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Terry S
03-30-2006, 02:24 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/03/30/prayer.study.ap/index.html

Study: Prayer doesn't affect heart patients

Thursday, March 30, 2006; Posted: 2:26 p.m. EST (19:26 GMT)

NEW YORK (AP) -- In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

Researchers emphasized their work does not address whether God exists or answers prayers made on another's behalf. The study can only look for an effect from prayers offered as part of the research, they said.

They also said they had no explanation for the higher complication rate in patients who knew they were being prayed for, in comparison to patients who only knew it was possible prayers were being said for them.

The work, which followed about 1,800 patients at six medical centers, was financed by the Templeton Foundation, which supports research into science and religion. It will appear in the American Heart Journal.

Dr. Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School and other scientists tested the effect of having three Christian groups pray for particular patients, starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for "a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications" for specific patients, for whom they were given the first name and first initial of the last name.

The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility.

The researchers did not ask patients or their families and friends to alter any plans they had for prayer, saying such a step would have been unethical and impractical.

The study looked for any complications within 30 days of the surgery. Results showed no effect of prayer on complication-free recovery. But 59 percent of the patients who knew they were being prayed for developed a complication, versus 52 percent of those who were told it was just a possibility.

Dr. Harold G. Koenig, director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health at the Duke University Medical Center, who did not take part in the study, said the results did not surprise him.

"There are no scientific grounds to expect a result and there are no real theological grounds to expect a result either," he said.

Science, he said, "is not designed to study the supernatural."

speedracer2169
03-30-2006, 02:37 PM
you must be real bored

Terry S
03-30-2006, 02:44 PM
you must be real bored


You have no clue the lengths i'm going to to avoid doing my work right now.

Terry S

Macky
03-30-2006, 02:51 PM
you want me to dial in to your computer and run some antivirus scans?

Terry S
03-30-2006, 02:57 PM
you want me to dial in to your computer and run some antivirus scans?


lol, thats ok. I think my IT department would flip out if that happened.

Terry S

Macky
03-30-2006, 03:13 PM
dont worry i can bypass them O0

Terry S
03-30-2006, 03:16 PM
dont worry i can bypass them O0


I doubt that. We've got some crazy crap here.

Terry S