Why John wasn't healed by prayer: perspectives across disciplines.
Patients and family members often turn to prayer in response to serious, life-threatening illness. Prayer for a miraculous cure is often the request. While prayer can keep hope alive, it may also promote unrealistic expectations that fuel demands for life-preserving technology in medically futile situations. Furthermore, if prayer does not achieve the desired results, then disappointment and disillusionment may follow and make the coping process even more difficult. We present here a case of a seriously ill man whose family and faith community prayed for his healing. John, however, was not healed. A medical internist, two psychiatrists, a sociologist, and a theologian discuss their perspectives on the apparent failure of prayer to heal John. This cross-disciplinary discussion reveals insights that we believe physicians can use when confronting such issues with patients.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Treatment Failure
- Spirituality
- Religion and Psychology
- Reality Testing
- Psychiatry
- Pancreatic Neoplasms
- Male
- Interdisciplinary Communication
- Humans
- Grief
Citation
Published In
DOI
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Location
Related Subject Headings
- Treatment Failure
- Spirituality
- Religion and Psychology
- Reality Testing
- Psychiatry
- Pancreatic Neoplasms
- Male
- Interdisciplinary Communication
- Humans
- Grief