When is medical treatment wrong?

I think the answer is obvious.

Cheers,

Jim

 

Isn't that the way some or all of the Christian Science faith believes?
It is obvious to me that God has given Doctors and Medical Staff the knowledge to help people, so I would say yes there are plenty of reasons to go see a Physician when one is ill. A time not too, well if it is a Cold maybe not!
By the way be careful about putting OCD in your catagory, it too is a Mental Illness. Might start a new Deprssion thread, you know.
Love in Christ Angie

 

I will seek medical treatment whenever I feel there is a need to do so. And, yes, there have been times when I needed to go and did not and that was wrong. I just made everyone around me miserable!

 

If God has given doctors the medical knowledge to treat people, then He has given it to them to treat whatever medical problem someone may have, and not just some. And that being a real medical prblem, not what people who know nothing thinks are or are not medical problems.
And since this is not a thread on that particular toopic, that all I go to say.

 

Well, since you asked, lets see what the Bible says.

Pysically speaking. We know that Jesus and the apostles healed sick people, so we know that being sick isn't necessarily a state we are expected to stay in. The receiving of healing was a "gift", that was a "good" thing, not bad.

When Jesus explained why he was eating with sinners he said:

Although this doesn't say we should seek a doctor, it certainly lets us know that Jesus knew the sick needed them.

Wasn't Luke a Doctor? We see no record of him having to have given up that profession upon following Christ.


Are there any times when getting treated medically is wrong?

From the verses above, there seems to be nothing wrong with getting medical treatment if you are sick.



If a person has a fever, should it be treated medically?

Paul told Timothy to take wine for his stomach, I see no reason we can't take an aspirin for a fever or a headache.

If a person is OCD, should it be treated medically?

The Bible tells us that we have control over our mind, behavior and emotions, so I would say no. Now if that problem was created from a physical ailment that can be identified, then the physical ailment should surely be treated. We should treat real physical problems, not chemical theories.

If a person has a brain tumor that doesn't effect his physical body, but causes emotional instability, should it be treated medically?

Yes, I see no reason why the physical problem can not be treated.


If a person has cancer and the odds are 99% that treatment will NOT work, should it be treated medically?

That is something that I am going to have to leave up to the person dealing with the situation. I do think the Bible does insinuate we can get treatment, but we are not to foolishly do so. Doctors were not given to us by God so that we could leave God out of the decision process, and not all doctors were given by God. Doctors are also not perfect, and there are several treatments that we get today that can more dangerous than helpful. We should all use common sense and find out the facts of any treatment and make that decision wisely and prayerfully.

Would it be wrong in any of these instances to NOT get medical treatment?

I think the Lord wants us to take care of our bodies, for they are His temple. I would say it was unwise to not get medical treatment for physical ailments if it is available, but I can't really find a scripture supporting that we must if it is available. Another one that you must make wisely and prayerfully.

I would be interested in seeing any other scriptures that people can come up with to determine whether or not we should seek treatment. I am sure I just barely scratched the surface.

~Lorelei

 

Gina,

Your welcome, and thanks for your kind response! I too enjoy learning what everyone believes, whether we agree or not!

~Lorelei

 

My rule of thumb: If medical treatment improes your overall quality of life, then it's appropriate. If it detracts from a quality of life, than it's not appropriate.

Note: I don't define quality of life by the years it adds to one's life, but the life it adds to one's years.

 

The subject of when medical treatment is wrong is a tough one. I can only answer that I have a "Do Not Resusitate" order so that when the Lord calls me home I will not be put on a resperator and kept here against my wishes. As long as my body will sustain me to live a productive life, I'll stay. But put me on some type of machine to live and that ain't livin'! I don't want to stay past my experation date...thank you very much.

 

Gina,
I ain't tryin' to be silly or nothin'--but what about eye doctors?? Would "corrective lenses" be something considered as medical treatment ongoing! Just think about all of the far sightedness, near sightedness, astigmatisms and the such that had to go on that way before the days of inventions of corrective lenses--I have astigmatisms--well, I can refuse to wear glasses saying that "God made me this way!" or I can put the "specks" on and be able to sight in a rifle or to see my wife's pretty face in a neat outline and not all fuzzy!--note that I included sightin' in a rifle and seeing my wife's pretty face all in one sentence!!!


Its funny how a vast majority of the so called Faith healers all wear glasses! How come they can't heal themselves of that bad eyesite!!

Your buddy,
Blackbird

 

Gina,
My momma was undergoing a year's worth of chemo--adinocarcamoma--not progressing--but not getting any better--but the chemo made her sick 27/7 she couldn't stand it any longer so she told us(me, sister, and brother) that she was going to refuse anymore treatment! Suicide in slow motion?? No! Just tired and wanting faith to become sight!!

What was treatment gonna do? Give her one more week??

Momma lives in the "Land of the Living" now and I can hardly wait to see her and my daddy with the blessed Lord Jesus Christ! I want it to be my parents who formally introduce me to Jesus--now, watch some theological detective on the board try to correct me!! Let um go ahead! I don't care!

Your buddy,
Blackbird
PS---you mentioned OCD! Not tryin' to embarrass you but what is OCD?? I mean, I don't know! Really!

 

There are alternatives. Sometimes doctors are looked upon as gods. There is a place for modern medicine, but do doctors ever look at prevention? Not always. They are quick to offer relief, but refuse to take the time to look for the cause.

Not all fevers are bad.
Don't know what OCD is.
Brain tumors can be successfully removed, most of the time. Chemo can depleat the body severly.
Cancer is fatal in alot of cases, so it depends.
But in the case of 99% fatal, I'd look for alternatives.

 

Doctors, Fellow Christians, Christian Psychologist, Wal-Mart Pharmacies, and probably several other alternatives are all right with me, and the more pain I am in the more likely I will view them as OK. I would draw the line at anything that is antisrtiptural (occult, voo-doo, mysticism, etc.). Getting treated medically is never morally wrong but it might be physically wrong, doctors sometimes mess up and make things worse than they were to start with. I reserve the right to decide for myself what medical treatment I want and grant to others the same right. A few years ago, I had a much stronger position on the sanctity of life and I still don't know wether I have learned better or learned worse?

 

Was i wrong to prolong my life by having 2 open heart surgeries & two angioplasty prodcdures?

I think not God gave the medical profession the knowledge & skill to perform these procedures and I am going to praise his name and take advantage of this blessing.

Kinda like that post somewhere on this board about the guy and the flood, he's waiting for the Lord to save him. If the Lord prvoides don't question his grace, just praise his name!!

 

And maybe if the Doctor didn't botch up the spinal tap on my husband he wouldn't be in pain and still be able to have full use of his left side. It goes both ways. There are too many doctors making mistakes all under the "reasonable risk" catagory.

You know, maybe you wouldn't have needed those heart surgeries if a doctor told you to take care of yourself when you were young.

 

On the other hand, there are many doctors who tell their patients to "take care" of themselves, and many of those patients just don't do it. Then again, there are a few patients who do everything right (ie diet and exercise; don't smoke) and STILL get heart disease because of genetics or other yet unidentifiable factors.

 

My daughter was born with a heart defect and underwent heart surgery at 2 1/2 months of age. The medical staff was awesome and the doctor was amazing! You should see her today, you could never tell that she had the surgery!

With that said, yes doctors are not perfect and many do not even take the proper precautions. Again, make your decisions wisely and prayerfully. Check out your doctor and medical staff and do NOT be afraid to ask questions! At the first hospital we were at, we were not so impressed, but you can be sure I was there questioning everything they did and making sure that my daugther's best interests were looked after. They are serving you, the patient, don't be afraid to remind them of that.

~Lorelei

 

When we are sick we should seek medical treatment. As has been pointed out Jesus knew that the sick needed a doctor. Once we seek that treatment then we must be discerning in the treatment we actually take. We need to know any risks, we need to evaluate thoes risks against the risk of not taking the treatment, we need to prayerfully consider those risks and with Gods guidence we then decide weather or not to accept the risks. There are many many good Doctors and many many bad ones. Our job as the paitent is to be a partner in the treatment and not just go along because the Dr. said so.

Blackbird buddy OCD is obsessive compulsive disorder. There has been much discussion on the board of late about treatment for mental illnesses and weather or not they are medical problems or not.


Bill