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   From: usenet@mantra.com   
      
   ATHEIST POSTER BOY RICHARD DAWKINS PROVED WRONG   
      
   Five items below:   
      
   1  Dawkins claims faith, being belief, is not based on evidence   
   2  Science discovers link between physical healing and religious commitment   
   3  New Study Shows Prayer Has Positive Effect on Health   
   4  Medicine for the soul - More therapists talking spirituality with patients   
   5  Excerpts from "Faith and Healing," TIME, June 24, 1996   
      
      
   Item 1:   
      
   "Faith, being belief that isn't based on evidence, is   
    the principal vice of any religion."   
     - Richard Dawkins, "Is Science a Religion?", Humanist,   
        January-February 1997.   
      
      
   Item 2:   
      
   [ Subject: SCIENCE DISCOVERS LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL HEALING AND RELIGIOUS   
    [          COMMITMENT   
   [ From: Dr. Jai Maharaj   
   [ Date: September 3, 1997   
      
   SCIENCE DISCOVERS LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL HEALING AND RELIGIOUS COMMITMENT   
      
   healing and the faith factor   
      
   worldwide english feature   
   by jane hughes   
   edited by kleinfeldt   
   voice of america   
   washington   
      
   september 2, 1997   
      
   introduction   
            science has discovered a link between a religious   
            commitment and physical healing.  and that beliefs or   
            expectations can have a profound impact on our health.   
            scientists call this phenomenon the "placebo" effect,   
            which has been shown to heal from 50 to 80 percent of   
            many disorders.  health reporter jane hughes has   
            details:   
      
   text     according to a number of studies, people who regularly   
            attend church, for example, have 50 percent fewer deaths   
            from coronary artery disease and 74 percent fewer from   
            liver cirrhosis.  a link has also been established   
            between religious beliefs and reduced stress and   
            depression.  and one study showed that patients, who   
            were prayed for, had fewer complications after heart   
            surgery.   
      
            dr. david larson is the author of the teaching workbook,   
            "the forgotten factor" which discusses the relationship   
            between religion and health.   
      
   tape     cut one - larson  :11   
            "there is enough of a research base for us to look and   
            see that faith can make a difference -- whether it's in   
            prevention, coping with illness or recovering from major   
            interventions."   
      
   text     many doctors are uncomfortable discussing a person's   
            faith and believe it is not their place to inquire about   
            it.  however, nationwide polls show that a growing   
            number of americans want physicians to pay more   
            attention to their spiritual needs and are eager to   
            include spirituality in their treatment.  according to   
            cnn, gallup, time and other polls, sixty to seventy   
            percent of americans say they would like to discuss   
            spirituality with their doctors.  and, says dr. larson,   
            they also want their physicians to join with them in   
            prayer.   
      
   tape     cut two - larson  :19   
            "sixty-three percent of patients -- five out of eight --   
            want their doctor to pray with them.  and, yet, only one   
            out of ten doctors ever even ask about spirituality.   
            faith and spirituality is not left out of these   
            practices because people are against it.  it's because   
            they don't know what to do.  they don't know how to ask   
            the questions."   
      
   text     david larson hopes younger doctors can be trained to   
            talk comfortably about faith with their patients.  he   
            founded the national institute for healthcare research   
            in rockville, maryland in 1994 to provide health   
            professionals with information about spiritual   
            approaches to healing.  one sixth of the 126 medical   
            schools in the united states are now offering courses on   
            the element of faith in the healing process.   
            spirituality is part of the curriculum at george   
            washington university medical school, here in   
            washington. a popular course being offered at harvard   
            medical school is called "spirituality and healing in   
            medicine."   
      
            dr. herbert benson is author of the bestseller "timeless   
            healing."  he says that physicians have long known that   
            belief can heal.  and with 99 percent of americans   
            professing a belief in god, he is not surprised at the   
            studies that show a link between religious belief and   
            health.  however, he says spirituality is just one part   
            of the total healing process.   
      
   tape     cut three - benson  :27   
            "you should view this kind of healing as being part of   
            an overall approach to medicine -- like a three-legged   
            stool, where one leg is drugs, another leg is surgery   
            and the third leg is what you can do for yourself.  and   
            in that third leg, we have relaxation techniques, we   
            have belief, we have nutrition and exercise.  belief is   
            definitely an important part of how we can help heal   
            ourselves."   
      
   text     belief is at the heart of the "placebo effect" which is   
            improvement in the condition of a sick person who has   
            received a "sugar pill" -- an inactive substance --   
            rather than medication -- during a controlled medical   
            test.   
      
            dr. benson defines belief as being much broader than   
            belief in god.  he emphasizes that the benefits of the   
            faith factor are not the exclusive domain of the devout.   
            he says people don't have to have a professed belief in   
            god to benefit from it.   
      
            how does the faith factor work?  why does there seem to   
            be a connection between faith and healing?  doctor   
            benson:   
      
   tape     cut four - benson  :32   
            "we are beginning to understand -- and i point this out   
            in my book, 'timeless healing' -- that we have patterns   
            of brain activity that remember sickness.  other   
            patterns that remember being well. and, if you believe   
            that you can be well -- and i am not saying this is for   
            all diseases and in every case -- but, if you believe   
            you can be well, your brain will remember that, and the   
            mind-body connection will help develop that wellness in   
            your body.  it should be used, in addition, again, to   
            pills and surgery."   
      
   text     dr. herbert benson emphasizes that balance is the key.   
            he says he could not imagine a world without penicillin   
            or cataract surgery.  he urges us to let our instincts   
            guide us, to follow them up with research, to find a   
            trusted physician, and to invest in self-care,   
            medications and surgery for maximum results.  herbert   
            benson says in that way, we can make the most of the   
            faith factor.   
      
   (signed)  jh/rpk   
   02-sep-97 4:11 pm edt (2011 utc)  nnnn  report 7-17315   
   source - voice of america   
      
   Jai Maharaj   
   http://www.mantra.com/jai   
   Om Shanti   
      
      
   Item 3:   
      
      
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