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1. Does going to the doctor about a medical ailment show a lack of faith in God's power to heal?
I wrote the following in the Religion Forum [link] on Compuserve in response to a claim that greater faith would allow one to stay away from medical care and just trust God for healing.
I want to disagree with you respectfully but very, very deeply. I absolutely affirm God's healing power, including present healing in answer to prayer. I don't share your desire to demonstrate such things, possibly because I *don't* believe it's appropriate to neglect available medical treatment in favor of prayer. Nonetheless I do know of a number of cases in which documentation did exist at one time, but even so it would be impossible to prove a miracle, as there are always alternative explanations.
Before I explain my concerns, let me mention that I learned a great deal on this subject from my father who was an MD. With my RN mother, they spent many years in overseas and in the US and Canada providing treatment in remote and underserved areas. My father believed in prayer and prayed with every patient, before every procedure (provided he had permission) and also prayed with them each day on rounds. He was also fanatical about continuing education and keeping on top of his science, even in the days before he had CE unit requirements. As a teenager I asked him since he prayed over every patient, and tried to apply the best science he knew, how he knew whether God healed the patient or if it was the medicine. He said, "God always heals; sometimes he uses my medicine."
And that leads to my two major concerns with what you have said. First, I cannot accept the notion of less or more faith being involved in whether one seeks medical care or not. In fact, I can see a distinct *unfaithfulness* in rejecting a path of healing that is available (and if it's available, I would suggest God made it available). I don't mean taking every hare-brained alternative option nor do I mean going for every experimental procedure, but when there is a path open for a reasonable person, I would suggest it's not obedient to God to deny his natural laws by rejecting it.
Second, the more/less faith option makes healing the reward of works, but more importantly, can make a lack of healing result from one's lack of faith. I know of people who have had serious guilt placed on them by pastors teaching just such a theology. "If you had enough faith, your ______ would be healed." And yes, I know of cases in which fully trained preachers, educated in accredited seminaries and ordained in denominations of substantial size have said just such things to people. That's why your words concern me.
I'd suggest more of a trust approach. We pray. We believe God is healer. We use all the means God has provided. We know the world is not perfect. Some are healed (by whatever means) some are not.
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