My uncle once tried to inform me about the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ, Scientist. It has an odd name but essentially believes that maladies of the human body are simply perception and that people can get well just by believing they can get well. This contradicts much of germ theory, but science also shows that having a good attitude helps your immune system. How much validity is there in the beliefs of the JCS people?
On a similar tangent, homeopathy believes that certain natural substances, like spider venom, minerals, or plant extracts, can be added to water and diluted until the quantity of the original solute is nil, and the resulting fluid will still work to cure certain conditions. This is often dismissed as bunkum, but some reports have (perhaps dubiously) claimed it works. Is this a placebo effect, or could substances really "imprint" their solvent even after leaving? I think that many are passing this off as a scam to make money from selling vials of water to unsuspecting naifs. Snake oil, I say. But I will watch to keep tabs on this controversial belief.
Cody, I don't know where to start. Well harrumphs I'll start with the placebo effect. It has been proven well speculated that the placebo effect works in some cases, usually ones not so severe that the body can not survive on its own. Wishful thinking may help the body heal itself but the JCS people also have a point, where it may be the belief in Jesus healing them but it is actually in their own mind. Also having that strong faith has some other benefits for some who can not come by them on their own means. Such as the will of perseverance, if someone prays for something to happen sometimes it helps them see opportunities that will accomplish such prayers and in essence answering their own prayers, though they give the credit to someone else... This use of praying or willing yourself to do something is a great asset humans, and maybe other beings, may have acquired. But is that just human nature? Or was it some kind of being that transcended on the people enlightening them of this skill they so readily posses and have them take it for what they call Jesus today? Hey crazier things have happened, but we will never know. The debate over validity of religion is an old one, one in which people should only visit if they can view the past or at least be able to time travel and have evidence of these events. Just covering my tracks so I don't offend anyone, but I don't feel it should be disputed, just let people accept what they believe.
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