PRACTICING CHRISTIAN MEDICINE
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN PRAYER AND PROZAC
By Jeremy Reynalds
Friday, November 4, 2005
SOUTHLAKE, TEXAS (ANS) -- As
a Christian parent, Dr. James Mahoney prays for his children when they
are sick or hurt. In church, he prays and asks the Lord to heal sick
friends.
“So doesn't it make sense that when I walk into my medical practice
each day, I should pray with my patients?” Mahoney wrote in a recent
article. “And shouldn't the way I practice medicine give patients every
opportunity to get well?”
That notwithstanding, some Christian physicians and patients still have
a hard time mixing their faith and their medical practice, Mahoney
wrote. He added, “Since prayer costs nothing but time, why not use this
non-toxic tool to support healing?”
Mahoney wrote that the human body is designed with a system that takes
us countless times from sickness or injury and back to health without
medical treatment. “Some call it ‘natural healing,’” Mahoney wrote. “I
believe it’s part of our creator’s design. Acknowledging the power of
this brilliant ‘self-healing mechanism’ is at the center of Christian
medicine.”
According to Mahoney, most doctors when asked say they became
physicians to help people. But that begins to change, he said.
“After 11 or more years of stressful training, many doctors wonder why
they made such a crazy decision,” Mahoney wrote. “The system forces
doctors to distance themselves from their patients as an act of
self-preservation. Soon they learn to treat symptoms instead of
underlying causes, because it requires less mental and emotional
effort. If you have a headache, you get a pill. What if that headache
may be your body’s way to say you need to drink more water? In that
case, giving a pill creates more problems than it solves.”
Mahoney added, “Practicing Christian medicine requires a belief that
the body was designed to function with a lifetime warranty from God
Almighty. In other words, treatment should be given with proper respect
for the genius of the body’s healing system and can include:
prayer and encouragement, healthy food and water, vitamins, minerals
and natural compounds, hands-on treatment or exercise, the safest
medications (when natural interventions fail), surgery and other
procedures.”
Mahoney hastened to add that conventional care is a vital part of
Christian medicine. “In fact,” he said, “your healing path may lead you
directly to medication or surgery. That informed choice is your
responsibility, once you pray and seek advice.”
The physician is a partner in decision-making, Mahoney wrote. “For
patients who don’t embrace all of these principles, it’s simple to step
back into more orthodox medical practice and provide excellent care.
The key in these situations is to respect the beliefs of each
individual and show them Christian kindness. Christian medicine is not
a covert platform for evangelism, but a healing practice that draws
people to God through unconditional love.”
Mainstream medicine primarily focuses on disease. It excels at the
treatment of trauma and infections, Mahoney said. He added, “Focusing
on health requires the patient to make important lifestyle decisions
about eating, activity and emotion. Putting the responsibility on the
person who has the most to gain or lose just makes sense. Through
precise recommendations and encouragement, each patient can have a
lower risk of disease.”
Decreasing the need for medical care reduces expenses, hospitalization
and treatments that may not help much, Mahoney wrote. For example, he
added, “Survey after survey shows oncologists’ personal views of
chemotherapy conflict radically with their professional
recommendations. As many as 75 percent indicate that if they had
cancer, they would not undergo the treatments or recommend them for
their families. That hardly seems like a Christian attitude. We should
treat others as we do ourselves.”
Mahoney asked, “Are Christian doctors who practice modern medicine
hypocrites? Absolutely not! There are many brilliant physicians who
have been forced to segregate their Christian beliefs from their
medical practice. The system exacts severe penalties, from lawsuits to
professional alienation, for straying from the traditional path. The
remedy is finding a way to provide all the information every patient
needs to make good decisions.”
Healthy children are the model for becoming well again, Mahoney wrote.
“God calls us His children. I believe that He wants us to live, work
and play with a child-like enthusiasm flowing from a healthy body
that’s full of life. Imagine being completely healthy in body, soul and
spirit. Just the way God wants you to be.”
CENTER
UNIVERSITY
Mahoney is also the founder of Center University in Southlake, Texas,
which recently unveiled a totally redesigned website called
www.centeru.com, an Internet location providing free information on
healthy living and natural health.
The new site includes industry news, chat forums, a blog, as well as
free articles related to specific health subjects. It has also
developed technology for natural health companies, and software for
startups and small businesses in other industries.
“Since inception two-and-a-half years ago, Center University has
provided thousands of loyal visitors with valuable health information
supported by decades of substantial research and articles,” said
Mahoney in a news release. “Our main goal here is to build an
interactive online health community for seekers of alternative health.”
A distinguishing characteristic of the website, the news release
stated, is that while it provides free guidance on supplements, it does
not offer affiliated products, so users don’t have to fear biased
information.
“At Center University you can learn enough to be the one who directs
your own health choices,” said Mahoney in the news release. “Centeru is
different because it does not try to sell you consumables; it just arms
you with free unbiased information.”
Also speaking in the news release, Sven Gerjets, chief technology
officer, Center University, said, “Our vision while redesigning the
site is to create an online community for our visitors with rich
information, free health tools, and community resources. We wanted to
allow like- minded health seekers to interact with each other, creating
a community of empowered users.”
According to the news release, Center University relies on sources like
the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health,
the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
Additionally, the research team at Center University regularly updates
the information with the latest scientific studies in nutrition and
health from around the world.
Center University also provides corporate wellness programs and has a
clinical research center in Southlake, Texas.
For more information on CenterU, visit www.centeru.com.
| Jeremy Reynalds is a
freelance writer and the founder and director of Joy Junction, New
Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, http://www.joyjunction.org or http://www.christianity.com/joyjunction.
He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New
Mexico and is a candidate for the Ph.D. in intercultural education at
Biola University in Los Angeles. He is married with five children and
lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information contact: Jeremy
Reynalds at jgreynalds@aol.com.
Tel: (505) 877-6967 or (505) 400-7145. Note: A black and white JPEG
picture of Jeremy Reynalds is available on request from Dan Wooding at danjuma1@aol.com. |
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