Does God cure (2)

Here comes the reply.

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親愛的James：

多謝你也來信問及禱告和醫治。事實上，近年來有不少人在佈道會中分享他們禱告醫治的經歷。可是，我們如何得知，上帝聽到我們的禱告，便醫治我們呢？是不是我們禱告，祂就必定會醫治我們呢？那些終身傷健人士就怎麼辦？這都是值得思考的問題，也謝謝你提出來一起討論。我欣賞你對禱告的認真態度，不願意盲目地禱告，而我更欣賞你願意跟上帝建立一份緊密的關係。我相信，祂是知道你這份心意的，而且祂也會覺得很高興。

請讓我先分享聖經對禱告醫治事蹟的一些記載。雖然上帝可能會透過不同的方法去醫治我們的傷患，但正如聖經記載，祂亦可能要求我們勇敢地面對疾病和死亡。例如祂回應猶大王希西家的禱告，治好他的重病和加增他十五年的壽數（列王記下二十章1~11）。然而，祂卻對沒有醫治使徒保羅身上的「刺」（儘管為此事，保羅曾經三次祈求過上主，見哥林多後書十二章1~10），只對保羅說；「我的恩典夠你用，因為我的能力是在人的軟弱上顯得完全。」（林後十二章9）

同是向同一位深愛著我們的上帝祈禱，希西家和保羅卻有不同的經歷，我想原因在於上帝給予他們的是不同的人生計劃。由於上帝不一定會在我們禱告以後就醫治我們，而兩個表面上相似的人，背後的人生前設也不盡相同，很難判斷兩個「被實驗」的人相關的條件是不是相同，所以我們很難單靠對照實驗（controlled experiment）和分析實驗數據，看看上帝有沒有回應我們的禱告和醫治我們，來推敲祂是否真實。

另一方面，上帝是如何醫治我們的病患呢？普遍人認為，當上帝醫治我們的疾病的時候，「神蹟奇事」必然會發生。普遍人更認為，基督徒見證的「神蹟奇事」必然違反自然定律之事，因而並不可能發生。事實上，早於十八世紀中，英國哲學家休謨（David, Hume，1711-1776）已經提出「自然定律」（natural laws）這觀點。這觀點亦得到部份邏輯實証主義（logical positivism）學者的認同。

可是，從聖經對神蹟的描述來看，神蹟並不一定是什麼「違反自然定律之事」。當然，有時上帝會容讓一些十分奇妙和難以解釋的事情發生，甚至是超過我們所理解的「自然定律」，使人無法否認這是上帝奇妙的作為（例如耶穌叫死人復活），而這亦是奧古斯丁（Augustine）的理解；但祂亦可以透過人類社會的醫療科技，叫我們的病患得痊癒。因為上帝是萬有的主，能夠透過一切的方法，成就祂的旨意。而有時，疾病只是整件事的佈景，上帝更關心的往往是人患病以後，對上帝的看法有沒有改變？對身邊的人事物、對世界的看法有沒有改變？是否更貼近生命的主的心腸？

當然，基督信仰的核心並不單單在於疾病得醫治。因耶穌基督的死和復活，凡相信祂的人都會在將要來的新天新地裡得到永遠的醫治，即是一種針對罪和死亡的醫治。說到這裡，這讓我想起耶穌基督在客西馬尼園的禱告：「然而，不要照我的意思，只要照祢的意思。」（太二十六章39）為了我們的過犯，耶穌基督獻上愛和順服至死的禱告，清楚展示出禱告並不在於實現我們的意願；相反，藉著禱告，我們學習倚靠和跟從上帝，實踐祂的旨意。盼望你能在理智和情感的交織中，藉著禱告，更明暸上帝的心意，跟祂建立一份緊密而深厚的關係。


Q師傅 上


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Does God cure?

Well I guess most of you have heard of Breakthrough - the Christian NGO which devotes itself for teenage work. I am quite a personal fan of theirs, and some months ago I posted a theological question on their website, I didn't hope for a reply, but then, though late, here it was posted on their wall.

This is what I asked, I shall post their reply in the next post.

And you can see the original post here:
http://www.uzone21.com/umentor/display.ctrl?letterBoxId=6325

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Nowadays, we Christians quite often pray for something and wish God to make it true. In particular I want to focus on the point - "pray for cure".

Not uncommonly we heard stories of Christians claiming that God has cured his/her diseases and now become healthy again. Yes indeed the disease was cured, but can we attribute the cure to God's action?

I have two disturbing questions.

1) In fact, we can perform Randomised Control Trials (this is how effacacy of new drugs are tested) to examine God's action on disease. One patient group with nothing + Another group with others praying for them (which they don't know), then we observe for any change in disease outcome, quite scientifically. I can postulate that the results would be similar in two groups. If so, what can we say?

2) Seems the testimonies at church always focus on 內科 diseases (like cancer, pneumonia), does anyone dare to pray for a person with amputation? I can bet on my life that the amputated leg will never grow again no matter how hard we pray. Some try to explain by that God would act against the natural laws he set, but reversing a growing cancer is so much beyond natural laws too - just that we can't see it. How can we explain our faith in believing God will cure cancer, but at the the same time seeing a never-healed-amputee?

* I hate it when christians answer by saying "we cannot examine God". Yes I agree, but if God is actually doing something, by no way He could escape (and I believe He doesn't need to) from the experimental trials, because we are just showing the reality from statistics.

Thank you very much for your reply, I do not aim to challenge, but I really wish I can pray without blind faith, and get a closer relationship to God, both rationally and mentally.

Regards,
James


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(To be continued)

暗戰 - The criminal wisdom

Oh yes I am back!

I must say that the final MB was like a marathon - you keep running running and running and seemed the race would never end. Finally we made it - and luckily unlike the poor Pheidippides I survived! Why dont we start again by sharing an old classy local film in 1999, 「暗戰」 by 杜琪峰.



Indeed, somehow I missed this wonderful piece throughout all these years, only when my old friends and I enjoyed the its extension 「暗戰II」 while camping in Cheung Chau, I started to realise.

Watching the 1999 production, I had a strong sense of deja vu, and yes it felt like going back to the night in Mongkok, where 林雪 missed his gun - you may know what I mean - another 杜琪峰's masterpiece by P.T.U. The groove of plot was running so smooth that I don't even feel the hours until it ended.

The scent of black humour and the phenomenal use of dissociative background music was so To-ish. I love the characteristic beauty in filming, as well as the criminal wisdom demonstrated. I would say it is pretty much like the Asian version of the Ocean's series, with 劉青雲 & 劉德華 replacing Brat Pitt & George Clooney.

Well, I am somehow inclined to movies of this kind, as my friend Jerry has once said to me:
"James, if you were not a doctor-to-be, you must turn out to be a mischievous brainy criminal."

Haha, I can't agree more!

Final!

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*Dear all

I apologize for the infrequent updates, I am about to have my final exam (finally) very soon, and I shall really focus on my studies in the subsequent weeks, and I promise after this short pause I shall re-vitalise this blog and continue till my days as a doctor! Back in few weeks time!

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The Watchman, World and Bigbang (1)

Phew finally got a half-day off after the stuporizing anaesthesia module, I must say my mind has changed towards this seemingly-boring specialty, it wasnt that bad as such, and the beauty of human physiology was enlightening, still I prefer seeing awake patients than putting them asleep every day.

Probably stimulated by the two-week intensive basic biophysic course, I (unbelievably) spent my day standing in The Commercial Press, reading a short book on - you might not believe either - the Big Bang theory.

And yes, as a science student filled with blood and flesh in the past 5 years, I had a hard time in it.

What arouses my interest in this well-discussed topic was my recent work on the doctrine of creation. Let me elaborate.

For centuries philosophers and scientists are troubled, if not put off, by the problem of how this world started - or was there ever a beginning at all. Walking along the track of Theism, there was an old arguement named - The Watchmaker analogy - as a teleological arguement for God's presence:

"When you see a watch, seeing its complex design, you immediately linked its origin to a designer. And as with the orderly complicated world we are living it - it necessitate an intellegent creator."

Many forms of similar analogies are used by Christians like me in sharing the gospel.
"You see a blue bright sky, you know it does not exist by itself by with a creator."
"Look! How beautiful the nature is! How can you not believe there is a God above us?"

But on a second thought, there is a huge trick behind.
One can easily ask:
"Well, alright. Your God has to be more complex and intelligent than us to have created us, then you tell me with your proof, shouldn't there be another SUPER-GOD who is even-more intelligient to have created your intelligient God beforehand?"

And that's exactly the reason why I stopped using the quotes above when sharing Christianity with non-Christians; to me they are true praises voiced out from heart, but it isn't appropriate to use it as a proof outside the paradigm of Theism. But then, I can't help ask myself - ummm if I were to believe there is a more complex being to be everlasting who has created us, why don't I simply bring in a little less faith and believe the world we are living in is everlasting?


(To be continued...)

Billionaires

I am amused by the recent newspaper headlines.

I won't deny, going through personal life of billionaires is entirely entertaining; from the stunning Fengshui probate to the soap opera from Royal family of Republic of Gamble, moving on to oversea triplets from donated ovum, and now, the breakup of the century. Sometimes reading through the papers is like flipping over a novel (or fiction if you wish), on a second thought - all these have definitely zero impact on our lives, why go headlines?

Oh, of course it is $$.
But then, why we all like gossiping their lives?

The speculated psychology goes like this.

Deep down in the heart of we Hong Konger are all jealous, if not envious, of the power, status and cash of all those billionaires. So, as Freud pointed out, our inner inclination transposed into seeing the miserable part of theirs. Indeed I have never read a headline reading "XXX happily got married." or "XXX generously donated for charity". Turning personal matters into public topic, arouse our interest, and as the discussion goes on and on, we are all glad to sit with popcorns in hand.

As a well-said phrase goes: Nowsdays, 娛樂新聞化，新聞娛樂化。

Yes I won't deny, I quite enjoy reading them - but well I know - it is pathological.


P.S.
Billionaire - Travis McCoy featuring Bruno Mars.

127 Hours - the triumphing

Ok, this year my Valentine's Day was sweet and lovely. Nothing's better than spending a whole day with the love in your life, having a nice European Sunday Brunch together, and then took a walk along streets on Tsim Sha Tsui, held hands under the big screen in the new The One shopping mall, and finish with bowls of yummy Japanese noodles.

Last year our pick was The Valentines - a film full of love and warmth.

Surprisingly, in this day of love, Landico went for the emotionally-demanding 127 Hours, by the director of Slumdog Billionaire. Initially I questioned myself whether I should really book the seats in this special day. But on the aftermath, well, it is not a bad idea to break the conventional theme of Valentine's day, and experience the tense will of living with her, through a simple yet overwhelming powerful movie of the year.

---- [SPOILER warning: don't read further if you are going to watch!] ----

In fact, long before the filming work started, I have came across the shocking story of Aron Ralston, the all-alone hiker who've been trapped by a huge falling rock, pinning his forearm sealed with the sidewall, who spent a whole 5 days trying desparately to excape - but failed - and at the end, the strong will for life made him amputating his own arm, all by a short knife with 2.5cm blade, and now continuing his life as a sport trainer, a famous sport trainer.

I was so much curious about the story part - we all know its gonna be a one-man show with known ending, so I anticipated borebom as we entered. But I turned out to be so wrong.

Aron got stuck within 10 minutes from the start, and maybe I am being too empathetic, I almost put myself in the same desparacy he was facing - seeing the bottle of water running out bit by bit, eyes and lips went scaly and dry, mind went delirious and hopeless - but there were someone in life that keep the strong will to live. The strong emotion built up step by step, and I can't help ask myself: do I have the gut to make it?

Prompted by all the powerful emotions, the amputating scene came. Of course Landico was holding her hands on eyes (as almost half the audience did); over-estimating my medical experience, I kept them open and watched...

It is hard to explain. Watching the flesh, tendons and blood being chipped inch by inch, I almost FELT the same pain going-on on my forearm. This experience is so much different (I dont even want to make this comparison) with the bloody meaningless but horrifying scenes in Saw, I never fear about blood, but when having put myself into the character, the pain is excruciating. On one hand I wish so badly to escape, but on the other hand I got to finish vividly the stabs and cuts, I would indeed go mad if it was me.

James Franco played it so real that I started to sweat and got lightheaded when he puckled the last nerve he encounter. With the intense sound effect, right after he finished the job, I (for true) went blackout for a second or so - in the sitting position, yes, a genuine vasovagal attack.

The point is, the film in fact placed only a short focus on the very scene I just described. What makes the final shot such heart-pumping is the great job done on staging the inner emotion in the first hour. In fact, since the Cast Away played by Tom Hanks in 2000, 172 Hours is the second one-man film that I found strikingly well-played.

Stepping out the threatre, I hold her hands tight. Feeling the warmth from her palm, I feel grateful for what I have.

P.S. Here is the real Aron Rouston interview done years ago, it is amazing to hear his first person story, on what had happened in the 5 days within the slit of stones - all combatting alone. Watching it I realised, the film hasn't exaggerate anything, if not undertelling the story.