When most people get sick, they turn to the official practice of medicine, in the form of a licensed doctor or nurse. One step beneath them in prestige is alternative medicine, which usually comes in the form of practices accepted by those outside the Western world, but which has official acceptance somewhere else, or during some other era. With these options open, it is worth exploring why people choose spiritual doctor healing, which has less respect than either of them.
Spiritual healing is a term for treatments entirely dependent upon assistance from unseen entities whose existence is a matter of faith, not evidence. Many "patients" come to it after having had no success with either mainstream or alternative treatments. Further, it is often less important to the "patient" to receive treatment for a sickness than it is to be in the active presence of God. The sickness could be important primarily as a chance to be witness to a miracle.
Spiritual help is frequently sought out for pain relief, an area not well treated by conventional medicine. It might be chosen for deeply personal problems, such as those involving sexuality. Psychological issues and everyday trials and tribulations also lead many to look for their cure in the world of spirit.
Some people who look to help from the spiritual plane are not seeking cures for health concerns, at least not in any sense most would recognize. They seek shielding from what they understand to be malevolent spirits. If the spirit has gained control of the patient's mind, it could be decided that an exorcism is the only solution.
People seeking cures from the spiritual world need to understand that what they seek has no recognized scientific basis. Both are subject to scorn from those whose passion is to debunk dubious claims. This scorn is broadcast throughout the media, a broadcasting supported by the enormous prestige of the medical establishment, and the even more enormous resources of the pharmaceutical industry. The former is motivated by legitimate interest in health, along with a desire to defend its professional turf against the faith healers. The latter is motivated by maintaining its profits.
It is no surprise that spiritualists cater to those largely uneducated about the sciences, as well as those who are convinced that they simply know better. There will always be those who distrust legitimate medicine and its institutions. Spiritual healers rely upon good referrals from former customers along with innate charisma and sales talent.
There are many techniques resorting to the supernatural. Faith healing is a staple of many charismatic church services. Usually this is accomplished by the minister's laying on of hands and appealing to the holy spirit. This is a highly public act, and is at least as much performance as therapy.
Witches, long the victims of repression, transmit power through their expertise with common objects, roots, and potions. Today it is out in the open, growing faster than any other religion in the English speaking world. Voodoo originated in West Africa, and largely comes to us in its Haitian form. Its mystique appears to be timeless. It makes use of dozens of saints, gods, and demigods, all appealed to so that they might come to the aid of those in need.
Spiritual healing is a term for treatments entirely dependent upon assistance from unseen entities whose existence is a matter of faith, not evidence. Many "patients" come to it after having had no success with either mainstream or alternative treatments. Further, it is often less important to the "patient" to receive treatment for a sickness than it is to be in the active presence of God. The sickness could be important primarily as a chance to be witness to a miracle.
Spiritual help is frequently sought out for pain relief, an area not well treated by conventional medicine. It might be chosen for deeply personal problems, such as those involving sexuality. Psychological issues and everyday trials and tribulations also lead many to look for their cure in the world of spirit.
Some people who look to help from the spiritual plane are not seeking cures for health concerns, at least not in any sense most would recognize. They seek shielding from what they understand to be malevolent spirits. If the spirit has gained control of the patient's mind, it could be decided that an exorcism is the only solution.
People seeking cures from the spiritual world need to understand that what they seek has no recognized scientific basis. Both are subject to scorn from those whose passion is to debunk dubious claims. This scorn is broadcast throughout the media, a broadcasting supported by the enormous prestige of the medical establishment, and the even more enormous resources of the pharmaceutical industry. The former is motivated by legitimate interest in health, along with a desire to defend its professional turf against the faith healers. The latter is motivated by maintaining its profits.
It is no surprise that spiritualists cater to those largely uneducated about the sciences, as well as those who are convinced that they simply know better. There will always be those who distrust legitimate medicine and its institutions. Spiritual healers rely upon good referrals from former customers along with innate charisma and sales talent.
There are many techniques resorting to the supernatural. Faith healing is a staple of many charismatic church services. Usually this is accomplished by the minister's laying on of hands and appealing to the holy spirit. This is a highly public act, and is at least as much performance as therapy.
Witches, long the victims of repression, transmit power through their expertise with common objects, roots, and potions. Today it is out in the open, growing faster than any other religion in the English speaking world. Voodoo originated in West Africa, and largely comes to us in its Haitian form. Its mystique appears to be timeless. It makes use of dozens of saints, gods, and demigods, all appealed to so that they might come to the aid of those in need.