PRACTICING CHRISTIAN MEDICINE – SOMEWHERE BETWEEN PRAYER AND PROZAC
By Jeremy Reynalds (11/04/05)
As a Christian parent, Dr. James Mahoney prays for his children when they are sick or hurt. In church, he prays and asks the Lord to heal sick friends.
"So doesn't it make sense that when I walk into my medical practice each day, I should pray with my patients?" Mahoney wrote in a recent article. "And shouldn't the way I practice medicine give patients every opportunity to get well?"
That notwithstanding, some Christian physicians and patients still have a hard time mixing their faith and their medical practice, Mahoney wrote. He added, "Since prayer costs nothing but time, why not use this non-toxic tool to support healing?"
Mahoney wrote that the human body is designed with a system that takes us countless times from sickness or injury and back to health without medical treatment. "Some call it ‘natural healing,'" Mahoney wrote. "I believe it's part of our creator's design. Acknowledging the power of this brilliant ‘self-healing mechanism' is at the center of Christian medicine."
According to Mahoney, most doctors when asked say they became physicians to help people. But that begins to change, he said.
"After 11 or more years of stressful training, many doctors wonder why they made such a crazy decision," Mahoney wrote. "The system forces doctors to distance themselves from their patients as an act of self-preservation. Soon they learn to treat symptoms instead of underlying causes, because it requires less mental and emotional effort. If you have a headache, you get a pill. What if that headache may be your body's way to say you need to drink more water? In that case, giving a pill creates more problems than it solves."
Mahoney added, "Practicing Christian medicine requires a belief that the body was designed to function with a lifetime warranty from God Almighty. In other words, treatment should be given with proper respect for the genius of the body's healing system and can include: prayer and encouragement, healthy food and water, vitamins, minerals and natural compounds, hands-on treatment or exercise, the safest medications (when natural interventions fail), surgery and other procedures."
Mahoney hastened to add that conventional care is a vital part of Christian medicine. "In fact," he said, "your healing path may lead you directly to medication or surgery. That informed choice is your responsibility, once you pray and seek advice."
The physician is a partner in decision-making, Mahoney wrote. "For patients who don't embrace all of these principles, it's simple to step back into more orthodox medical practice and provide excellent care. The key in these situations is to respect the beliefs of each individual and show them Christian kindness. Christian medicine is not a covert platform for evangelism, but a healing practice that draws people to God through unconditional love."
Mainstream medicine primarily focuses on disease. It excels at the treatment of trauma and infections, Mahoney said. He added, "Focusing on health requires the patient to make important lifestyle decisions about eating, activity and emotion. Putting the responsibility on the person who has the most to gain or lose just makes sense. Through precise recommendations and encouragement, each patient can have a lower risk of disease."
Decreasing the need for medical care reduces expenses, hospitalization and treatments that may not help much, Mahoney wrote. For example, he added, "Survey after survey shows oncologists' personal views of chemotherapy conflict radically with their professional recommendations. As many as 75 percent indicate that if they had cancer, they would not undergo the treatments or recommend them for their families. That hardly seems like a Christian attitude. We should treat others as we do ourselves."
Mahoney asked, "Are Christian doctors who practice modern medicine hypocrites? Absolutely not! There are many brilliant physicians who have been forced to segregate their Christian beliefs from their medical practice. The system exacts severe penalties, from lawsuits to professional alienation, for straying from the traditional path. The remedy is finding a way to provide all the information every patient needs to make good decisions."
Healthy children are the model for becoming well again, Mahoney wrote. "God calls us His children. I believe that He wants us to live, work and play with a child-like enthusiasm flowing from a healthy body that's full of life. Imagine being completely healthy in body, soul and spirit. Just the way God wants you to be."
CENTER UNIVERSITY
Mahoney is also the founder of Center University in Southlake, Texas, which recently unveiled a totally redesigned website called www.centeru.com, an Internet location providing free information on healthy living and natural health.
The new site includes industry news, chat forums, a blog, as well as free articles related to specific health subjects. It has also developed technology for natural health companies, and software for startups and small businesses in other industries.
"Since inception two-and-a-half years ago, Center University has provided thousands of loyal visitors with valuable health information supported by decades of substantial research and articles," said Mahoney in a news release. "Our main goal here is to build an interactive online health community for seekers of alternative health."
A distinguishing characteristic of the website, the news release stated, is that while it provides free guidance on supplements, it does not offer affiliated products, so users don't have to fear biased information.
"At Center University you can learn enough to be the one who directs your own health choices," said Mahoney in the news release. "Centeru is different because it does not try to sell you consumables; it just arms you with free unbiased information."
Also speaking in the news release, Sven Gerjets, chief technology officer, Center University, said, "Our vision while redesigning the site is to create an online community for our visitors with rich information, free health tools, and community resources. We wanted to allow like- minded health seekers to interact with each other, creating a community of empowered users."
According to the news release, Center University relies on sources like the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.
Additionally, the research team at Center University regularly updates the information with the latest scientific studies in nutrition and health from around the world.
Center University also provides corporate wellness programs and has a clinical research center in Southlake, Texas.
For more information on CenterU, visit www.centeru.com.
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