this quote from the Bible: (Luke 17:3 (King James Version)) "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."

Also as far as major religions teaching the same thing- there are great similarities, but the story of Jesus is pretty unique- God letting himself get killed to save us But as far as religion in general, if God is real, truly real, then every believer's #1 goal should be KNOWING him/her/it/whatever, having a true relationship there...Not following the traditions & rules of their religion. IMO, spirituality trumps religion.

Nick- why did you do that?

[cyanide]

I'll answer this question seriously.

Like you said, spirituality trumps religion. As was written about this before, but Jesus was also a miracle-worker, where he did healings. Its not simple enough to say that he relied on God to do the healings, because there's priests that can actually heal, and there's guys in the middle east that can perform the exact same thing. Those people are extremely rare, and would probably have to reach some sort of spiritual enlightenment to be able to understand how they can use the mind and spirit to create an effect. Those people all have, and I'm going to use this term vague and loosely, "spiritual energy" that is more on a metaphysical realm that can't be explained by science or medicine alone.

Science and medicine relies on technology, chemistry, and whatever is tangible to produce effects. Metaphysical healing depends on the intangibles to produce an effect. It's something that can't be explained essentially, but has to be seen and experienced only.

[Carmo]

God i think if there is one would have more important things to do than to "heal" anyone and everyone....

So you think that he would have more important things to do than be concerned with human beings who He created in His own image?

[bigh0rt]

Answering the subject...

No. Me and God haven't been on speaking terms in about 3 1/2 years.

[Nick]

Haha the pic made me chuckle one day so yes i saved it.

As for the topic, i don't have a strong opinion on christianity, but the whole idea of there being a "god" seems a bit farfetched to me, so i choose not to believe.

I don't have anything against people who do believe, and do not judge. However, there is a difference between people who have made the choice to believe and be content about it, and people who have made the choice to believe and preach it to everyone. I can't stand the people who preach. You will lose my respect forever if you try and tell me that i should be christian because blah blah blah. Or that god has midguided me. Or that i'm going to hell. I find it belitteling, inhumane and contradictory to their own beliefs. If i wanted to be christian, wouldn't i have made that decision for myself? That is the bad side of christianity.

[BigKaboom2]

I can't believe you got to use that screenshot in such a perfectly ironic fashion. It must have been fate.

[hammertime23]

I think Nick is God.

[bullsfan009]

Cy- thanks for the thoughtful answer. I'm actually surprised you didn't dismiss the notion of the miraculous, as you are an "educated" poster who answers very analytically.

Haha the pic made me chuckle one day so yes i saved it.

As for the topic, i don't have a strong opinion on christianity, but the whole idea of there being a "god" seems a bit farfetched to me, so i choose not to believe.

I don't have anything against people who do believe, and do not judge. However, there is a difference between people who have made the choice to believe and be content about it, and people who have made the choice to believe and preach it to everyone. I can't stand the people who preach. You will lose my respect forever if you try and tell me that i should be christian because blah blah blah. Or that god has midguided me. Or that i'm going to hell. I find it belitteling, inhumane and contradictory to their own beliefs. If i wanted to be christian, wouldn't i have made that decision for myself? That is the bad side of christianity.

I think that preaching is ok, but preaching like you were talking about- telling people they're going to hell etc. is all that you said: belitteling, inhumane, and downright hypocritical. But about preaching in general: take this whole subject of healing, for example. Say someone was healed miraculously, or knew/saw someone else who was, or had a near-death experience, etc. and just KNEW that God existed. Couldn't explain the science of it, couldn't fully describe it, but just KNEW in their hearts. Those people, knowing how real this God was, would seem to me to have a duty to tell others, to preach. People who don't really believe in God, people who act hypocritically without repenting (apologizing and changing their ways)- those people have no business preaching.

But to those who get their sustenance from God, who have this message so good that it borders on being unbelievable, those are the best people to preach, in my opinion. And I love to hear them, because they can turn your "mourning into dancing."

[Nick]

Perhaps preaching was the wrong word for what i meant. More like, making an effort to convince me why this or why that. That's what's annoying. Because i don't care about what they have to say.

[Axel]

I try to be reasonable, and for the longest I didn't believe there could be a god. But science does not yet have an answer, and thus I've come to accept that there is a god. The big bang is bullshit in my mind, and even if it did occur, something had to set it in motion. I guess I am still open to new evidence/theories/postulates, but I am highly doubtful anything that really explains the universe will ever be found. With nothing scientific to turn to, a god has to be the explanation.

I hope that makes logical sense. I can see how a person would believe in god based on my reasoning, but I've yet to figure out how someone could take that reasoning, and then turn it into a doctrine like Islam or Christianity. Even so, how could anyone believe such nonsensical garbage?

Are we to truthfully believe people wrote this down for god? These creeds have no logical reasoning behind them. Anyone could have wrote it down, and because creation is not something that can be proven or disproven, people have no way of disproving it either. That is the cog which makes the religion wheel work. We've seen it with all the other religions that have popped up over the years. How do we know which ones are truth? We don't. I could write a book on how Harry Potter is really the creator of all mankind, and as much as you may laugh, you could never disprove it. Religion then closes the deal by threatening people to eternal damnation (most do at least), or exclusion from heaven. Religion hinges on some of the most worrisome concepts; it brought people in years ago by providing answers to their burning questions, and then has manifested itself in society because it answers a question which can be neither proven nor disproven. It's really kind of simple....

So for me, religion and belief are completely different things. For now I believe in a god, I'm pretty much a deist. Basically I don't believe in divine intervention, because it is one option in another question which be neither proven or disproven (fate vs. free will). I only believe in what is proven, or what seems most logical. To me right now, that is a god who doesn't actively interfere with our lives , and thus does not heal people.

... long winded post, sorry. Just like to discuss my feelings on religion here since I'm basically looked down upon for not being Protestant where i live (bible belt ugh).

[Ty-Land]

Me and God haven't been on speaking terms in about 3 1/2 years.

He ain't ever spoke to me, but if he did I probably wouldn't listen anyway.

[Pera]

Nick you're the devil,props to you for a good laugh .

As for the question.

I'm raised in a christian family,so I do believe in god and all the people around it,like Jesus and Mary.As for the healing part,it might true to a limit,that is some people could do that,but those are really rare.

but I have heard testimonies from young men & women, probably in their early 20s, who receive images/words/etc. from God and heal people in Jesus’ name.

I think thats bullshit,maybe 1 or 2 % of all those people who say they had that experience,really had it.They are a lot of attention seekers and money hungry people,who would lie for that.I remember my dad wanted to take my brother to one of those idiots,but in the end he noticed it was pure bullshit.

Like said to a limit there could be some people that could heal you in the name of god,but most of them aren't what they say they are .

[Sparks]

I don't get that "Congrats, Pera " thing..
Maybe I'm too new...?

[Carmo]

As for the topic, i don't have a strong opinion on christianity, but the whole idea of there being a "god" seems a bit farfetched to me, so i choose not to believe.

I don't have anything against people who do believe, and do not judge. However, there is a difference between people who have made the choice to believe and be content about it, and people who have made the choice to believe and preach it to everyone. I can't stand the people who preach. You will lose my respect forever if you try and tell me that i should be christian because blah blah blah. Or that god has midguided me. Or that i'm going to hell. I find it belitteling, inhumane and contradictory to their own beliefs. If i wanted to be christian, wouldn't i have made that decision for myself? That is the bad side of christianity.

I don't think you will find an actual Christian who will tell you that God has misguided you. That is definitely contradicting pretty much eveything Christianity is about. Preaching, however, is definitely not contradictory. Christians believe that God is the only way and that without God you will go to hell. Why would they want others to end up with that fate? That is why Christians preach. It isn't to belittle people or be inhumane, it is actually trying to be extremely humane and stop them from eternal condemnation or whatever happens to them.

I don't get that "Congrats, Pera " thing..
Maybe I'm too new...?

Check out the post count.

[Jackal]

Congrats, thanks for the shoutout.

[bullsfan009]

Perhaps preaching was the wrong word for what i meant. More like, making an effort to convince me why this or why that. That's what's annoying. Because i don't care about what they have to say.

Ok. Obviously, that's your right...but don't you wonder about life and death and all that?

Axel- One (Christian) preacher I've listened to talked about: "God will not be known through intellectual appraisal." Basically, he pointed out, look at all the people in the Gospels who knew who Jesus was--it wasn't the intellectuals (scribes and Pharisees) but the people who just had pure hearts & faith & courage, etc. Just plain old people, like beggars on the street. I think this is because intellectual belief doesn't go as deep as faith belief. Adolf Hitler actually said an amazing thing: "It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge."

In the Christian model of God & man, there's supposed to be a really deep relationship there, based on love. ("God is love," the Bible even says). And if you just think about relationships, love is much much much stronger & deeper than any intellectual aspects. It can be unspoken or spoken, doesn't matter. I don't know if you've ever read the Bible or not, if not I suggest reading just the Book of John in the New Testament, and you'll at least see how some people can go from a general belief in God to being a Christian. It's really really powerful/moving/inspirational stuff.

And that's terrible & wrong for Protestants in the bible belt to look down on you. In case you didn't know, Jesus commanded for people not to judge others. (the way I take this is you can & should judge actions, like, murder is wrong etc., but to pronounce even a murderer as being an evil person, you can't ever know something like that- they might be mentally insane, they might be truly sorry, etc.) And also, the only 2 commandments that Jesus gave were: #1- love God as best as you can, and #2- love others as best as you can. Notice the relativity there- "as best as you can"- that's why we can't judge others imo- who can say what is possible for another person and not, but God?

I think thats bullshit,maybe 1 or 2 % of all those people who say they had that experience,really had it.They are a lot of attention seekers and money hungry people,who would lie for that.

Maddeningly, you're probably right, Pera

Carmo- good points. You bring up something unresolved in me- about people going to hell if they don't have God. I think that it's not so literal and there's room for atheists, agnostics, and any faith to get to Heaven, because only God knows their situations, what family & mind & body etc. they were born with, and only he can know their hearts, and thus judge them. I really don't believe it's going to be black-and-white along the lines of "did you confess that you believed in Jesus at the end of your life? or not?"

Actually Jesus said (in Matthew 7:21-23)

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "

...so who really knows? I think you just have to do the best that you can, but I really don't know either. But that's ok, that's why I'm the human and not God.

[Jugs]

If there was a God, Jugs would be banned.

[Carmo]

I think that it's not so literal and there's room for atheists, agnostics, and any faith to get to Heaven, because only God knows their situations, what family & mind & body etc. they were born with, and only he can know their hearts, and thus judge them. I really don't believe it's going to be black-and-white along the lines of "did you confess that you believed in Jesus at the end of your life? or not?"

If that is the case then I reckon that there is basically no point in anything....

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "

That is basically saying that people who have accepted Jesus enter the kingdom of heaven. You are not doing the will of God if you have not accepted Jesus, because accepting Jesus IS the will of God and the rest comes after that. I think the part about "Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord...." is talking about when Jesus returns and they are saying that they accepted Him just because they don't want to go to hell but they never really did.

[bullsfan009]

I think that it's not so literal and there's room for atheists, agnostics, and any faith to get to Heaven, because only God knows their situations, what family & mind & body etc. they were born with, and only he can know their hearts, and thus judge them. I really don't believe it's going to be black-and-white along the lines of "did you confess that you believed in Jesus at the end of your life? or not?"

If that is the case then I reckon that there is basically no point in anything....

Could you elaborate on that, Carmo? What do you mean?

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' "

That is basically saying that people who have accepted Jesus enter the kingdom of heaven. You are not doing the will of God if you have not accepted Jesus, because accepting Jesus IS the will of God and the rest comes after that. I think the part about "Not everyone who says to me Lord Lord...." is talking about when Jesus returns and they are saying that they accepted Him just because they don't want to go to hell but they never really did.

I also believe that accepting/knowing Jesus (and thus Himself) is the will of God for all people- however, I don't believe that it is the measuring stick for their judgement. God would like it to happen, but just because it doesn't happen during a certain individual's lifetime, that doesn't mean that they deserve eternal punishment (a.k.a. eternal separation from God), or that they want it! Having an automatic system where it's: know God--> go to Heaven & don't know God--> go to Hell doesn't take into consideration the nature of God- that He's all-knowing, He's just & good, & that he's got that amazing Grace.

Also, note what God says in this passage to these people: "I never knew you." (!!!) So "knowing God" is obviously very important, but what really does that mean? It's my opinion that those who want to know God, will ("Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you"). But it might not happen in this lifetime! They could die first, before they got to experience a true faith.

And if you think about it, isn't this how it is for everybody? Who really gets to truly know God before their earthly lives are over? Even for the most faithful/loving/etc. in God's eyes, aren't they still on their own journeys to get to know God better? Aren't people's relationships with God always evolving/improving (hopefully!) So how can we humans judge how far a person is on that journey? What if they had it in them all along to be an incredible person of faith & love, but they died before they even acknowledged God with their mouths and in their testimonies to others??? Can/should these people be scorned? No way! We don't & can't know their spirits and their hearts. Babies who die, mentally disabled people, those who have never heard of Jesus, those who are perverted from their youths, etc. are all possible candidates for not "knowing" Jesus but perhaps being incredible beings of light when they pass on. So yes, those who seek shall find, but there is no guarantee that it will happen in this form, with this body, in this life.

I just think that it's crucial for Christians and all people to remember that God is bigger than the Bible, and we are limited in our capacity to know (and thus to judge) others, and thus can and should not do it. What we're commanded to do is LOVE them- that's it. As you said, accepting/knowing/having a realationship with Him is God's will for people, but remember who Jesus/God is: "God is Love." IMO, you can help a person know Jesus without ever mentioning His name! And you can KNOW JESUS without ever hearing about him. Whoa! It's not about claiming a name, but about knowing a Person, who happens to be called Love in his book.

"Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

How is this possible??? To know the Lord's name, to work in that name during your life, and yet not know HIM?!?!? Look at what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:13:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

So I think that you're doing the will of God if you're exibiting love, but the two are really intertwined. And once again, only God can judge the lovingness of a heart.

C. S. Lewis has a great quote that I love about this. This is from the book Mere Christianity.

"The bad psychological material is not a sin, but a disease. It does not need to be repented of, but to be cured. And by the way, that is very important. Human beings judge each other by their external actions. God judges them by their moral choices. When a neurotic who has a pathological horror of cats forces himself to pick up a cat for some good reason, it is quite possible that in God's eyes he has shown more courage than a healthy man might have shown in winning the V. C. When a man who has been perverted from his youth and taught that cruelty is the right thing, does some tiny kindness, or refrains from some cruelty he might have committed, and thereby, perhaps, risks getting sneered at by his companions, he may, in God's eyes, be doing more than you and I would do if we gave up life itself for a friend.

It is well to put this the other way around. Some of us who seem quite nice people may, in fact, have made so little use of a good heredity and upbringing that we are really worse than those whom we regard as fiends. Can we be quite certain how we should have behaved if we had been saddled with the psychological outfit, and then the power, say, of Himmler? That is why Christians are told not to judge. We only see the results which a man's choices make out of his raw material. But God does not judge him on the raw material at all, but on what he has done with it. Most of man's psychological make-up is probably due to his body: when his body dies all that will fall off him, and the real central man, the thing that chose, that made the best or worst out of this material, will stand naked. All sorts of nice things which we thought our own, but which were really due to a good digestion, will fall off some of us: all sorts of nasty things which were due to complexes or bad health will fall off others. We shall then, for the first time, see everyone has he really is. There will be surprises."

[Nick]

As for the topic, i don't have a strong opinion on christianity, but the whole idea of there being a "god" seems a bit farfetched to me, so i choose not to believe.

I don't have anything against people who do believe, and do not judge. However, there is a difference between people who have made the choice to believe and be content about it, and people who have made the choice to believe and preach it to everyone. I can't stand the people who preach. You will lose my respect forever if you try and tell me that i should be christian because blah blah blah. Or that god has midguided me. Or that i'm going to hell. I find it belitteling, inhumane and contradictory to their own beliefs. If i wanted to be christian, wouldn't i have made that decision for myself? That is the bad side of christianity.

I don't think you will find an actual Christian who will tell you that God has misguided you.

Well, you're wrong.

but don't you wonder about life and death and all that?

Occasionally. It's an interesting issue. But what does that have to do with anything? For now i worry about life. And i don't need christianity/god/religion in my life filtering out what makes life good. I just don't need it, don't want it. don't care for it. Don't bother.

I don't need to be told what my morals are and what makes me happy. I don't need to have "faith" in a fictional character to feel fullfilled. I'm happy with how things are.