This recent study involved 1,800 patients undergoing a similar procedure (heart bypass surgery) and "three Christian groups" who prayed for particular patients, "starting the night before surgery and continuing for two weeks. The volunteers prayed for 'a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications' for specific patients, for whom they were given the first name and first initial of the last name."

 

"The patients, meanwhile, were split into three groups of about 600 apiece: those who knew they were being prayed for, those who were prayed for but only knew it was a possibility, and those who weren't prayed for but were told it was a possibility."

 

If one assumes that the results were not skewed by supernatural causes, the results of the study may say something about the natural (psycho-physical?) effects of a patient's knowledge about being prayed for.  (Ironically, the results suggest the effects of such knowledge are negative, not positive.)  Or, if prayer is conceived of as tapping into some kind of impersonal supernatural force, perhaps the results of the study speak to the question of the efficacy of prayer thus concieved.

 

However, (although I'm no scientist) it seems obvious that the results of the study can say nothing about whether God (as traditionally conceived) performs miracles as a result of prayer.  Assuming God knows about the study, God could just decide not to cooperate with the researchers.  You can't do a controlled study about God's activity because you never know to what extent God's activity may have been affected by the study itself.

 

Unless . . . God does not know about the study.

 

It would be interesting to see a retro-study of random past patients and results where it could be determined who was and was not prayed for (assuming that God couldn't retroactively interfere with the results).  Of course, such a study would only be logically possible if the open view is correct (i.e., at the time the prayers were offered, God wouldn't have known that the study would take place.)  In any event, it might be impossible to retroactively verify the data necessary to perform such a study.  As I said, I'm no scientist.

Post Edited (JET) : 3/30/2006 3:34:35 PM (GMT-6)