Just last week this guy I know was complaining about having a bad back. So, me being my usual busy body self suggested that he either visit a doctor or a physiotherapist. Then he shared that he's been visiting a few physios secretly as his wife is totally against seeking any kind of medical treatment other than healing through faith and prayer. Apparently she believes that visiting doctors means doubting God's ability to heal. I've never met his wife but from what I know she's rather well educated and I was rather surprised that there are actually smart people out there that can be so misguided.
I've mentioned somewhere in one of my postings before that I know that God can do things that humanly we cannot even begin fathom but I also believe that God uses people such as doctors to carry out His healing work in the world. Sometime back I received an article written by our bishop on how some people out there, including some within the Methodist church that have been severely misguided by false prophets in our midst. I'm not sure whether there's any kind of copyright infringement here by posting his article but I'm going to risk it as I believe that the article really sets the record straight about what the bible feels about modern medicine.
Is Medicine Sorcery? By Bishop Hwa Yung (Source: Pelita June 2008)
What a silly question to ask? Really?
A couple of months ago I received a desperate call from a pastor of one of our churches. At least two couples in his church had come under the influence of the teaching, propagated by certain websites in America, that medicine is a form of sorcery. It is also taught by certain leaders of some independent and charismatic churches in our country, although they appear to be only a tiny minority. Unfortunately the effect has been devastating for some who have come under their influence.
The pastor who called told me that the husband of one of the couples had been diagnosed of suspected cancer. But he was told that medicine was a form of sorcery and to seek medical treatment was equivalent to idolatry. He should instead trust God as the true healer. The result was that the person concerned believed that he had been healed by God through prayer, but nevertheless died a few months later!
In the case of another couple in the same church, the wife had been suffering from terrible bodily pains. Following the same teaching, they refused medical care even though the wife’s condition deteriorated to the point that she was bedridden much of the time. When they finally sought medical help, it was diagnosed as a severe case of rheumatoid arthritis. Left untreated, it had given rise to intense suffering and could have even led to an early death. Meanwhile, the woman’s brother was suffering from an incurable illness, although the effect of which could have been partially arrested through a cocktail of drugs, thereby prolonging his life substantially. Yet again, under the same influence, he stopped medication and died within a short time.
I had heard such stories before and now I find myself face to face with a similar situation in one of our own churches.
This article is based on the sermon I preached at the church on that Sunday morning when I was there, seeking to deal with a situation of utter confusion and desperation! Let me therefore say right away that my concern here is primarily pastoral. Moreover, it is addressed to Christians deeply troubled and devastated by false teachings in our churches!
A case of bad logic
The immediate source of this teaching comes from an article posted on an American website titled, ‘Roots of Modern Medicine.’ The argument put forward is that modern medicine comes from the Greeks. One of the most important aspects of traditional Greek medicine is the Hippocratic Oath, which is basically pagan or idolatrous. It begins with the words: ‘I swear by Apollo the Physician, and Asklepios and Hygieia, and all the gods and goddesses that, according to my ability and judgment, I will keep this oath …’ The article argues that modern
medicine is rooted in pagan practices and therefore a form of idolatry and/or sorcery. The Bible teaches that healing comes from God. Therefore we should not go to doctors and instead should seek healing from God alone.
The first thing that must be said about this line of teaching is that the reasoning is badly flawed.
To begin with, whilst it is true that the Hippocratic Oath was taken before pagan gods and goddesses, no doctor today takes that oath and certainly not with the same idolatrous associations! We cannot therefore simply jump to the conclusion that modern medicine is associated with idolatry. Nevertheless, as an aside, it should be noted that there are many good ethical principles enshrined in the Hippocratic Oath, such as never giving anything harmful to the sick, refusing to carry out abortions and never taking advantage of patients. These remain the ideals of many in the medical profession today, even though, sadly, they have often been violated by some.
The above article actually only deals with western medicine. Doctors of old, outside the Greco-Roman world, had nothing to do with the Hippocratic Oath. At the same time it is true that in most cultures, medicine and religious/occultic practices were usually inseparably mixed together. Does this mean that, because all forms of medicine in most cultures have pagan religious associations, therefore medicine is idolatrous? Such an argument demonstrates bad logic once again. The fact is that there is hardly anything that we have today, which has been passed down to us from the past, that was not associated with religious/occultic practices of sorts. For example, astronomy began with roots in astrology. Yet we do not refer to astronomers today as pagan priests! Although they shared similar roots, over time astronomy and astrology became clearly demarcated from one another. In exactly the same way, with the advancement of our understanding of God’s creation, modern medicine became by and large separated from its religious/occultic roots. We therefore have to conclude that in general modern medicine has little or nothing to do with ancient paganism.
One more thing needs to be said. If the argument is that anything with idolatrous roots will always remain idolatrous, then I am afraid that would apply to Christianity too! What many Christians forget is that, when God called Abraham and his descendents, they were at that point of time not worshippers of Jehovah/Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. A careful reading of Genesis will show that they were in fact pagans worshipping many gods. Any doubt about this is completely removed by Joshua’s assertion when he reminded the Israelites that ‘Long ago your forefathers …worshipped other gods’ (Jos 24:2), and his challenge to them to ‘throw away the gods your forefathers worshipped beyond the River and in
What the Bible teaches?
One of the great things that have happened to the church in the last few decades has been the rediscovery of the power of the Holy Spirit. But what is often forgotten in the midst of all the excitement of the practice of spiritual gifts is a simple reminder by Paul when he said, ‘Do not quench the Spirit …but test everything’ (1 Th 5:19&21), especially the need to test all claims to the work of the Spirit by the plain teaching of the Bible. Those who have been responsible for propagating the idea that Christians should not see doctors are often those with the gift of healing and have seen God healing marvelously through simple prayer! This much need not be denied. But
I suspect that often such persons forget that they may nevertheless lack the gift of teaching! Indeed, if they have a teaching gift as well, they would certainly know how to test their ideas by the plain teaching of Scriptures.
This brings us to the question of what the Bible has to say concerning medicine. First, the Bible does not teach a sharp distinction between divine healing and the use of natural means. For example, although Paul had a powerful gift of healing, he could nonetheless advise Timothy to drink a little wine ‘because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses’ (1 Tim 5:23). From time immemorial, the medicinal value of wine is well-known. Again, God had promised Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah that he would be healed of a terminal disease. Yet, this was immediately followed by Isaiah giving instructions to use figs as a poultice for healing (Isa 38:21). This example clearly shows that divine healing and the use of medicine are fully compatible.
Careful examination of the Bible shows that it not only speaks of the use of medicine positively, it even uses medicine as a metaphor for healing spiritually. For example, the Prophet Jeremiah clearly refers to medicinal remedies (qeha in Hebrew; 30:13; 46:11) as a metaphor for the deeper spiritual healing that
Some pastoral considerations
The above shows that the case that medicine is sorcery becomes totally unsustainable in light of clear reasoning and, especially, the plain teaching of the Bible. What important pastoral considerations follow?
First, illnesses and diseases arise from different causes: genetic disorders, bacterial and viral infections, sin in personal lives, emotional disorders, and even demonic attacks. Ultimately all healing comes from God. But this does not mean that He cannot use different means—prayer, repentance, a loving community, medicine, surgery, etc. Certainly, we should seek God for healing in all cases. But we should also use all other proper means that He has ordained freely and joyfully!
Second, nowhere does the Bible promise that all would be healed. Again some clear thinking helps here. If God intends all to be healed, then there is no need for anyone to die physically. But that would be absurd! Even Cho Yong-Gi, the pastor of the largest Pentecostal church in the world and who has had a powerful healing ministry, clearly states in his book, How can I be Healed? (Seoul Logos, 1999, pp.135-143) that not all would be healed. The reasons he gives are, first, unrepentance, second, it is God’s time for these persons to return to Him, and, third, that God has some special plans for them. Wise words indeed!
Thirdly, those of us who are in the healing ministry must be careful of what we teach and say. As noted earlier, God may have given us a powerful gift of healing. But do we also have the gift of teaching to go with it? If we lack that, we must ask God for it so that our healing ministry is not compromised, or even negated, by bad or false teachings on our part. God has given us the Bible as our guide and if we do not use it properly then we will be severely judged for our failure (James 3:1).
Fourthly, in whatever ministry we are involved, there must be integrity. Without truthfulness and integrity, our ministries and churches will eventually implode! Many who have believed the teaching that Christians should not seek medical treatment have died or seen their loved ones die. The simple question is: How many more must die before we honestlyface up to the fact that this teaching has no real biblical support?
Sadly, those who have gone round advocating this have not been forthright about the numbers that have died under them or because of their influence. And unfortunately their colleagues and supporters appear to have maintained a conspiracy of silence as well! We only hear their success stories, whilst others are left to pick up the
broken pieces of their devastated lives and shattered faith, more often than not on their own without any help from those who had promised so much!
Space prohibits me from elaborating further. The reader may sense that this has been written with a certain degree of anger. But members of our church and others have died needlessly. How can we remain indifferent and not be angry! This matter confronts us with two urgent final concerns. First, the church must make serious efforts to rediscover its ministry of healing through prayer and fasting. We should pray earnestly that God will raise up many with the gift of healing in our midst. That is one sure way by which many will be brought to Christ and God’s
saving power manifested to the world.
But, secondly, at every level of the church, we must reemphasize the centrality of the Bible’s teaching. It is when we know our Bible, then and only then will we be set free from the bondage of erroneous teaching and satanic deceptions which are often, as this particular case shows, literally quite deadly!.
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