A recent Newsweek article noted that since 2000 there have been over 6,000 studies regarding healing and spirituality. Studies have examined if there are correlations between the rate of healing, quality of health and religious life. While not all the studies are conclusive there is evidence that prayer and faith does impact recovery and health. The medical community is coming to recognize the value of religious life in the healing process.
People who attend religious services on a regular basis live three to five years longer. Those who have faith seem to recover quicker from illnesses than those who do not.
Evangelicals hold that intercessory prayer works, and several studies show that it does work but with an important caveat. Those who are ill recover quicker with intercessory prayer when they that others are praying for them and the recipients of the prayer have some level of faith. If the person is unaware that there is intercessory prayer taking place, there is no affect.
Before Christians get excited by this news there is another factor we must take into account. The same dynamics happen regardless of the person’s religious tradition. If a person is Jewish, or Hindu, or Muslim, or an animist, as long as they believe that there is some power beyond themselves, that there is a hope of healing, recovery takes place at a more rapid rate.
Reflective Wanderings - Reflections on various topics that arise out of my personal, life and professional experiences. There are also are some family related news, travels and pictures.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Palm Treo to Blackberry Curve
After having an unpleasant and frustrating time with a Palm Treo, I am delighted to go back to having a BlackBerry. I love my new Curve 8350i. Shortly after starting to use the Treo I discovered that when talking to someone on the phone other screens would pop-up. These pop-up would happen after I dialed and to the screens would have to be closed in order to go to the speaker, or turn off the speaker.
Frequently listeners kept getting annoying feedback. To cut the feedback I would have to go to speaker and then turn the speaker off. This was an annoyance to say the least to all parties.
Frequently listeners kept getting annoying feedback. To cut the feedback I would have to go to speaker and then turn the speaker off. This was an annoyance to say the least to all parties.
At first I liked the Treo’s email system and all was well for four months, except for the occasional few hours where they system would go down. About the four month point the Treo’s email system started to going down more frequently, up to two to three days at a time. The growing frequency became frustrating.
About the seventh month the software on my Treo started freeze. At first taking out the battery and resetting the Treo was all that was necessary to get the system going again. Weeks later, the only way to the email system going again was to delete the software and reinstall it. Sometimes the installation would take fifteen minutes but at other times it would not take multiple efforts. The frequency in the Treo crashing increased to the point where it was happening two to four times a week. The frustrating part was that until the software was installed again, my calendar and phone book were blank.
Others started to experience the same problems. It was nice not to be alone. Three weeks ago DHQ moved all eleven of us on the Treo to the BlackBerry Curve.
I really like the ease and feel of the Curve. It is sleek and I like the feel of the keypad and the roller ball. I like the idea of being able to download a Powerpoint or slideshow to the Curve and then hook it up to a projector for group showing. It also has a voice dialing feature that I have yet to activate but may get around to doing so in the coming weeks.
The curve also has a GPS feature that while I would not see it replacing my GPS, it is a nice feature for if I was walking along the street and needed some help. I like the ease of going on the net using the Curve and its bedside wake-up alarm feature. One issue I do have with it is that it does not seem to have the capability to assign specific ringtones for specific people.
Another feature I will not like use is that one can download the mp3 files. I may eventually install a dozen or so files but I have my ipod with an extensive list. One feature that I will be using is the recorder that allows me to record notes to myself while out of the office…a nice feature considering that we often think about something at one point in the day and forget it later.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Curve.
About the seventh month the software on my Treo started freeze. At first taking out the battery and resetting the Treo was all that was necessary to get the system going again. Weeks later, the only way to the email system going again was to delete the software and reinstall it. Sometimes the installation would take fifteen minutes but at other times it would not take multiple efforts. The frequency in the Treo crashing increased to the point where it was happening two to four times a week. The frustrating part was that until the software was installed again, my calendar and phone book were blank.
Others started to experience the same problems. It was nice not to be alone. Three weeks ago DHQ moved all eleven of us on the Treo to the BlackBerry Curve.
I really like the ease and feel of the Curve. It is sleek and I like the feel of the keypad and the roller ball. I like the idea of being able to download a Powerpoint or slideshow to the Curve and then hook it up to a projector for group showing. It also has a voice dialing feature that I have yet to activate but may get around to doing so in the coming weeks.
The curve also has a GPS feature that while I would not see it replacing my GPS, it is a nice feature for if I was walking along the street and needed some help. I like the ease of going on the net using the Curve and its bedside wake-up alarm feature. One issue I do have with it is that it does not seem to have the capability to assign specific ringtones for specific people.
Another feature I will not like use is that one can download the mp3 files. I may eventually install a dozen or so files but I have my ipod with an extensive list. One feature that I will be using is the recorder that allows me to record notes to myself while out of the office…a nice feature considering that we often think about something at one point in the day and forget it later.
Overall, I am very pleased with the Curve.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
That Sinking Feeling
About six weeks ago, a friend of mine and his family was flying to Europe. As he neared the airport he had a horrible sinking feeling as he realized his wallet and passport was at home. He dropped of the wife and two kids and headed home. He knew he was going to miss the flight but arranged for the airline to get him on the next flight with the hope of connecting with his family at the airport from which they would go to Europe. He got on the next flight, but it would only give him less than fifteen minutes to make his connection, which he did make thanks to airline attendants and passengers who allowed him to be the first off.
Tuesday I had a flight to Atlanta. I grabbed my luggage and kissed Evie goodbye. As she is pulling out I reached for my wallet….and the sinking feeling hit. I immediately called Evie…her cell was off. My initial thought was to get a cab, go home get the wallet….but Evie was driving my car and had my house keys. I called Jonathan and left a message for him to call me when he got off work (he does a split shift) and I called Evie’s work left a message for her to call me when she got to the office.
When Evie received the message that I had an emergency, she knew what happened. She drove home, got my wallet and got back to the airport 8 minutes after my flight left. After paying $50 a change of flight fee, I caught the flight an hour later (fortunately there is flight to Atlanta every hour) and made my meeting with 5 minutes to spare.
Will I forget my wallet again….not likely. I am sure that every time I am walking out the door, whoever in the family is driving me to the airport will ask as I walk out the door for me to do a wallet check.
Tuesday I had a flight to Atlanta. I grabbed my luggage and kissed Evie goodbye. As she is pulling out I reached for my wallet….and the sinking feeling hit. I immediately called Evie…her cell was off. My initial thought was to get a cab, go home get the wallet….but Evie was driving my car and had my house keys. I called Jonathan and left a message for him to call me when he got off work (he does a split shift) and I called Evie’s work left a message for her to call me when she got to the office.
When Evie received the message that I had an emergency, she knew what happened. She drove home, got my wallet and got back to the airport 8 minutes after my flight left. After paying $50 a change of flight fee, I caught the flight an hour later (fortunately there is flight to Atlanta every hour) and made my meeting with 5 minutes to spare.
Will I forget my wallet again….not likely. I am sure that every time I am walking out the door, whoever in the family is driving me to the airport will ask as I walk out the door for me to do a wallet check.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Talent Searches
I am not a big fan of American Idol and other such talent searches. Too often individuals are encouraged by friends and family to try out even when they have no talent. For the public show and to the person's humiliation the "talent scouts" often put forward individuals onto the national stage who at the regional contests clearly lacked talent. If the show started with the best, I would likely watch but the mingling in of individuals who lack talent, and even advancing a few marginal individuals to the second round keeps me from watching. I know friends and family who like the show, but for me I cannot enjoy it.
That said, you really need to watch this show from Great Britain's version of American Idol. Simon Cowell was one of the judges. As you see this lady, Susan Boyle, before she performs, what do you think Simon, and the other judges are going to do to this lady? What do you think the audience would think about her? Simon's reaction as well as the other judges becomes evident in short order. Our understanding of perception and reality is challenged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU
That said, you really need to watch this show from Great Britain's version of American Idol. Simon Cowell was one of the judges. As you see this lady, Susan Boyle, before she performs, what do you think Simon, and the other judges are going to do to this lady? What do you think the audience would think about her? Simon's reaction as well as the other judges becomes evident in short order. Our understanding of perception and reality is challenged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU
Monday, April 13, 2009
Waning of the Church?
This past weekend while in Leola visiting Evie’s mother I read in Newsweek an article stating that the percentage of Americans identifying themselves as Christians has decreased from 86% to 76% since 1990. That 10 point decline is nearly a 12% in an eighteen year period, or about .6% per year.
The decrease is not a result of immigration from the Far East of Islamic countries as the influx of Roman Catholics from Central America has been at a much higher rate. The Latino population is strongly church focused. What would have been the decrease if the Latino immigrants were not included in the calculation? The study has not examined that factor, but it does not take much to realize that the decrease is much more significant if one took out the Latinos population which has boomed in the last two decades. It may well be that decrease could be another 2 points lower.
The number of people who are not affiliated with any faith tradition has grown from about 8% to 16% of the population. Any observer of church attendance should not be surprised by the decline. As noted in prior blogs, church attendance has been declining, particularly in the mainline churches. The evangelical churches, particularly the Pentecostal and Southern Baptists streams, have not evidenced the same decrease but even there a close examination reveals that much of their new membership is drawn from people who have left the mainline churches. The demographics of the evangelical churches are also changing in that the ratio of the younger membership between the ages of 18 and 30 has been in decline.
The article notes that church attendance has not increased as anticipated during the economic crisis.
It is interesting that the decline has taken place during a period where the Moral Majority and the Christian Right has had a greater influence is American political life than it has ever had. The decline has also taken place during a period where the nation has had its most strident evangelical Christian.
The church is still a major factor in shaping society, but its influence upon the society as a whole is waning.
The decrease is not a result of immigration from the Far East of Islamic countries as the influx of Roman Catholics from Central America has been at a much higher rate. The Latino population is strongly church focused. What would have been the decrease if the Latino immigrants were not included in the calculation? The study has not examined that factor, but it does not take much to realize that the decrease is much more significant if one took out the Latinos population which has boomed in the last two decades. It may well be that decrease could be another 2 points lower.
The number of people who are not affiliated with any faith tradition has grown from about 8% to 16% of the population. Any observer of church attendance should not be surprised by the decline. As noted in prior blogs, church attendance has been declining, particularly in the mainline churches. The evangelical churches, particularly the Pentecostal and Southern Baptists streams, have not evidenced the same decrease but even there a close examination reveals that much of their new membership is drawn from people who have left the mainline churches. The demographics of the evangelical churches are also changing in that the ratio of the younger membership between the ages of 18 and 30 has been in decline.
The article notes that church attendance has not increased as anticipated during the economic crisis.
It is interesting that the decline has taken place during a period where the Moral Majority and the Christian Right has had a greater influence is American political life than it has ever had. The decline has also taken place during a period where the nation has had its most strident evangelical Christian.
The church is still a major factor in shaping society, but its influence upon the society as a whole is waning.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)