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stated before that faith and suffering is inextricably linked. The statement is an adaptationof the definition of faith of the Council of Chalcedon (Gaunton 1997) and sets out the URCbelief in faith, the gift of Holy Spirit, the Sacraments for Christian life. COGIC uses almostthe same statement of Faith for those who come into membership by transfer or baptism.During baptism classes the statement is used by both churches but members may not revisitthe statement unless they are present when new members are received into the church. Thestatement of faith makes no direct reference to healing although there is reference to thegift of the spirit. If the gift of the Spirit includes the gift of healing, then it is inherent thatthe statement of faith is also a statement on healing and suffering. Their statement of faithunderpins the belief of each congregation in the way they practise spiritual healing and isexplored in more depth by members from both churches who undertake courses to increasetheir understanding of the Christian doctrine.The extract below, from respondent 2, comments on the use of passive and active faith, thegift of faith and a belief in the distinction between having faith or not having faith. Thisrespondent compartmentalizes faith and healing „gifts of healing I will come to in amoment‘, for the purpose of clarity although the issues of faith and healing are closelyinterlinked. Faith is being promoted as evidenced even when the evidence is not obvious.The message of knowledge, not the knowledge of man‘s learning but the knowledge of God,which knows what to pray for the person at that time. the gift of faith, not the faith ofsalvation, but a sudden certainty in the circumstance and knowing what is being asked forwill be actually given, and also receiving a word for that person during the illness whichmay carry them through that illness.Gifts of healing, I will come to in a moment.197
What I teach on this matter is, that you should never dump on people that they do not havefaith and neither should you dump on yourself that you don‘t have faith. You should get onwith praying for them.Now in Romans 12, Paul tells the Christian to make a sober judgment of themselves basedon the amount of faith that they have. One of the things that this means is the amount ofpower within them and if you study carefully the way the gifts of miraculous powers areoperated you will find that there is a relationship between power and what resides in theperson‘s body.Healing, where there is no direct spiritual approach usually involves some kind of faithapproach where the person seeking healing has faith in the medication or the healthprofessional‟s ability to help them towards recovery from perceived suffering.Faith-healing is heavily criticized by some non-believers and some believers, whilstadvocating their own religious healing, criticize that of other faith practices as superstitiousand idolatrous. This makes it difficult to position healing and suffering in the context offaith. Most believers also hold that there are undoubtedly false teachings on faith healingand this may vary in severity from group to group and from individual to individual. Manypeople attribute sickness to demonic forces and rely on activities such as exorcism as a toolof faith healing. Others blame sickness on failure to believe or on sin and others makeclaims as healers for financial reward, which is criticised as Throughout Jesus‟ life on earthin the flesh there was never any recording of a request for financial contribution for thehealing work that He did and what He taught his disciples. Understanding these critiquesfrom within, and the way in which criteria of authenticity or acceptability were establishedis crucial to co-operation with faith communities.198
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Greenwich Academic Literature Archi
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AcknowledgementsI extend much grati
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Chapter 3: Methodology 633.1 Introd
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7.3 Prayer as Health Seeking Behavi
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CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
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healing, bricolage and the use of s
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To remedy these gaps in the discour
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do with me‟ so she sent me to sch
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Interestingly, after 30 years of pr
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listening to a group of people that
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that I felt within the Black majori
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Chapter 3 describes the methodology
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espondents‟ perception of sufferi
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CHAPTER TWOLITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Int
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themes, it became necessary to revi
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suggests a combined approach where
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and healing as a kind of self-impro
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eports that the English believed th
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According to Davey et al (2002) ill
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deviant behaviour. The difference b
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church concretised the ideas of rel
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theology. It is no accident that th
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concept of culture we inevitably do
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When we look at the effect of cultu
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to help us to understand the totali
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information about the association a
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when emotional wounds are healed or
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climatic conditions, shelter and a
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cancers has been documented by Phil
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concepts of reality and destiny are
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healer intentionally through a proc
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attachments that meet humans' funda
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distinguish from mental disorders.
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take a phenomenological and ethnogr
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coming but her method is not primar
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from posters on the church notice b
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Healing services in both churches f
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Qualitative method can, however, be
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3.5 Problems of participant and non
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difficulties that were to be presen
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isolating experience was certainly
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not necessarily addressed through t
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It may not be possible for all the
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signed to their awareness and appro
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Consequently the practice relating
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problem free. Ethnography requires
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ecommended by the Pastor. When they
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The greater proportion of females i
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difficulties involved in constructi
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musical Pentecostal style of worshi
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The different emphases in soteriolo
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literature may remain in its infanc
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does not mean „Pentecostal‟ nor
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church, the cultural differences we
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umbrella of churches. The leaders c
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local autonomy, the majority of Con
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The post-1905 Pentecostals saw thei
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the Holy Ghost). Interestingly the
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the churches they are busy breaking
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friends started to meet in the home
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such as COGIC, have developed a str
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the church group to strangers. In t
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and illustrate the oral tradition o
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4.8.1. Description of the inside of
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The order of service below is based
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forgiving note may signify partial
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Table 3 Organisational hierarchy of
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One of the original churches which
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communion table. To the right of th
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Minister used an acronym to illustr
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GloriaPrayer for grace or collectSc
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service whilst URC church attendees
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mainstream Christianity, their doct
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on the project and make requests to
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made to integrate the white people
Page 155 and 156: ‗Garlic is good for reducing high
Page 157 and 158: 4.13 ConclusionThis chapter began w
Page 159 and 160: organization. This role can only be
Page 161 and 162: 5.3 The Authority and Power of the
Page 163 and 164: to become approved (professional) m
Page 165 and 166: majority. In recent years with Brit
Page 167 and 168: leadership although it is about aut
Page 169 and 170: Azusa Street outpouring in 1906. Af
Page 171 and 172: other who wal sorderly, and not of
Page 173 and 174: Although the Holy Spirit was presen
Page 175 and 176: Respondent 3 covered topics includi
Page 177 and 178: Respondent 10 (below) has similar v
Page 179 and 180: of rejection by the host community
Page 181 and 182: ehaviour model. In this situation,
Page 183 and 184: and they feel. It is not everybody
Page 185 and 186: many sections of society. It also s
Page 187 and 188: people. These qualities, however, a
Page 189 and 190: came across as though he was presen
Page 191 and 192: very important for this.On occasion
Page 193 and 194: CHAPTER SIXSUFFERING AND HEALING6.1
Page 195 and 196: mind body and spirit implies that i
Page 197 and 198: suffering. Most of these situations
Page 199 and 200: Respondent: Not for my sister she h
Page 201 and 202: man to repent and return to the cre
Page 203 and 204: clotting treatment. After the treat
Page 205: gift of miraculous powers go with t
Page 209 and 210: The bible does not condemn, forbid
Page 211 and 212: possibility of impending change in
Page 213 and 214: prayer or they are rested. What is
Page 215 and 216: „Whatever the educational attainm
Page 217 and 218: „The message of Job is a comfort
Page 219 and 220: he has questioned God‟s purposes
Page 221 and 222: pray for them. In the words of seve
Page 223 and 224: demonic forces. Explanations of spi
Page 225 and 226: In the observation example quoted a
Page 227 and 228: employed by the mother had she live
Page 229 and 230: healing. Worthington et al. (2007)
Page 231 and 232: in the account of a young mother in
Page 233 and 234: y not having a normal relationship
Page 235 and 236: and not related to any one cultural
Page 237 and 238: prayer to ma e me better‟, as tho
Page 239 and 240: Non-academic, or „popular‟ Chri
Page 241 and 242: when the healer petitions God in pr
Page 243 and 244: health and the ways in which hospit
Page 245 and 246: showing lethargy in praying, failin
Page 247 and 248: know when you have stomach ulcer yo
Page 249 and 250: ministers like Harris (2002) 3 . Th
Page 251 and 252: Healing services in the URC are mor
Page 253 and 254: Respondent: You have to have the gi
Page 255 and 256: psychological effect of knowing her
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Chapter 2, without taking some posi
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Prayer for distant healing takes pl
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Although prayers for healing are sa
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The healing services also include f
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The method and processes of closing
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7.7. ConclusionThis chapter has exa
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This chapter was born out of observ
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website (http://www.stonybrookmedic
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For those who reject traditional Ch
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hands on the forehead of each perso
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The minister also invited the rest
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service closed with silence accompa
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In this respondent‟s‟ account,
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Below are brief parts of extracts p
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service was when the speaker came t
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observed believed the aura of the h
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Ministers/healers of these two cong
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constituent of worship even where t
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to herself, and argues that music h
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could not read or write. Such music
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linking the psychic/mythological an
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group coordination through rhythmo-
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People can become so involved in a
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visual and auditory areas which act
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Campbell (1998) argue that as music
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The extracts from fieldwork notes b
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In COGIC the singing is accompanied
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when I was ill. Then my mum died th
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The passage cited from Respondent 1
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CHAPTER TENCONCLUSION AND RECOMMEND
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etween health professionals and chu
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The initial aim of the study: „to
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part of worship services a priority
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health professionals and spiritual
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are culturally conditioned rational
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professionals. Despite the differen
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prominent amongst people who attend
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ReferencesAchterberg, J., (1985) Im
Page 333 and 334:
Bentham, J., (2001ff, originally 18
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Department of Health, (1999) Saving
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Hall, S., (1985) “Religious Ideol
Page 339 and 340:
Katz, J. J., (1990) Metaphysics of
Page 341 and 342:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/artic
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Pullar, P., (1988) Spiritual and La
Page 345 and 346:
Comparative Perspective, Berg, Oxfo
Page 347 and 348:
International, London and New York.
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