JW's & alternative medicine

by slipnslidemaster 68 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  slipnslidemaster

  In one of the threads I read today, they were talking about looking into your eyeballs to diagnose cancer and the like. Also selling herbs.

  My comment and question is this: It seemed like in my congregation and the surrounding ones, alot of the sisters were into Kineseology, Reflexology, herbs, vitamins, color therapy, aroma therapy, etc.

  Alot of touchy feely hippie crap. While I personally agree that there needs to be more synergy with Eastern and Western medicines, it would appear reading the boards that alot of Witnesses are into this sort of stuff.

  Is this your experience? Do you know anyone that is into this stuff? Why so many looking into these alternative treatments and the like if the end is right around the corner?

  Any thoughts?

  My name is Slipnslideius Masterus: commander of the armies of the North, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius...
• 

  RunningMan

  I agree that there is a disproportionate number of JW's who are involved in
  these marginal medical practices. It seems like everyone I know is into something,
  for example: iridology, live blood analysis, ear candling, herbs, vitamins, etc.

  JW's are particularly susceptible to these scams for several reasons:

  1. They are uneducated, thus lacking the knowledge to refute these
  simplistic ideas.

  2. They are gullible, accustomed to accepting ridiculous ideas without
  adequate evidence.

  3. They have an ingrained mistrust of the medical establishment, so
  they naturally look to alternative healers.

  4. They have little or no critical thinking ability, caused by years of
  rote memorization from the Watchtower.

  Many of these medical treatments are nothing more than superstition,
  thinly masked as science - which, when you consider it, is exactly
  the same as their religion.
• 

  You Know

  Probably because we are not really tied to this system of things, we are generally more open to ideas that are considered taboo by the establishment. Also, no doubt because of being aware of the tyrannical nature of the medical system because of our dealings with the medical establishment on the blood issue, some are inclined to look elsewhere in other matters of health as well. / You Know
• 

  LDH

  Running Man,

  I have NEVER HEARD this argument stated so succintly.

  Thank you for putting into words the part about inherit distrust of the medical establishment.

  JWs believe it is all a 'part of the big plot against them.'
• 

  LDH

  ha ha ha, just as I am posting my remarks above, You Know comes in and posts his idiocy which proves my argument.

  the 'Tyrannical Nature' of the Medical Establishment.

  Venice, I need to borrow a laugh. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Will pay later!

  YK, what exactly is your definition "We are not tied to this system of things?"

  Another joke "Not really tied to this system of things" Bull@*#& because I know many JW who:

  Use government assistance
  Take advantage of social programs for the less fortunate

  So exactly what part of the world are you living in YK? Antarctica?!?!
• 

  Mulan

  Good grief you guys are so narrow minded.

  Here is my take on why JW's are so prone to get involved in this kind of thing: Many of these kinds of programs are marketed through network marketing, which is exactly how the witnesses market their religion, so it's familiar to us. We know how to do it, and we have success at it. BUT!! Don't knock something you have no knowledge of and no experience with, just because it sounds weird to you.
  
  Remember we all bought into the JW's for a long time, and wouldn't listen to anything against it. Don't fall into the same trap about traditional medicine vs. alternative methods. And don't say that these people are uneducated. It simply isn't true with many of them.

  I have a lifetime of experience with alternative methods, and I have to agree that some of them are scams, but definitely not all of them are. Many of them work because they attack the cause of illness and not just the symptoms. Would you rather kill the rats, or get rid of the garbage that attracts the rats? Medicine only kills the rats. The reason they are there, is still there, so more rats come back. As to cancer and other serious illnesses, I believe there is room for both, and so do many MD's and other medical practitioners these days.

  Just be careful what you say because you may be letting your ignorance show. And I mean that in a very nice way, everyone. I don't mean that to be an insult to anyone.

  I have an education in this field, as an herbalist, and I recognize the limitations, believe me. When I have an ear infection, I might try some Tea Tree Oil and garlic oil, for the first day or two, but if the pain is bad, believe me I will race to the doctor for a prescription. My father went to school more years than an MD does, and had to pass the exact same State board exams that an MD has to take, to be licensed, and he had an enormous practice in Naturopathic medicine long before it was mainstream. Okay?
• 

  You Know

  Running man, people have been using some of these therapies for thousands of years. Not only that, natural medicine is by far the most widely used healing system in the world. When you consider that China has about one-in-six people on the planet, and that that have succesfully used many of these methods for centuries, it gives you some idea of how brainwashed the average American is. Only Westerners are so ignorant and arrogant so as to discount practices that have stood the test of time to that extent. On the other hand Western druggery is largely an unproven experiment. As an example, because of the indescriminate use of antibiotics, in humans and as a matter of routine in feed cattle, many mircrobes have become immune to them. Some feel that it is only a matter of time before the world gets swept with killer pandemic like what occurred back in 1919 with the Spanish influenza that wiped out 20 million people in a few months. Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind kind of a thing I suppose. / You Know
• 

  Mulan

  Thank you, You Know. Very well put. I meant to say that too, about the long history of what the established medical field calls "alternative medicine". Not too long ago, it was the traditional medicine and the other was alternative. I have traveled throughout Southeast Asia, and in Malaysia, for instance, herbs and acupuncture, and homeopathy, are what they call TRADITIONAL MEDICINE.
  They are a developing nation, to be sure, but in that field, they are right on, in my opinion. It's hard to argue with the success when you know about it. When it's rumor, you can choose not to believe it. Unfortunately, some of the wacko things out there, give the whole thing a bad name.
• 

  VeniceIT

  All I got to say is if it wasn't for Alternative medicine, I'd be dead by now!!!!

  Ven
• 

  larc

  You Know,

  I hate confuse you with facts and your romantic ideas about the ancient wisdom of the Chinese. Fact is, the average life span in China as of 1992 was 71 years. The average life span in the
  U.S. was 76 years, a full five year difference. Similiar high numbers are found in other westernized countries, e.g. the UK, France, Germany, and Norway, while North and South Korea have the same low number as China. So much for oriental wisdom.