Monday, March 24, 2008 at 1:01am
Miracles matter
Column: Interesting Times
I love watching and listening to some online forums, and this week was no exception. Peek in with me on this Easter week exchange (C is a Catholic; M is a Muslim):
"C: So I take it, you've never witnessed a miracle?
"M: I have personally witnessed some and heard about a lot of unusual and extraordinary stories. Some people choose to attach religious significance to these [miracles], while others attribute unexplainable events to ghosts, magic, extraterrestrial beings or simply rely on their gut feeling for a satisfactory explanation. I don't. I consciously try not to think with my gut concerning matters of importance. All I can honestly say about unexplainable accounts of events is that these are unexplainable for now, such as UFOs.
"C: And how do you explain this miracle, which was seen by people who are still living today?
"M: I cannot explain this or, for that matter, any other similar stories that have baffled scientists and general public alike until someone came up with a rational explanation.
"C: Have you ever heard of a person without pupils in their eyes, having sight?
"M: No. Do you think there's a valid explanation?"
BTW, a question for which I have not heard a consistent or rational response is why Good Friday is called "good" when it conventionally commemorates the day Jesus was crucified? I'm painfully aware that this may seem like a very naive question.
And then — as is often the case on Internet forums — someone else jumped in with a comment. This, as written on the forum exactly as it appeared, is from someone who is not a churchgoer and best describes herself as a "universal humanist."
"UH: I was going to say that I'd like to see a miracle that happened in our era that could be medically verified.
"And then I had to laugh.
"When I was in my early 20s, my stomach was in constant pain. Went to an internist and had numerous tests, including upper and lower gastrointestinal X-rays. Fun.
"They discovered that I had a hiatal hernia in my stomach. And the hole was so large that surgery was impossible.
"They put me on all kinds of anti-inflammatories and prescription antacids. I had to sleep sitting up.
"Nothing was helping.
"Went to a prayer meeting at a charismatic Catholic church — there was a priest there who prayed with people for healings.
"I just went to watch with a girlfriend of mine.
"He came over to our side of the crowd and said that someone in our area was going to be healed from a stomach problem and also someone with a blood disorder.
"We left — the next week I was having yet another X-ray as a follow-up.
"The internist immediately called me into his office. They would not tell me why — but I needed to come in now. Scared — I went in and he stood there dumbfounded. He told me that the hernia was completely gone. He had no medical explanation for it. Had never in his experience seen anything like this.
"I told him about the prayer service. He actually gave me a written piece of paper confirming that there was no medical explanation and that the hernia was gone.
"I went back to that church and gave that paper to the priest!
"And then — my friend was a lifelong hypoglycemic. Had scheduled food and feedings. She was always in trouble with her blood count. A week after the prayer service, she was in excruciating pain. Rushed into emergency, had an ovarian cyst that exploded.
"Put her on fluids and pain medication. The next day her mother asked what was in the fluids and they said glucose (sugar). She freaked out and said that the daughter had a blood disorder. The doctors said it couldn't be — so they took a new full blood panel.
"It came back perfectly normal — no hypoglycemia. Never had it again."
And so, on a daily basis, the healing illustrated and promised by Christ Jesus 2008 years ago lives.
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books addressing religious issues including "So the Woman Went Her Way," "One Prayer at a Time" (Simon and Schuster) and "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" (March 2007: Jossey Bassey). She was the manager of the Microsoft Network Religion Communities (1995-2000) and is currently the spiritual expert and community manager for www.drweil.com. Her email address is {email http://www.drweil.com/}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 Lynne Bundesen.
"C: So I take it, you've never witnessed a miracle?
"M: I have personally witnessed some and heard about a lot of unusual and extraordinary stories. Some people choose to attach religious significance to these [miracles], while others attribute unexplainable events to ghosts, magic, extraterrestrial beings or simply rely on their gut feeling for a satisfactory explanation. I don't. I consciously try not to think with my gut concerning matters of importance. All I can honestly say about unexplainable accounts of events is that these are unexplainable for now, such as UFOs.
"C: And how do you explain this miracle, which was seen by people who are still living today?
"M: I cannot explain this or, for that matter, any other similar stories that have baffled scientists and general public alike until someone came up with a rational explanation.
"C: Have you ever heard of a person without pupils in their eyes, having sight?
"M: No. Do you think there's a valid explanation?"
BTW, a question for which I have not heard a consistent or rational response is why Good Friday is called "good" when it conventionally commemorates the day Jesus was crucified? I'm painfully aware that this may seem like a very naive question.
And then — as is often the case on Internet forums — someone else jumped in with a comment. This, as written on the forum exactly as it appeared, is from someone who is not a churchgoer and best describes herself as a "universal humanist."
"UH: I was going to say that I'd like to see a miracle that happened in our era that could be medically verified.
"And then I had to laugh.
"When I was in my early 20s, my stomach was in constant pain. Went to an internist and had numerous tests, including upper and lower gastrointestinal X-rays. Fun.
"They discovered that I had a hiatal hernia in my stomach. And the hole was so large that surgery was impossible.
"They put me on all kinds of anti-inflammatories and prescription antacids. I had to sleep sitting up.
"Nothing was helping.
"Went to a prayer meeting at a charismatic Catholic church — there was a priest there who prayed with people for healings.
"I just went to watch with a girlfriend of mine.
"He came over to our side of the crowd and said that someone in our area was going to be healed from a stomach problem and also someone with a blood disorder.
"We left — the next week I was having yet another X-ray as a follow-up.
"The internist immediately called me into his office. They would not tell me why — but I needed to come in now. Scared — I went in and he stood there dumbfounded. He told me that the hernia was completely gone. He had no medical explanation for it. Had never in his experience seen anything like this.
"I told him about the prayer service. He actually gave me a written piece of paper confirming that there was no medical explanation and that the hernia was gone.
"I went back to that church and gave that paper to the priest!
"And then — my friend was a lifelong hypoglycemic. Had scheduled food and feedings. She was always in trouble with her blood count. A week after the prayer service, she was in excruciating pain. Rushed into emergency, had an ovarian cyst that exploded.
"Put her on fluids and pain medication. The next day her mother asked what was in the fluids and they said glucose (sugar). She freaked out and said that the daughter had a blood disorder. The doctors said it couldn't be — so they took a new full blood panel.
"It came back perfectly normal — no hypoglycemia. Never had it again."
And so, on a daily basis, the healing illustrated and promised by Christ Jesus 2008 years ago lives.
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books addressing religious issues including "So the Woman Went Her Way," "One Prayer at a Time" (Simon and Schuster) and "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" (March 2007: Jossey Bassey). She was the manager of the Microsoft Network Religion Communities (1995-2000) and is currently the spiritual expert and community manager for www.drweil.com. Her email address is {email http://www.drweil.com/}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 Lynne Bundesen.