Will Jesus Christ save my sorry Ass?

I think the question that every Christian first needs to answer is this.

Do you believe that a talking snake convinced a woman to deceive her mate into eating an apple? And because of this the rest of the world are shitheads for all of eternity(which is a pretty long time).

Take your time before you answer.

Taking a Break.

Thanks to all who have shared with me on this blog. I am taking a break. I will continue reading all of your blogs and I might even comment occasionally. Au Revoir.

WOO......Why it may work and why science cant prove it.

I have been blogging for about 3 yrs now and have listened to many people talking about health care. In many instances there is a side that is very much againsnt what they called "Woo" or "alternative" therapies. By this, they mean many of the touch based therapies such as, Acupuncture, Reiki, Therapeutic touch, Chiropractic and also my profession, Massage Therapy. It seems that unless science conclusively backs up certain treatments then many of these individuals want nothing to do with it. If there is some anecdotal evidence showing some success they many times pass that off as just a "placebo". I wonder though, whats the difference if your pain relieved by placebo or a drug? Also isnt it common that many of the drugs only work for some people and not all? Why is it that someone would feel more certain of a therapist using ultrasound for a muscle strain when many times physical touch has the same benefit. I believe this belief system actually has hurt much of our health care system and is in dire need of an overhaul.
I am going to point out that there are many things that science(to this point) is unable to accurately measure. So because of this I believe that many of these so called "Woo" therapies are actually beneficial and vital to our health.
When assessing these touch based therapies is it possible to account for many of the emotional factors that come into play when being treated?

Empathy
Trust
Compassion
Nurturing

If any or all of these emotions are not outwardly apparent to the patient, wouldnt it stand to reason that they may be hesistant or resistant to the therapists performing their treatment? And if so, wouldnt that factor in to the quantifiable results of the treatment? How from a science perspective do we measure these powerful forces? It is similar to friendship. Why are some people our friends and others are not? How do you scientifically measure it? So, is it more likely that a therapist that is trusted and liked more capable of getting better results than one that isnt?
There is another area I believe to be beyond science(at this moment), and that is the calibre of treatment being performed. There are multiple reasons why this may be the case when a therapy is being applied.

Pressure
Awareness
Body Type
Sensitivity
Technical Skill

A major factor that plays into my profession is the skill of the therapist and the response of the patient. What I mean by this is that many patients that I see dont respond to my techniques but do respond to another therapist. Does that mean I am not a good therapist? Of course not, it just means I am not the "right" therapist for those individuals. Now I ask you this, how would we be able to measure this scientifically and have it relatable to the therapy rather than the therapist? It has been very apparent to me in my profession that certain individuals respond to certain techniques. There are so many factors that play into this that I wonder if it is even remotely possible(at this time) to scientically measure it.
If I go see any of these so called "Woo" therapies with pain and I leave feeling better and my life returns to a relatively normal existence, I dont really care whether science says that is "real" or a "placebo". All I know is that Im pain free. Im sure there are millions of people who would agree.
For all those that dont, I suggest you get a Massage and Chill out(science agrees with that one).

Rules, Play by the Rules!

This post was inspired by my fellow blogger Sabio Lantz at this post. Here is a small exerpt.

www.triangulations.wordpress.com/2009/12/26/2448/

" I laugh at my mind constantly. She (my mind) is so silly, so primitive, so deluded, so stubborn, so dull. I mean, how many times have I told her something is not true or not so and yet she keeps coming back with the same perceptions and conclusions. She is totally unruly."


What game do you play?

I find it interesting that when we come to blog with others we forget what game they are playing and by what rules they play. We then attempt to insert our rules into their game. This is true for most of us, be it Atheist, Theist, Deist or what have you. Sometimes its like  a football player coming to a baseball game. The collisions may be fun to watch but they have little to do with the actual game being played. I wonder, if there is not a consensus on the game and the rules, is it actually possible to enjoy playing?

In any game are the rules absolute?

The rallying cry of the absolutist. "Its not fair, youre not playing by the rules". Is it possible for anything to be absolute? Regardless of what game we play or subject we study there is always something we let slide by. Using football as an example again, there are many times that players hold other players(which is against the rules). Now because it may not have been blatant the referee will overlook it and allow them to continue to play. When involved in our blogging discussions many times we overlook the rules of engagement. Scientists demean Creationists because science doesnt back their story. The problem with this is many Creationists are not playing by those rules. The flip side to this scenario is blatantly obvious too. Faith isnt part of the rules for Scientists. Is it any wonder that they have a hard time playing together? Different games with different rules.

Is cheating or stretching the rules bad?

Interestingly enough, even within a certain domain(game) the rules very often get stretched a bit. This is very evident when looking at multiple versions of the same Theistic doctrine. Seems there are many ways to play a similar game. Funny thing is, Science isnt immune to this way of thinking either. Many times things dont react(scientifically) exactly the way the scientists first thought. So like any good gamer they adapt to the situation and add or subtract some "Rules". I guess we could consider that Evolution.

Evolution or Adaptation

When looking at each others belief system it may be prudent to realize that they cant be absolute. Because just as we are evolving, so are our beliefs. There only seems to be one absolute to life and that is it does not remain static, it is always in flux.

So  the next time you feel your mind to be a little "unruly", just remember she may not be playing the same game you are.

EAT, DRINK and be MERRY

MERRY CHRISTMAS

For all my Christian Theist blogger pals.

HAPPY HOLY DAYS

For all my other religionist blogger pals.

And for all you heathen, without morals or ethics Atheist blogger pals.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Dont get too drunk. :)

2 Ears, One mouth, Im starting to get it.

Im out for dinner with my beautiful wife, you know the one with the great smile, beautiful lips and eyes and awesome wit......Oops I digress. So we're having a wonderful time and our server is excellent. We end up having a good conversation with him about what we do for a living, which then gets into a discussion about his schooling and why he is taking the courses that he is enrolled in. He shares some personal information about his obesity as a youth and how he now would like to help others overcome similar challenges. He is now in excellent shape. At the end of our dinner(and a couple of drinks), we end up talking a little more about our ideas on health and wellness. It was at this moment that I made a remark about a therapist I was seeing and how I had a hard time listening to them because of their morbid obesity. I articulated that I felt because of their obesity they would not be of benefit to me. Instantly the server's demeanour changed. I totally missed why that would be and continued to talk. My wife remarked about it after we left and I realized that I was too busy talking about my thing, that I missed the fact that I hurt someone in this exchange. Had my 2 ears been open earlier I would have known better than to engage in a conversation about obesity and my negative view on it. This experience has made me realize that I need to be more aware of what people say and not how I say things. Humbling for sure.


Thanks to Luke and Jay for there shout outs on Community and accountability.

Ignorance is Bliss. ;)

Am I ignorant because I believe, or do I believe because of my ignorance? The way I see it, I have 2 choices. I can choose to believe that this Universe that I see, with all its beauty and despair and overall awesomeness, is either:

1. A random fortuitous happening.

OR

2. A creation with purpose and intelligence.

Now because of my ignorance I cannot know for sure which of these 2 options is true. So with my limited perspective I have decided to postulate an idea. I believe we were created with a purpose. This does not mean that I disregard all the benefits that science has in showing the inner workings of this Universe. Au Contraire, I actually believe that our scientists will one day prove my theory to be correct. To have a position that goes against mine does not automatically mean it is correct either. It is just that, an opinion. For thousands of years we have postulated, formulated and corrected many theories. I suspect this to be part of our human condition. Who knows, maybe its part of our Evolutionary process. So here I am, somewhat blissful in my ignorance, how about you!