I would like to hear how my friends and family react to this provocative "Town of Allopath" video at: http://mercola.com/
I don't think all of the intended analogies are exactly correct, but generally I think it is a good allegory. I think Americans tend to value the drugs that numb discomfort to the disciplines that maintain health. I would guess this might be provocative and my readers might wonder whether I am angry at doctors. I admire and respect many doctors. Our country's emergency care, I think, is excellent. However, the doctors and drugs cannot make us well. They might make us more comfortable in our over-consumptive lifestyles, but they cannot make us well. Wellness is a gift from God that we can either preserve or refuse. I realize that I have done more refusing than preserving, but I look forward to future positive change.
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For family, friends, neighbours, and aliens . . . becoming new . . .
9 comments:
I've not watched the video Jason... but I totally agree. Doctors and medicine and such can not make us or keep us well. Only God holds life and wellness in His hand... and all we can do is accept the gift of it all, or reject it.
Very well said!
Thanks for the comment and encouragement, Noel.
I wonder if anyone has a critique of my comments or the video. I wonder if I've overstated anything.
I think that we should be careful about critizing medications. Some may not be necessary, both lots of drugs are more important than a person who does not need them views them. I have seen this to be the case especially with mental health medications.
Could the medications be a way God gives us comfort from the pains we face?
Thank you for those comments, Justin!
I'm glad you brought up the subject of "mental health medications" and your question, "Could the medications be a way God gives us comfort from the pains we face?" is reasonable.
I certainly don't fault a psychologist who prescribes medications for someone who gets too depressed to function. In fact, I think that psychologist has probably shown mercy in doing so.
But, just imagine if psychologists could prescribe Christian friends. I think that would be the greater act of mercy. What if a friend could share a healthy lifestyle and constant encouragement through which God would conquer the illness?
I know drugs ease pain. I think the important illustration "Town of Allopath" provides is that, in general, if our society thinks easing the pain is all we need, we are missing out on actually being healed.
Dr. Oster pointed out in chapel that Jesus is the Great Physician. He also pointed out the danger of subjecting "Jesus, the Healer" to our ideas of "hospital". We tend to think hospital is a place we get morphine and start to "feel" better. The surgery Jesus was talking about was not comfortable.
I hope that if I demonstrate signs of depression my friends won't punish me, of course. But I do hope that I have friends who won't quit. I hope I have friends who remind me of God's grace and mercy rather than the comfort that comes from sedation and medication.
I'm sure I've overstated something . . . so I hope you'll comment again, Justin. I would love to hear more about how medications are a way God is at work.
jason
I totally agree with you in that God's grace and good Christian fellowship are great aspects of living a healthy life, espically for those who are not mentally strong.
But, medication for a mental illness and good Christian friends do not have to be an either/or.
Many mental illnesses come from chemical inbalances. I do not think it would be fair for us to say to a diabetic "Good Christian friends are an acceptable substitute for your medication". I think the same consideration should be given for a person struggling with depression.
Now, God working through medications. Would you consider medication for cancer patients a blessing from God? What about for the diabetic? I think I can feel comfortable saying that God has blessed me with medications that help me as I live with epilepsy. If I was depressed to the point of suicide and medication helped me live a good life I would consider that a blessing from God too I think. I may be way off with this theology and feel free to correct me. Thanks for the dialoge, it is an interesting topic.
Thanks, Justin!
I love to get a different perspective because I don't like people who are too much like me. (I'm kind of just joking about that, but I really appreciate your perspective.)
I agree with you; it shouldn't be an absolute "either/or".
About " . . . acceptable substitute . . ." I definitely think the same consideration should be given to a person struggling with depression as with a diabetic. If one needs God's healing, so does the other; if one needs drugs, so does the other; etc. I am just more into seeking healing rather than covering up. I think friendship is more likely to "heal" than drugs, but I think they can work together. (Feel free to correct me.)
I'm going to keep thinking about what you said about "God working through medications." Hopefully someone else will comment, too.
Well, I am more partial to people just like me so that writes you off pretty quickly. Just joking, we always have soccer.
I am into healing too, I am just curious as to what that consists of. But I don't know if that is always possible by having people care about your welfare. Drugs for a diabetic is the best thing that can be done to "heal" them. Someone who had horrible life experiences growing up may never be healed solely by friends that care about them.
Saying that, drugs are not always necessary for those who struggle with a mental problem. I believe counseling is a way to find peace from mental pains. Sometimes making friends is a part of the goal. Sometimes clients need medication to accompany that. I hope I am making sense.
You are both making sense, to me. Medication is vital and necassary in many cases for physical and mental illnesses. I can speak especially in the case of mental illnesses. There are people I know who I don't think would be alive if it weren't for the medication they take. But I don't believe it is the only thing able to 'heal them'. When I watched this video clip though...I thought, 'that's our (western world) in a nutshell.' I think that the typical mentality of people is to get a quick fix...and this usually comes in the form of a drug. (if you watch enough TV...you will notice that every other ad is a drug ad!) The drug covers up the symptoms, which essentially covers up the problem. It does not make the problem any better. The symptoms we get are signs that something isn't right in our body...Our body says 'Stop'. 'Make changes!' 'Help!' So why would we want to just cover it up with a drug? Why don't we consider lifestyle changes first, before medication? (like I said though, I understand that very often, medication is required to bring things under control...but usually that is where we chose to find our contentment!) Why don't we want to get to the root of the problem? The more problems we chose to quickly cover up...the greater the mess! I think this is really more applicable to physical illnesses...because with mental illness, the approach is often a good combination of drugs and therapy...the drugs treat the symptoms while the causes are worked on through other things, such as therapy, goal setting, goal striving, friends, prayers and so forth.
The above was a comment from Nicole...forgot to sign it.
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