Who we should look to for "accurate" medical information--Where's the article?

by JustMe2 9 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  JustMe2

  A number of threads discuss some of the extreme, even bizarre, medical advice that's been given in WTBS publications over the years. It's ironic, then, that years ago an Awake! or Watchtower article warned of the need to be on guard regarding certain extreme forms of alternative medicine. (Iridology may have been one of the treatments mentioned.) If I remember correctly, it cautioned about looking to "worldly" sources for medical advice. It then recommended the Awake! as a reliable source. Could someone find and post the relevant portion of that article? Thanks!

  My reaction at the time was that the Society's literature could hardly be relied on as a sufficient source of health information, both as regards the number of illnesses covered and the depth of material provided. I wasn't even thinking of some of the interesting "reliable" advice provided in the past!
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  ILoveTTATT

  Here are some results for "accurate" and "medical" from the WT library:
  
  *** g04 10/8 p. 31 From Our Readers ***
  The material in this series moved me to get medical treatment. It has also helped my wife to cope better with my depression. I never fail to be impressed with how timely and accurate your articles are.
  C. B., Germany

  *** g92 4/8 p. 27 “I Wept for Joy” ***
  “I cannot express just how timely the articles were. I really couldn’t believe how accurate the information was. I have suffered depression and bulimia for 20 years, looking for help and answers everywhere: psychiatrists, psychologists, medical doctors, group therapy, weight-loss clinics—all a dead end for me.

  *** g92 4/22 p. 30 From Our Readers ***
  From Our Readers
  Cancer Treatments I believe that the item “Treatments Compared” that appeared in the “Watching the World” section (September 22, 1991) was seriously misleading. It implies that people suffering from cancer would benefit just as much from unconventional therapy as they would from treatment at an established medical center. The tenor of The New England Journal of Medicine article upon which your item was based is quite different from your item.
  A. R., M.D., United States
  Our brief item was accurate, but we did fail to report one key finding of the study, namely, that terminally ill patients receiving conventional medical treatment reported a “significantly better quality of life” than those receiving unorthodox treatments. Nevertheless, as our item showed, neither treatment proved effective in prolonging the patients’ lives. The study thus suggested that a “no-treatment alternative” for some terminally ill patients be considered. Readers should also note that, according to the researchers themselves, these findings “cannot be generalized to patients with less advanced stages of [cancer].” The authors of the study conclude that some unorthodox treatments “may warrant appropriate investigation” by medical researchers.—ED.

  This one's ironic considering the Watchtower Society consistently does not give accurate medical information, often giving very misleading information.

  *** g84 7/8 p. 18 Your Right to Weigh Risks and Benefits ***
  Such advice can be most meaningful if you recognize your right—yes, your obligation—to obtain accurate medical information. Often it is wise to get a second opinion. Inquire as to the various ways in which a medical problem can be treated, and the potential risks and benefits of each therapy. Then, knowing the risk/benefit ratio, you can make the informed medical decision. The law establishes that you have that right. God and your conscience say that you have that obligation.
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  snare&racket

  Just to do a good deed for the day, anyone looking for good medical advice, I always send my patients to

  www.patient.co.uk

  Doctor's use it regularly too.
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  eyeuse2badub

  At least we know where not to go for medical advice and for that matter any TRUE spiritual advice!
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  BluesBrother

  I wonder if this might be relevant ?: WT Dec 15 1994 p20

  20 There are, of course, other ways in which Christians might be ‘deluded with persuasive arguments’ or empty deceptions that interfere with ‘being harmoniously joined in love.’ The office of the Watch Tower Society in Germany wrote: “One case led to controversy, publishers and even elders taking sides over types of therapy employed by a brother.” They added: “Because of the wide variety of methods used and the large number of patients, this is an area that is open to controversy and, if therapeutic methods have spiritistic undertones, may invite danger.”—Ephesians 6:12...................

  22 People around the globe are barraged by advertisements and testimonials about all sorts of treatments and means of diagnosis. Some of those are widely used and recognized; others are widely criticized or subject to suspicion. Each person is responsible to determine what he will do concerning his health. But those who accept Paul’s counsel found at Colossians 2:4, 8 will have protection against being deluded by “persuasive arguments” or “empty deceptions” that lead astray many who, lacking the Kingdom hope, are desperate for relief. Even if a Christian is convinced that a certain treatment seems good for him, he should not promote this in the Christian brotherhood, for it could become a subject of widespread discussion and controversy. He thus can manifest that he highly respects the importance of harmony in the congregation.

  The next Article followed on with " A Health Test For You"

  Such kinesiology is also used in rehabilitative therapy for stroke victims. Most people would understand such treatment...................
  But what of the muscle testing described in the letter at the start of this article? This sort of “kinesiology” has been used in an attempt to find out whether certain foods, herbs, or vitamins might help or harm a person.........................................................................................

  Likely, many who do such muscle testing (kinesiology) would say that their practice differs from what was just described, that no spiritism is involved, or that they do no emotional testing. Nevertheless, is what they do still based on a belief in forces within each human that can be tested or seen only by certain people claiming special powers?

  "Christians do not take such issues lightly. God counseled Israel: “New moon and sabbath, the calling of a convention—I cannot put up with the use of uncanny power along with the solemn assembly.” (Isaiah 1:13) When that nation became apostate, they were ‘practicing divination and looking for omens.’ (2 Kings 17:17; 2 Chronicles 33:1-6) Evidently they sought information by special rites, and then they spoke “what is uncanny.”
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  JustMe2

  Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I wasn't able to find the article by searching the Watchtower Online Library. Perhaps the article is in an older part of the archives.
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  JustMe2

  BluesBrother,

  Thank you for your help. (I saw your post after I put up my last comment.) That sounds like the article I remember. Does it say anything, probably toward the end, about relying on the WBTS for accurate health information? It may have given the impression that the Society's literature was a sufficient source of such info.
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  Finkelstein

  Give a publishing house to bunch of poorly educated zealots and what do you expect ?
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  BluesBrother

  Not specifically - This is how it ends _

  Though Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, Jehovah God’s attitude toward occult practices has not changed. As noted earlier, God commanded the Israelites that “anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer, or one who binds others with a spell” was not to be found among them. “Everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah . . . You should prove yourself faultless with Jehovah.”—Deuteronomy 18:10-13.

  How wise it is, then, for Christians today to keep on “the complete suit of armor from God . . . because we have a wrestling . . . against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places”!—Ephesians 6:11, 12.

  [Footnotes]
  Many people still consult shamans, witch doctors, or similar healers. A shaman is “a priest who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events.” A witch doctor, or shaman, might combine herbs with spiritistic practices (invoking mysterious forces). A careful, loyal Christian would shun such involvement in spiritism, even if it seemed to offer a cure.—2 Corinthians 2:11; Revelation 2:24; 21:8; 22:15.
  This is a general description, but the testing process may vary. For example, a subject may be asked to press his thumb and forefinger together, and the practitioner tries to pull them apart.
  She writes: “How do these seemingly miraculous events take place? . . . The process I use is called laying-on of hands, faith healing or spiritual healing. It is not at all a mysterious process, but very straightforward . . . Everyone has an energy field or aura that surrounds and interpenetrates the physical body. This energy field is intimately associated with health. . . . High Sense Perception is a type of ‘seeing’ in which you perceive apicture in your mind without the use of your normal vision. It is not imagination. It is sometimes referred to as clairvoyance.”

  Have you checked “The Bible’s Viewpoint: Your Choice of Medical Treatment—Does It Matter?” in the January 8, 2001, issue of Awake!
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  JustMe2

  Thank you, again, BluesBrother. Maybe I'm just misremembering the article, or, rather, remembering a part of it that never existed!