Are parents of a seriously sick child told by the Bible — or fellow Christians — that their child will be healed if only they have enough faith ? ! ?

[Multicolored Lemur]

That’s awful.

Look, we don’t know why a child gets leukemia or bone cancer or muscular dystrophy or any of a 100 other conditions.

I think the thing to do is to just hug the parents, and tell them that you’ll be praying for the child (meaning, don’t lay a bunch of philosophy of any type on them). And occasionally bring them food, and other practical help.

And include the sick child in the normal flow of life as much as possible and practical.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

From the 2016 Christian movie Miracles from Heaven.

In the movie, the 10-year-old daughter has a digestion motility disorder which I have not heard of before.

Someone in the church congregation makes a point to seek out the mother after the service and tells her, Maybe there is unacknowledged sin in the family?

(Rather making God a vending machine or a computer algorithm! ! The implication being, hey, as long as you follow the rules, you’ll going to have a pretty cool, high-trajectory life)

The minister actually drives out to their house to apologize, and said, hey, all I can do is love them.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

Great topic Lemur!

It not only touches on how Christians should respond to illnesses (whether to seek help from God vs. the doctors), but also gets into the problem of evil (why evil occurs).

My understanding of the Bible is that it supports the view that bad things can happen to a person when they sin. But this view becomes problematic when it is used to explain all evil. For instance, some problems that are clearly not a result of someone's personal sin, like natural disasters, genetic disorders, etc. Here is a relevant passage:

In John 9, Jesus was asked about a man who was born blind. "His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:1-4).

But then, some Christians may take this passage to say that they should rely on God for medical problems. I find this view to be very dangerous because it can lead people to decline medical care. I don't have any solid answer here, but in general, I think Christians should seek medical care AND God - do both.

I hope pastor Chapabel agrees with me.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

@AgnosticBoy Thank you for your kind words.

I think the answer is most people choose both. When it’s a tricky, chronic disease which the doctors are somewhat dismissive of or semi-bail on, the people might lean more on God and their religious faith.

On the other hand, there’s a joke I’ve heard a few times in evangelical circles:

A man’s house is flooding and he climbs onto the roof. A small boat, a big boat, and a helicopter come by. Each time, the man says, no thank you, I’m waiting for God to save me.

The man dies, goes to heaven and says to God, Why didn’t you save me?

God says, I tried. I sent two boats and a helicopter. You have to do your part, too.

 

[Chapabel]

Great topic Lemur!

It not only touches on how Christians should respond to illnesses (whether to seek help from God vs. the doctors), but also gets into the problem of evil (why evil occurs).

My understanding of the Bible is that it supports the view that bad things can happen to a person when they sin. But this view becomes problematic when it is used to explain all evil. For instance, some problems that are clearly not a result of someone's personal sin, like natural disasters, genetic disorders, etc. Here is a relevant passage:

In John 9, Jesus was asked about a man who was born blind. "His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:1-4).

But then, some Christians may take this passage to say that they should rely on God for medical problems. I find this view to be very dangerous because it can lead people to decline medical care. I don't have any solid answer here, but in general, I think Christians should seek medical care AND God - do both.

I hope pastor Chapabel agrees with me.

I do agree with you. Here's my view...God is the ultimate Healer. Sometimes He works through miracles and sometimes He works through medicine. I believe God has revealed certain remedies, treatments and cures to mankind in order to treat certain illnesses and diseases. Therefore, we should seek the treatments God has revealed to mankind. As evidence of my position, take the common cold. God has not revealed a cure for a cold. Until He decides to reveal the cure we'll continue to suffer the sneezing, coughing, and running noses. Withholding treatment from a child, IMHO, is actually tempting God rather than trusting Him.

 

[Multicolored Lemur]

At one point in the movie, the mom Christy lets the dad Kevin know that she is very angry at God and has not been able to pray for months.

This is one reason why I think it’s important for friends and family to matter-of-factly let her know that they are praying for the daughter and in fact for the whole family. “Matter-in-fact,” as in not making a big deal of it when they tell the mother.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

I do agree with you. Here's my view...God is the ultimate Healer. Sometimes He works through miracles and sometimes He works through medicine. I believe God has revealed certain remedies, treatments and cures to mankind in order to treat certain illnesses and diseases. Therefore, we should seek the treatments God has revealed to mankind. As evidence of my position, take the common cold. God has not revealed a cure for a cold. Until He decides to reveal the cure we'll continue to suffer the sneezing, coughing, and running noses. Withholding treatment from a child, IMHO, is actually tempting God rather than trusting Him.

I agree with you and Lemur that God is not limited to supernatural intervention. I'm willing to bet that many Christians often look for the supernatural signs, and miss the natural signs that God may leave behind.

Now if only some of the fundamentalist Christians would stop attributing all evils and harms to personal sin, then that would go a long way. Just imagine telling a child or even a devout Christian that they have cancer because of some unconfessed sin in their life. I recall that's what happened to Job and it didn't help him not one bit.

 

[AgnosticBoy]

At one point in the movie, the mom Christy lets the dad Kevin know that she is very angry at God and has not been able to pray for months.

This is one reason why I think it’s important for friends and family to matter-of-factly let her know that they are praying for the daughter and in fact for the whole family. “Matter-in-fact,” as in not making a big deal of it when they tell the mother.

There's also a movie called Breakthough. It was an interesting movie a boy who fell through the ice and nearly drowned. Contrary to what we often hear about in the news about Christians and medical care, the mother used her faith not to reject medical care but to get the doctors to continue medical care. The doctors thought that medical intervention was probably not going to help any further. \

Outcome: Her son survived. Based on a true story.