Does God heal amputees?

[lorriman]

Hi,

I know this is quite a common objection to healings, but I don't ask it as an angry atheist, because I am genuinely wanting a good answer.

I don't want to be too presumptuous about a 'good' answer, but I have an answer that satisfies me.

I've noticed that effectively what God heals is disease or malformation (like congenital blindness). He heals what is already there. Let's say a person was blind because of a lack of a cornea. It's arguable that he wouldn't heal such a person.

In the meantime, the body may be seen by God as an integrated whole. So if a part is removed and permitted to die off: that's the end of that. God has promised to give us new bodies at the resurrection, but if we lose it or parts of it in this life, we'll just have to wait. What I'm suggesting here is that there is some underlying reality of the human spiritualised body ('integrated whole') that means that it doesn't make sense for God to regenerate limbs. What that is, I don't know.

Now, for an atheist, I imagine that my side-stepping answer is not satisfying. But note that at least there is a distinction between diseased and lost parts. That means that it's qualititively not the same kind of 'healing'. That opens this issue to 'stuff that god hasn't told us about'. And there's a lot of that and it's on that basis that God gives us opportunities to trust in him, which is a fundamental work of worship. So it's not correct of 'Why Won't God heal Amputees' website to claim that God is being capricious.

(Of course, such an answer may be enough for a Christian for another reason which is that after all, if we have real faith then we personally know God, so we know there is an answer even if we have to wait until death for it. We know that God must have a decent reason for not doing it. When I say 'real faith' I don't mean the atheist redefinition of faith "Belief without evidence" which is practically the opposite of what we mean by faith.)

So there is one outstanding question: if Jesus says that God will do anything for us if we ask in Jesus's name, then where are the healed amputees? Well, it's worth pointing out that while Jesus often doesn't qualify his statements in one place, he does in another. But even putting aside that, whatever we ask must make sense. We can't ask of him a nonsense, to put it more obviously. If it doesn't make sense then God isn't going to do it because logically we aren't really asking for anything. Did Jesus say that? No, but in talking to the apostles and the common folk he wasn't attempting a fully qualified and consequently long-winded philosophical discourse suited to a doctrate dissertation. He rather depended on their good sense to realise the obvious. And he's also left his representatives guided by the Holy Spirit to work out the details for future generations if they really need them.

 

[graceandpeace]

I don't have an answer.

God calls His Church to set things right in the world. One practical thing we should be doing is bringing tangible "healing" when possible to others, in the form of medications or surgeries - or even a cup of fresh water or a loaf of bread to those in need. And we hope in the day when God will intervene & all pain, suffering, & death will cease. We hope in resurrection.

 

[TheyCallMeDavid]

Hi,

I know this is quite a common objection to healings, but I don't ask it as an angry atheist, because I am genuinely wanting a good answer.

I have heard of many people being healed, people being raised from the dead, even somewhat know or seen people who have claimed to be healed, but in all the cases there never seems to be a healing where something very obviously impossible has happened. I have heard of blind and deaf people being healed, but without a doctor who knew the previous reason for the condition it isn't possible to know if the healing was a healing or a very powerful placebo.

So why arn't people such as amputees healed, where in a short amount of time an arm or leg is grown? All you would need is one of these caught on camera and it would be one most important things ever to happen.

I am happy to hear any answer, even if it sounds 'religious', as long as it is a well reasoned answer and not simply, Gods ways are mysterious.

Thanks

It is possible for God to do this because miracles are possible since the biggest miracle of all has already taken place : An entire Universe coming into existence from nothingness with all kinds of personal, intelligent design effects, and specified information complexity.

God may or may not choose to heal anyone. Sometimes he intercedes into history and performs a real miracle for someone . The greatest human miracle he does is taking a Sinner whos rejected him all their life and turn them into a useful vessel of his by forgiving them of all their many accumulated sins from the person taking advantage of the free gift of Jesus crucified on the cross...a historically verifiable event. What could be better than being taken off of a road that's going to end in a devastating Hell to having eternal life with the very Creator of the Universe who also created our personal Soul ? To be Heirs of God is quite miraculous despite our afflictions, pain, suffering, disappointments for this limited earthly time.

Which is a greater miracle ? : Having a new leg grow back, or, knowing full well based on the promise of God himself that One will be in heaven forever without end experiencing the same things that God himself experiences in his infinite existence which includes by the way, a new Body fit for eternity that never goes wrong, bad, or fails....but lasts forever ?

 

[Almiva]

Can anyone provide independent verification/documentation for any miracle? Specifically Wigglesworth. You say his miracles are 'fully documented'. I would suggest that self documentation doesn't really count.

 

[oi_antz]

So you think there is good evidence for God, but those who don't believe don't believe because they would rather sin than turn to God? How do you think someone turns from wanting to sin to God?

It can only happen if the person is not attracted to the sin. So since the attractiveness of sin depends on a person's sense of taste, if a person who has developed a sense of taste for a sin is going to develop a sense of distaste for it, they will need a change of heart. This is what God will do to a person who desires it (that is a miracle too). Your question is then why someone will choose to ask Him to do that to them (ie, why would someone sacrifice their desire for sin in order to please God). You should know that reason already.

 

[talquin]

Hi,

I know this is quite a common objection to healings, but I don't ask it as an angry atheist, because I am genuinely wanting a good answer.

I have heard of many people being healed, people being raised from the dead, even somewhat know or seen people who have claimed to be healed, but in all the cases there never seems to be a healing where something very obviously impossible has happened. I have heard of blind and deaf people being healed, but without a doctor who knew the previous reason for the condition it isn't possible to know if the healing was a healing or a very powerful placebo.

So why arn't people such as amputees healed, where in a short amount of time an arm or leg is grown? All you would need is one of these caught on camera and it would be one most important things ever to happen.

I am happy to hear any answer, even if it sounds 'religious', as long as it is a well reasoned answer and not simply, Gods ways are mysterious.

Thanks

A better question would be why we don't see deceased people who have been cremated being brought back to life. Whenever someone "visits heaven" and returns, they are always only near death - not actually deceased.

 

[talquin]

An amputee would be easy enough to verify. For instance, on Monday, Dave is missing a right at the knee. The very next day, Tuesday, Dave's friend's and family pray for him. The next day, Wednesday, Dave has a whole and complete leg and foot made of bone, musle, tendon, nerves and blood vessels made up of his own DNA, without the benefit of surgery or medical science.

This is the question presented by the OP. In exploring Christianity, this is indeed a fair question.

It does seem to be that the 'miraculous healings' of medical conditons are often those conditions that have precedence of being self limiting or occasionally spontaneously heal.

I truly would like to understand why a benevolent and loving father creator chooses to heal some afflictions, and seemingly categorically refuses to heal others, such as amputees.

The conditions which are cured or healed through prayer happen to be those for which there is a plausible physiological explanation. This is why we don't see limbs being regenerated as a result of prayer. The reason for this is because prayer doesn't really work and that there is not a god that hears and/or answers our prayers.

 

[oi_antz]

The conditions which are cured or healed through prayer happen to be those for which there is a plausible physiological explanation. This is why we don't see limbs being regenerated as a result of prayer. The reason for this is because prayer doesn't really work and that there is not a god that hears and/or answers our prayers.

This appears to be a false cause.

 

[Stormy]

Op ... I may not have the answer you seek, but i can tell you that your question deeply troubles me.

No.. I do not doubt my faith nor my God. I know that he could replace a leg or an arm. But as far as we know he has not. Neither has he replaced a heart, or a lung, or a kidney.

So there lies my problem. If God does not do replacements... should I have? Was it wrong for me to gift my daughters organs? Are we created to have one body without any replacement parts? In helping others did I .unintentionally act against god.

 

[FreeinChrist]

MOD HAT


Folks, the Exploring Christianity SOP - PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING!! includes this:

We recognize that real seekers are looking for real answers, and the first reply given may be insufficient to achieve this. It is acceptable for the Original Poster (OP) to probe the answers given, and to continue the discussion on lines which help to clarify their understanding of the Christian faith. If another non-Christian seeker wishes to ask questions about the Christian faith, they may start their own thread. No more than one non-Christian (the OP) may post in a thread.


In other words, the only non-orthodox Christian allowed to post in this thread is the OP.


I will not at this point remove the posts to clean up the thread, but please keep the guidelines above in mind.

 

[Kingdomlife37]

Hi,

I know this is quite a common objection to healings, but I don't ask it as an angry atheist, because I am genuinely wanting a good answer.

I have heard of many people being healed, people being raised from the dead, even somewhat know or seen people who have claimed to be healed, but in all the cases there never seems to be a healing where something very obviously impossible has happened. I have heard of blind and deaf people being healed, but without a doctor who knew the previous reason for the condition it isn't possible to know if the healing was a healing or a very powerful placebo.

So why arn't people such as amputees healed, where in a short amount of time an arm or leg is grown? All you would need is one of these caught on camera and it would be one most important things ever to happen.

I am happy to hear any answer, even if it sounds 'religious', as long as it is a well reasoned answer and not simply, Gods ways are mysterious.

Thanks

Hey God bless you! This is something I've been praying about and pressing into. I love to capture God's power on film and I film miracles. Seeing amputees healed is something that I'm longing to see. I have met people who have seen amputees healed and have heard many testimonies so I know it's possible.

I went to Randy Clark's Healing School in Redding CA. While I was there, people were getting healed of all kinds of things, metal disolving, broken bones popping back in place. One lady had deformed ankles and couldn't walk that straightened out. While I was there, a couple prayed over me and my wife and they started prophesying about amputees getting healed. Right after that, we went up for prayer and join in with the prayer team praying for a little boy who had lost his fingers. I watched all of his fingers grow a quarter of an inch while she was measuring it. This to me was God saying, you will see this.

I think one of the reasons why it's so uncommon because it would draw alot of attention quick to the person God used to do that. If that person isn't ready, it's easy to get caught up in it and fall. I had a video where I got a word of knowledge about a guy who injured his shoulder. He freaked out and ran away, when he came back, we prayed and his arm was healed, then Jesus healed his friends neck. That was a while ago and it was up on youtube for about a year. One morning, I woke up to hundreds of friend requests, as soon as I accepted them, I had hundreds more. I was confused at what happened. A facebook page with 200k followers posted that video and it got shared over 14,000 times. I honestly wasn't prepared for it. I had a storm of messages asking for prayer, literally around 500 messages, I answered what I could, but I was unable to get to everyone. I even had people finding my number and calling me asking for prayer. It was a stretch because attention can become a distraction. This whole thing is about intimacy with God, not ministry. If ministry takes the place of the simplicity of intimacy with God, it becomes idolatry. I honestly believe that one day, limbs growing back will be caught on camera.

 

[SeaCrickets]

Only Christian lizards regrow miracle limbs.

 

[doomsayer2]

I have heard of many people being healed, people being raised from the dead, even somewhat know or seen people who have claimed to be healed, but in all the cases there never seems to be a healing where something very obviously impossible has happened.

Unfortunately that is how it works in so-called "healing services" whether legit or not. There are even a few more conservative TV preachers I will not name that claim such miracles occur in their services on a regular basis,but of course there is no documented evidence. Guess you're just going to have to find who these people are and attend there church one day.
But it's because of TV preachers that most people think God is only a sensationalist when it comes to miracles,and would very rarely do something as mundane as cure a migraine headache,even though that pain is as bad as almost any of these other conditions. And it's that mindset that keeps most Christians from ever stepping foot inside a hospital or nursing home,since those kind of people are just not important enough to waste there time with. And atheists wonder why WE need a Saviour?!
But if your still curious,there is a certain church in Colorado who's pastor is on TV,and would probably be your best bet in finding this kind of healing to occur. But again,you may have to actually go there in person,seriously.

 

[Messy]

Hi,

I know this is quite a common objection to healings, but I don't ask it as an angry atheist, because I am genuinely wanting a good answer.

I have heard of many people being healed, people being raised from the dead, even somewhat know or seen people who have claimed to be healed, but in all the cases there never seems to be a healing where something very obviously impossible has happened. I have heard of blind and deaf people being healed, but without a doctor who knew the previous reason for the condition it isn't possible to know if the healing was a healing or a very powerful placebo.

So why arn't people such as amputees healed, where in a short amount of time an arm or leg is grown? All you would need is one of these caught on camera and it would be one most important things ever to happen.

I am happy to hear any answer, even if it sounds 'religious', as long as it is a well reasoned answer and not simply, Gods ways are mysterious.

Thanks

I heard that it happened, one girl on a Dutch forum saw two fingers popping out from the man next to her in a service of Guillermo Maldonado. I can't find youtube movies on it, only one from T.B. Joshua with doctor's papers where a woman got a new whomb. The mother of my ex lived in Indonesia when she was a teenager and with the revival there in the sixties she saw new limbs growing she said.
https://onecanhappen.wordpress.com/...ngernails-grew-back-in-1909-seymour-prophesi/

Why they don't happen much now with ordinary believers in the West? Well to be honest if I had it or a family member I would pray but I'm not walking up to my collegue who misses a leg and ask if I can pray for him, because to be honest doubt, unbelief, what if it doesn't happen? Let's wait until someone else does it.