An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

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that does not mention this healing model and process is Luke who was a physician.Spiritual healing by „laying on of hands‟ is not determined by a time factor and passagessuch as James 5 are not specific about a time factor or the method that the elders shoulduse in „laying hands on the sic. There are different approaches to using touch as healingtechniques in spiritual healing, but Lambert (2008) show how much in common thebiblical spiritual healing through laying on of hands appears to have with the definitions oftherapeutic touch in the literature just cited and assert “Proximal Spiritual Healing iscommonly termed Laying on of hands and include therapeutic touch.” Graham (1999)asserts that laying on of hands has similar properties to Reiki and other oriental healingtraditions in that it uses the universal life energy as the formula for healing.Within the bible, healing by the laying on hands is seen uncomplicatedly as miraculous;but we need to ask whether this understanding of “miracles” in biblical texts involves thesame sense of scientific inexplicability as today, when people in the bible did not have thesame understanding of science. Some biblical examples of „miracles‟ using laying on ofhands (touch) for healing are: The woman with the issue of blood in Mark, Peter and Johnat the Gate Beautiful when the man who has been lame from birth was healed andimmediately started to walk (run) in Acts, Elijah, when he raised the dead son of thewidow in 1 Kings and Moses when he stretched out his rod and the dead sea was separatedfor the safe crossing of the Israelites and the destruction of the Egyptians in Exodus 14.These are seen as miraculous happenings that did not involve direct touch. Obviouslyanything at all which happens has proximate physical causes, and equally anything whichhappens, for a Christian happens within the creative will of God, and it is common groundthat phenomena which once seemed inexplicable, such as lightning, are now wellunderstood in terms of proximate physical causes.263
For those who reject traditional Christian discourse, this can mean that lightning can beseen as less, or not at all miraculous, and that all the miracles of the bible should be seen aseither, like lightning, as having normal proximate physical causes or as not to havehappened in the way reported in the bible. For these, the depiction of these “miraculous”events is part of a pre-modern mythological world view that makes assumptions aboutdivine reality and intervention which might no longer be tenable. Some religious peopleover the last couple of centuries have turned this argument on its head, and insist thatgenuine miracles are not just things which are inexplicable right now because we do notnough about God‟s creation, but are necessarily inexplicable except as directinterventions by God without any other proximate cause, physical or otherwise, and whichare supernatural without at the same time being un-natural. Whether the concept ofcreative action, which is outside or beyond the nature of creation, is philosophicallycoherent remain a matter for debate which is beyond the scope of this thesis. Christians andChristian scholarship are thus divided on the question of whether or not miracles havehappened in the past and whether or not they happen today. The issue is not about whetheror not the bible is accepted, but also about how it is interpreted.8.3 The Practice of Laying on of hands or Therapeutic TouchBoth churches practise the laying on of hands for healing according to what they see as abiblical pattern, where the elders are called upon to lay hands on the sick (James 5). Theritual is practiced in the services by the ministers and other appointed healers, approved bythe ministers. Direct touch or laying on of hands was observed as a regular practice. Itresembled the practices recorded in both the clinical literature by observers like Hallett264
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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
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‗Garlic is good for reducing high
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4.13 ConclusionThis chapter began w
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organization. This role can only be
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5.3 The Authority and Power of the
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to become approved (professional) m
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majority. In recent years with Brit
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leadership although it is about aut
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Azusa Street outpouring in 1906. Af
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other who wal sorderly, and not of
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Although the Holy Spirit was presen
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Respondent 3 covered topics includi
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Respondent 10 (below) has similar v
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of rejection by the host community
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ehaviour model. In this situation,
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and they feel. It is not everybody
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many sections of society. It also s
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people. These qualities, however, a
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came across as though he was presen
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very important for this.On occasion
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CHAPTER SIXSUFFERING AND HEALING6.1
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mind body and spirit implies that i
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suffering. Most of these situations
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Respondent: Not for my sister she h
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man to repent and return to the cre
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clotting treatment. After the treat
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gift of miraculous powers go with t
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What I teach on this matter is, tha
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The bible does not condemn, forbid
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possibility of impending change in
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prayer or they are rested. What is
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„Whatever the educational attainm
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„The message of Job is a comfort
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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
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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
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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
Page 257 and 258: Chapter 2, without taking some posi
Page 259 and 260: Prayer for distant healing takes pl
Page 261 and 262: Although prayers for healing are sa
Page 263 and 264: The healing services also include f
Page 265 and 266: The method and processes of closing
Page 267 and 268: 7.7. ConclusionThis chapter has exa
Page 269 and 270: This chapter was born out of observ
Page 271: website (http://www.stonybrookmedic
Page 275 and 276: hands on the forehead of each perso
Page 277 and 278: The minister also invited the rest
Page 279 and 280: service closed with silence accompa
Page 281 and 282: In this respondent‟s‟ account,
Page 283 and 284: Below are brief parts of extracts p
Page 285 and 286: service was when the speaker came t
Page 287 and 288: observed believed the aura of the h
Page 289 and 290: Ministers/healers of these two cong
Page 291 and 292: constituent of worship even where t
Page 293 and 294: to herself, and argues that music h
Page 295 and 296: could not read or write. Such music
Page 297 and 298: linking the psychic/mythological an
Page 299 and 300: group coordination through rhythmo-
Page 301 and 302: People can become so involved in a
Page 303 and 304: visual and auditory areas which act
Page 305 and 306: Campbell (1998) argue that as music
Page 307 and 308: The extracts from fieldwork notes b
Page 309 and 310: In COGIC the singing is accompanied
Page 311 and 312: when I was ill. Then my mum died th
Page 313 and 314: The passage cited from Respondent 1
Page 315 and 316: CHAPTER TENCONCLUSION AND RECOMMEND
Page 317 and 318: etween health professionals and chu
Page 319 and 320: The initial aim of the study: „to
Page 321 and 322: 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
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Bentham, J., (2001ff, originally 18
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Department of Health, (1999) Saving
Page 337 and 338:
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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