Christianity and traditional medicine

When it just doesn't fit anywhere else.
KingdomBuilder
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

Post by KingdomBuilder »

lesterb wrote:What I think happens often in such cases is that they dig up old explanations about the treatment. The Chinese had no idea why chiropractic treatments worked, so they came up with what they considered a plausible explanation. Mennonites and fundamentalists of today grab that explanation and use it as "proof" of the relationship between occult practice and chiropractic treatments.

The same thing happens in many other situations. So an Indian witch doctor discovers that a certain plant can be brewed into a tea that helps a medical condition. It becomes a part of his magic occultic treatments. Now suppose that same witch doctor had stumbled onto penicillin. Would we now condemn penicillin as being occultic?
I'd say that this matches my views, Lester. You sum it up well.
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Joy
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

Post by Joy »

KingdomBuilder wrote:
Hats Off wrote: I think you have to determine not so much the practise or the product as the practitioner and the use to which a product is put.
I agree. Me taking herbal medicine from someone who is a Pantheist or a worshiper of creation would be sin, but taking the same herbs from a neutral, non-spiritual, or (better yet) Christian source would not weigh my conscience.
I believe faith, conscience, and intention are the key things Christians should look at when looking at traditional medicine.
So then drug companies, as well as doctors, should be scrutinized for morality and religion before we give them business?
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KingdomBuilder
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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Joy wrote:So then drug companies, as well as doctors, should be scrutinized for morality and religion before we give them business?
Perhaps to a degree. People do all the time, do they not?
Wouldn't it be hypocritical to not if you are holding other medical practicioners to that standard?
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Josh
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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Joy wrote:So then drug companies, as well as doctors, should be scrutinized for morality and religion before we give them business?
To a degree, yes. I would avoid using a drug company with excessively fraudulent business practices. Of course, each of us has to work out in our own conscience where to draw the line.

With a doctor or someone else providing a personal service, each of us has to decide the line we won't cross with letting someone serve us who does things we think are wrong. I knew someone, for example, who wouldn't use a doctor who wasn't explictly anti-abortion. I respect her point of view there, and I would have similar requirements for myself.
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Hats Off
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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I do not suggest checking out regular medical doctor or prescriptions - we have to accept some things at face value. My doctor happens to be a professing Christian which may make it easier for me. But conventional medical practitioners have to meet a certain standard - having said that approximately 8 local doctors are currently under investigation by the CMA for over prescribing certain drugs that have a high street value.

My concern is with those practitioners who are not really responsible to anyone other than their own "association." Ultimately we have to trust some one while acknowledging that there are also practices that are sin and not okay!

Drug companies may be evil to the extent that their pricing methods and business practices are not all above board. They do not always tell us the entire truth about their products but it isn't sinful for us to be taking those prescriptions. VW was recently found to be less than truthful about their products but I wouldn't refuse to drive a VW vehicle if it were practical for me.
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Wade
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

Post by Wade »

Hats Off wrote:Roger Hertzler posted a very interesting article in "Plain News" with the title "Choose this Day Whom You Will Serve." In Paragraph 7 he says
The New Age movement, which is steeped in ..... ...... and anti-God philosophy, has worked its way into the lives of many professing Christians, including (I would add, especially) Anabaptist believers. This is true about a number of areas, but especially in the area of health care. Partly because of the cost, the corruption (Emphasis mine) and the side effects of conventional medicine many professing believers are turning to what they believe to be natural cures. Many of these remedies that are promoted as natural, however,turn out to in fact be supernatural (occultic), when examined in light of the available evidence.
The reason I come across sounding very negative about some of the non-traditional medicines or practices is because so many of the plainer Amish and Mennonites appear to be quite gullible and quick to fall for things that on closer examination are sometimes scams and sometimes very inappropriate. (I have to be careful with my choice of words so my filter does not block me again!) I have to dumb down what I say so can't put some of this is as strong a language as I would want to. Roger, a Mennonite (Pastor?) from RZehr's area of Oregon uses stronger words; some of what is considered natural is actually sin; sin that can be very binding.

Thanks to RZehr, I was in contact with Roger and he did give me permission to share his article so if anyone does not have access to the Plain News article, I will gladly forward it to you. I think it is must reading for anyone who is concerned about the dangers of some of the natural healing methods and practices.
This I believe is where the problem lies... I had not heard people lump together using things like Aloe Vera plants which is natural medicine and occult practices being called natural medicine until I heard and read Mennonite literature.

Why do you call natural or alternative medicine practices occult or witchcraft?

And why don't Mennonites call natural medicine natural medicine and withcraft witchcraft?

I don't call my cat a dog and neither do I call my dog a cat!

Again, am I dense or is Roger calling natural medicine which is a natural product created by God - witchcraft? And then describing witchcraft after saying natural medicine and calling it witchcraft...

I think I would agree completely with Roger if he used terminology that was appropriate.

Again I never heard these occult practices called natural or alternative medicine until Mennonites called occult practices alternative or natural medicine.

They are not natural so why are you calling them that...?
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Hats Off
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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We are not understanding each other. We are not calling Aloe Vera evil - I have used Aloe Vera and we do have an aloe vera plant. If you read Roger's material carefully, he does not condemn all things that are considered natural nor does he give unqualified support to the drug companies. We use burdock in our community as a healing material. It works due to the healing power that is naturally present in the burdock plant, not because of some incantations that are used when preparing the burdock treatment. However, some of what has been considered natural actually isn't.

My sister worked in a Mennonite home where, if some one was sick, the mother would tie a string around an egg (which acts like a pendulum) and suspend it over an open fire. Then she would some other things - I forget what was all involved, but the use of a pendulum points very plainly to unacceptable practices. These are things I am concerned about.
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Wade
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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Hats Off wrote:We are not understanding each other. We are not calling Aloe Vera evil - I have used Aloe Vera and we do have an aloe vera plant. If you read Roger's material carefully, he does not condemn all things that are considered natural nor does he give unqualified support to the drug companies. We use burdock in our community as a healing material. It works due to the healing power that is naturally present in the burdock plant, not because of some incantations that are used when preparing the burdock treatment. However, some of what has been considered natural actually isn't.

My sister worked in a Mennonite home where, if some one was sick, the mother would tie a string around an egg (which acts like a pendulum) and suspend it over an open fire. Then she would some other things - I forget what was all involved, but the use of a pendulum points very plainly to unacceptable practices. These are things I am concerned about.
I guess I don't see the other people calling these occult things natural, so I am confused where this comes from that it always gets mentioned?

As soon as someone says natural, it makes me think of nature. And then that reminds me of God and that He made it. Yes the fall made it so not all things are fit for usage and it all can be turned into an idol or used for witchcraft or some wrong. But that does not mean we should relate natural to evil but rather to God's creation. If others are doing wrong it doesn't mean we should relate the words natural or alternate to evil. It is a big turn off to a newcomer when the word natural or alternate is used to describe witchcraft. I think this really turns people off.
And I am not saying that I accept any of the forms of alternate medicine that you disagree with or Roger - I think we very much agree, but the generalizations that alternative and/or natural medicine is evil don't make any sense to me if one uses burdock or any other natural medicine.
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Wade
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

Post by Wade »

Much old stuff left in our basement. Cleaning up and found a real old cylinder container with Chinese writing on it...
Opened it up to find a bottle (like a wine bottle) of tiger bone tincture... :shock: Ever heard of that??? :?:
Says it is for helping Rheumatism, hemiplegia, arthralgia injuries... :geek:
We are not using this old stuff but wondering if anyone has heard of it?
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Josh
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Re: Christianity and traditional medicine

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Wade wrote:Much old stuff left in our basement. Cleaning up and found a real old cylinder container with Chinese writing on it...
Opened it up to find a bottle (like a wine bottle) of tiger bone tincture... :shock: Ever heard of that??? :?:
Says it is for helping Rheumatism, hemiplegia, arthralgia injuries... :geek:
We are not using this old stuff but wondering if anyone has heard of it?
People concerned with endangered species like tigers going extinct have.
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