Garbo
Stalwart
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I am, alas, not religious (more atheist, agnostic on my good days), but I have many family members and friends who spout the same 5th century logic.
I think it's good to remember that medication, and even some herbal supplements (like B vitamins, Folic Acid) are backed up good, hard scientific evidence meaning these scientists have spent years if not decades with this research. I know that many fundamentalists think, "OMG, science is bad!" but medication is there to help your brain. Similarly, your brain malfunctioning is not a sign of bad faith or bad karma-- all of our bodies are failing since it's coded into our molecular structure to die (fun fact: when the fetus forms in the womb, cells "die" before they are born, so death literally predates life). You know the old saying-- if we all lived long enough if we'd all get cancer. I think it's healthy to keep this thought in mind rather than the idea that a person can pray sickness away. Not that I think there is anything wrong with prayer, but I think that people of faith sometimes use it to abuse people or have false perceptions about bodies. Plus, once we all know we're destined to die, it puts things in perspective.
Just to put things in perspective: in the 15th century, Heinrich Kramer wrote the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, which is about witch hunting. One of the classic signs to find a witch is epilepsy. Associating bad faith with epilepsy is literally pre-Enlightenment. If I were you, I would move on from this church and find a place that loves you for you.
I think it's good to remember that medication, and even some herbal supplements (like B vitamins, Folic Acid) are backed up good, hard scientific evidence meaning these scientists have spent years if not decades with this research. I know that many fundamentalists think, "OMG, science is bad!" but medication is there to help your brain. Similarly, your brain malfunctioning is not a sign of bad faith or bad karma-- all of our bodies are failing since it's coded into our molecular structure to die (fun fact: when the fetus forms in the womb, cells "die" before they are born, so death literally predates life). You know the old saying-- if we all lived long enough if we'd all get cancer. I think it's healthy to keep this thought in mind rather than the idea that a person can pray sickness away. Not that I think there is anything wrong with prayer, but I think that people of faith sometimes use it to abuse people or have false perceptions about bodies. Plus, once we all know we're destined to die, it puts things in perspective.
Just to put things in perspective: in the 15th century, Heinrich Kramer wrote the infamous Malleus Maleficarum, which is about witch hunting. One of the classic signs to find a witch is epilepsy. Associating bad faith with epilepsy is literally pre-Enlightenment. If I were you, I would move on from this church and find a place that loves you for you.