The Jescebo Effect
Christians often claim that Jesus is responsible for helping save a crumbling marriage, get control of a drug or alcohol addiction, or maybe reach some goal. But what’s happening in these cases isn’t supernatural but natural. It’s not “Jesus” but the “belief” in Jesus that has power. I would call this the “Jescebo Effect ” which describes the positive feelings and results derived from the belief in Jesus or other supernatural being or religious idol.
The bible actually acknowledges this truth in Isaiah 57:10 as the LORD says, “You think your obscene idols give you strength, and so you never grow weak” demonstrating it’s not the object of belief but the belief itself that is empowering, just as it’s not the placebo pill itself but the belief in the pill’s curative powers that can trigger healing.
My friend “Janet” astutely notes, “Some people may argue that if this is the case, maybe it's a good thing. If "Jesus" can help people kick alcohol addiction, for example, isn't this constructive? I would disagree. Coming from a christian family, I have seen faith in god replace the real work of growing as a person. I had bulimia as a teenager; instead of taking me to counseling, they prayed for me. I did stop, and their "prayers were answered". However, I did not get to the root of the problem - why was I addicted in the first place. That took another 20 years, and in the meantime I succumbed to more addictions and many other problems that could have been avoided if superstitious belief in god & jesus had been replaced by scientific knowledge and common sense. I am not the only victim of this - this happens all the time.”
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Some people may argue that if this is the case, maybe it's a good thing. If "Jesus" can help people kick alcohol addiction, for example, isn't this constructive? I would disagree. Coming from a christian family, I have seen faith in god replace the real work of growing as a person. I had bulimia as a teenager; instead of taking me to counseling, they prayed for me. I did stop, and their "prayers were answered". However, I did not get to the root of the problem - why was I addicted in the first place. That took another 20 years, and in the meantime I succumbed to more addictions and many other problems that could have been avoided if superstitious belief in god & jesus had been replaced by scientific knowledge and common sense. I am not the only victim of this - this happens all the time.
Janet, I loved your response and have taken the liberty to add it to the thought as i think a real life experience such as yours is very powerful. If you would rather i remove it just let me know. Thanks for your thoughts!
John, I am honoured to be featured on your "thought"!
I've been out for a while, taking a couple of weeks off due to a new addition to the family. But, I'm ready to ask a couple of questions.
Can't it be both? Or, to put it another way, isn't it always a both/and rather than an either/or?
In other words, simply knowing the "scientific reasons" why you had an addiction doesn't stop addictive behavior.
In other words, science and Christianity (faith in Jesus more specifically) are not necessarily at odds with one another. This is a false dichotomy.
The real question is, once you have the scientific data, and add a little common sense, what wills you to overcome addictive behavior? How did you overcome bulimia? Why did you change?
I've been out for a while, taking a couple of weeks off due to a new addition to the family. But, I'm ready to ask a couple of questions.
Can't it be both? Or, to put it another way, isn't it always a both/and rather than an either/or?
In other words, simply knowing the "scientific reasons" why you had an addiction doesn't stop addictive behavior.
In other words, science and Christianity (faith in Jesus more specifically) are not necessarily at odds with one another. This is a false dichotomy.
The real question is, once you have the scientific data, and add a little common sense, what wills you to overcome addictive behavior? How did you overcome bulimia? Why did you change?
I've been out for a while, taking a couple of weeks off due to a new addition to the family. But, I'm ready to ask a couple of questions.
Can't it be both? Or, to put it another way, isn't it always a both/and rather than an either/or?
In other words, simply knowing the "scientific reasons" why you had an addiction doesn't stop addictive behavior.
In other words, science and Christianity (faith in Jesus more specifically) are not necessarily at odds with one another. This is a false dichotomy.
The real question is, once you have the scientific data, and add a little common sense, what wills you to overcome addictive behavior? How did you overcome bulimia? Why did you change?
Ok - that was really embarrassing. I kept getting an invalid password response when trying to post, and then I look and there's 3 of the same... So sorry. :)
Hey Order, good to hear from you. You make a good point - it would not have to be mutually exclusive. The point is, where does "faith" end and "active searching for truth" begin? If God can cure me from an addiction, why should anything else be required? And if the cure for addiction can only come through dealing with our issues, then where does prayer/faith fit in? What I have discovered is that the more I learn, the less room there is for faith for god. For example, generally serial killers don't come from loving, functional families (as an aside, they usually come from fundamentalist christian families, but that's not relevant to my point!) We used to think that these people were "demon possessed". Now, we know that abuse and other problems are usually behind anti-social behaviour. The less we use faith, and the more we get to the "real" issues, the faster we can heal or grow. I've found that far too often, prayer is used as an artificial panacea when active work is required.
Sorry, I missed your question. For me, change was a long and painful journey. I felt guilty for years because I was the "messed up" one in an otherwise "normal christian family". I thought I was inherently flawed. This was exacerbated by my belief that I was sinful from birth, but somehow I felt more damaged than other people. I was very numb and completely out of touch with my feelings. This led to serious addictions including tobacco and cocaine. My family prayed; I prayed and prayed. Nothing happened. so because my life just didn't work for me, I was forced to turn to other avenues. I started to read and talk with my sisters about these issues. I started to "feel my feelings" and find the root causes of my problems. The healthier I got, the more I moved away from faith. I had negative messages from childhood playing over and over in my head, and I started to "deprogram myself" through positive affirmations. I finally realized the truth. I was in pain from traumatic experiences in my past - god wasn't punishing me for being a bad person. I didn't give up - I was gunning for Truth. At this point in my journey, I can say that atheism has saved my life. It freed me from the bondage of fear and guilt. I realize that I am empowered to make my life what I want it to be and am working on eliminating all the negative baggage from the past (most of it having to do with religion). I can say now, that at age 44, I am finally happy. I didn't even know what that meant until recently - life was just about survival. Hope that answers your question??? and thanks for asking!
John, here's an article from Huffpost on Obama and the evolution of values. Thought you would appreciate it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-creamer/obama-and-the-revival-of_b_169800.html
Janet - I think I understand what you're getting at, but need further clarification.
What do you mean when you say, where does faith end and active searching begin? Again, I'd say those two are not at odds with one another. In fact, faith requires active searching.
Let me simply add, although I'm a Christian, I probably have equal disdain for fundamental Christianity and all its harmful baggage. I'm certainly not advocating a stick your head in the sand mentality, i.e. just pray for healing. I think that's incredibly naive, harmful and out of accord with Scripture. But again, it seems to me that you may be unnecessarily putting faith and action at odds with one another. Can you explain further?
Even if its not Christian faith, I'd argue that everyone functions on faith. Even if you had a greater understanding of the addiction with which you wrestle, and as a result it dictates or helps determine a course of action on how to free yourself from the addiction. If you then follow this course of action, aren't you placing your faith in the scientific data or medical counsel? Wouldn't you still be operating on faith, just faith placed differently?
Thanks for the reply. I have faith in evidence. The stronger the evidence, the more faith I have. I have never seen Jesus; never the dead rise; never seen 2 loaves and 5 fishes feed 5000 people. So I don't have faith in Jesus. But I do have faith that the sun will come up tomorrow; that Seinfeld will make me laugh out loud; and that when I work on my issues, and learn how to love and accept myself and others, I am better. I'm happier; I have more to give; I feel freer. The more I move in this direction, the less need I have for baseless faith in things for which I have never seen any evidence. (My christian parents would fervently disagree - "I have felt God watching a waterfall...." I would respond by saying that I feel a sense of unity with nature, a sense of gratitude at being alive; and awe at the beauty all around me. What I do not feel, anywhere, is some guy who was dead, came to life, lives in teh clouds, reads my thoughts, and will condemn me to a firy pit because I do not believe in him.
You say you are not a fundamentalist; where does faith fit into your life?
Hello Janet, hope you are well.
your comment
"the less need I have for baseless faith in things for which I have never seen any evidence"
what makes you come to the conclusion that you have NEVER seen evidence?
all the best
myrtle
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