Intercessory Prayer Studies. Who needs them?
Benson H. et al. Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer. Am Heart J 2006; 151: 934-42.
[See the truncated press release pasted below]
------------------Maybe they need to think about a new study to test their theories about why those who were prayed for did worse than those who were not. But, I think any rationalization or speculation about the why's and how-come's of this study is numbskull-ish. For those who are sure science must show intercessory prayer "works," be content and just wait for the next positive study, where results aren't "counterintuitive," and any dissonance will be absolved.
Intercessory prayer study is study into the paranormal, for which there will never be the adequate controls needed for meaningful or useful results. How can you put up controls for "prayer" when you really don't define what "prayer" is. How much do things like feelings of sincerity, hope, faith or compassion go into a definition of intercessory prayer? How much do things like ritual, imagery, divine authority, or personal level of spirituality go into the definition?
I fail to see what these kinds of studies are trying to accomplish when they answer more to the effects of sociology and psychology than to divine intervention. If you are looking for God, I doubt that He will be calculated from a p-factor. If you are looking for the paranormal, what makes this kind of study any more credible than the one Bill Murray's character conducted in Ghost Busters? If you're looking to disprove religion as nothing more than human behavior and social psychology; then, why? And how do you define and control for all the variables?
Until intercessory prayer clinical studies give you your answers, I advocate that everyone pray (in your own way) for world peace. It probably can't hurt. Further, don't begin to believe that you can't impact your dreams by thinking about them. I'd even encourage you to speculate on your own divine nature and calling in this universe once in awhile.
dras---
>http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/AcuteCoronarySyndrome/dh/2963> > BOSTON - The common plea to "pray for me" doesn't seem to matter in the outcomes of patients having coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), according to a multicenter study led by a Harvard group.
> In a six-hospital randomized study of the clinical effects having others pray for them, there was no benefit. "Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on complication-free recovery from CABG," found Herbert Benson, M.D., of the Mind/Body Institute of Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here, and colleagues.
> In fact, the complication rate was significantly higher for the 352 of 601 patients (59%) who were confident that others were praying for them, compared with the 315 of 604 (52%) of patients uncertain of such prayers (RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.28) but who received them, Dr. Benson and colleagues reported in the April 4 issue of the American Heart Journal. The primary outcome was complications in 30 days.
> "We have no clear explanation for the observed excess of complications in patients who were certain that intercessors would pray for them," said the authors of the Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP). The complications were primarily atrial fibrillation.
> In a press briefing, Rev. Dean Marek, a co-author who is director of chaplain service at the Mayo Clinic, called the results "unexpected and counter-intuitive."
> The patients were randomized into three groups. One group of 604 patients was told it might receive intercessory prayer, and unbeknownst to them, the prayers were offered. A second group of 592 patients was told it might receive intercessory prayer and, also blinded, the prayers were not offered. The third group of 601 patients was certain of intercessory prayer. The prayers all came from persons unknown to the patients.
>The first two groups did about the same (RR 1.02,> 95% CI 0.92-1.15). The complication rate was 52% for the group uncertain of intercessory prayers but received them (315 of 604). The complication rate was 51% (304 of 597) for those who were uncertain of intercessory prayers but did not get them.
> The prayers that were offered were standardized. There was an average of 70 strangers praying for each prayed-for patient.
> In the three groups, equally distributed about 65% of patients said they believed in spiritual healing. The patients were equally distributed in number of CABG vessels affected.
[See the truncated press release pasted below]
------------------Maybe they need to think about a new study to test their theories about why those who were prayed for did worse than those who were not. But, I think any rationalization or speculation about the why's and how-come's of this study is numbskull-ish. For those who are sure science must show intercessory prayer "works," be content and just wait for the next positive study, where results aren't "counterintuitive," and any dissonance will be absolved.
Intercessory prayer study is study into the paranormal, for which there will never be the adequate controls needed for meaningful or useful results. How can you put up controls for "prayer" when you really don't define what "prayer" is. How much do things like feelings of sincerity, hope, faith or compassion go into a definition of intercessory prayer? How much do things like ritual, imagery, divine authority, or personal level of spirituality go into the definition?
I fail to see what these kinds of studies are trying to accomplish when they answer more to the effects of sociology and psychology than to divine intervention. If you are looking for God, I doubt that He will be calculated from a p-factor. If you are looking for the paranormal, what makes this kind of study any more credible than the one Bill Murray's character conducted in Ghost Busters? If you're looking to disprove religion as nothing more than human behavior and social psychology; then, why? And how do you define and control for all the variables?
Until intercessory prayer clinical studies give you your answers, I advocate that everyone pray (in your own way) for world peace. It probably can't hurt. Further, don't begin to believe that you can't impact your dreams by thinking about them. I'd even encourage you to speculate on your own divine nature and calling in this universe once in awhile.
dras---
>http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/AcuteCoronarySyndrome/dh/2963> > BOSTON - The common plea to "pray for me" doesn't seem to matter in the outcomes of patients having coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG), according to a multicenter study led by a Harvard group.
> In a six-hospital randomized study of the clinical effects having others pray for them, there was no benefit. "Intercessory prayer itself had no effect on complication-free recovery from CABG," found Herbert Benson, M.D., of the Mind/Body Institute of Harvard's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center here, and colleagues.
> In fact, the complication rate was significantly higher for the 352 of 601 patients (59%) who were confident that others were praying for them, compared with the 315 of 604 (52%) of patients uncertain of such prayers (RR 1.14, 95% CI 1.02-1.28) but who received them, Dr. Benson and colleagues reported in the April 4 issue of the American Heart Journal. The primary outcome was complications in 30 days.
> "We have no clear explanation for the observed excess of complications in patients who were certain that intercessors would pray for them," said the authors of the Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP). The complications were primarily atrial fibrillation.
> In a press briefing, Rev. Dean Marek, a co-author who is director of chaplain service at the Mayo Clinic, called the results "unexpected and counter-intuitive."
> The patients were randomized into three groups. One group of 604 patients was told it might receive intercessory prayer, and unbeknownst to them, the prayers were offered. A second group of 592 patients was told it might receive intercessory prayer and, also blinded, the prayers were not offered. The third group of 601 patients was certain of intercessory prayer. The prayers all came from persons unknown to the patients.
>The first two groups did about the same (RR 1.02,> 95% CI 0.92-1.15). The complication rate was 52% for the group uncertain of intercessory prayers but received them (315 of 604). The complication rate was 51% (304 of 597) for those who were uncertain of intercessory prayers but did not get them.
> The prayers that were offered were standardized. There was an average of 70 strangers praying for each prayed-for patient.
> In the three groups, equally distributed about 65% of patients said they believed in spiritual healing. The patients were equally distributed in number of CABG vessels affected.
posted by nawledge at
9:29 PM
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