One problem I always find is that for the millions of people who die from cancer and the number of those that pray for a miracle, the success rate of miracles is so low that the odds of a miracle and the odds of someone eventually surviving who happened to pray become 100%.

Wow. God cured a Catholic by prayer. Considering that there are a billion Catholics in the world, that means that prayer is effective once in a billion times or so.

That's such a phenomenal record.

Cancer was invented by Chuck Norris because he got tired of killing people.

If you read the article you would realize that they are saying a SINGLE nun cured this woman in Australia, not the power of millions of people praying.

there's a church near me that advertises faith healings. i've never inquired about whether they offer a money back guarantee.

good suit her up and roll her out - we've got millions of sufferers who are willing to be cured and converted.

unless she's selfish or something...

arentol: If you read the article you would realize that they are saying a SINGLE nun cured this woman in Australia, not the power of millions of people praying.

Don't quibble over details: a miracle is a miracle.

"The Vatican has launched a judicial inquiry into the case of an Australian woman who claims to have been cured of inoperable lung cancer in 1993 through the intercession of saint-in-waiting Mary MacKillop.

Two doctors will examine the case for evidence of a second miracle needed for sainthood."

Courts are deciding miracles now? What's next, elections?

i thought cancer was a part of chuck norris that is in all of us that has the urge to multiply and destroy...

Everybody gets one.

GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU: Courts are deciding miracles now? What's next, elections?

Yeah, right. No respectable democracy on Earth would do that.

i love this s***, some supposedly divine force intervenes to cure the cancer of some pious nobody. but the gods dont seem to care about earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis killing hundreds of thousands of impoverished people.

perhaps they just were not praying hard enough.

Whether or not what we experienced was an According to Hoyle miracle is insignificant. What is significant is that I felt the touch of Mary MacKillop. Mary MacKillop got involved.

SphericalTime: Wow. God cured a Catholic by prayer. Considering that there are a billion Catholics in the world, that means that prayer is effective once in a billion times or so.

That's such a phenomenal record.

Techincally, according to Catholicism everything that happens without human intervention is the work of god, so the set of natural laws and actions they're effectively worshipping has a much better record than you're implying. Loads of cancers go into natural remission all the time.

But yeah, the saint thing as regards relatively well-precedented natural occurrences should probably be tweaked a bit. Then, people sometimes need gods to curse at, and supplying lesser dieties for them to curse at reduces the incidence of actual blasphemy, so I can see why the church keeps saintifying people.

//Yes, I know the actual word, but "saintify" is far more awesome.

Though I am agnostic with atheist tendencies, I do believe in the power of prayer.

I've had cancer twice, and had a relapse, and I was cured all three times. I was cured by a fark-load of drugs and fark-loads of radiation.

So I'm getting a kick out of these replies...

/Seriously, three times including the relapse
//I have alot of scars and its true
///Chicks dig scars

I guess prayer can work for cancer but it just can't seem to get the job done when it comes to missing limbs.

I want this twits phone #, I have a body full of it, just waiting to improve her status in the eyes of the lord. Ooooh Jebus lift me!!

pnkgtr: I guess prayer can work for cancer but it just can't seem to get the job done when it comes to missing limbs.

God also works through people. He will get humans to help those without limbs. God is love.
/lol

The Josephite nuns say doctors could find no scientific explanation for her recovery.
They are pretty damn sure, however, that it wasn't due to a piece of cloth pinned to her.

krupintupple: good suit her up and roll her out - we've got millions of sufferers who are willing to be cured and converted.

unless she's selfish or something...

People don't generally lead very active lives when they are being considered for sainthood.

Prayer, well, it's still better than doing nothing.

But I kept getting told catholics weren't real christians. Are you saying all those Baptists getting millions of dollars donations from poor followers lied to me?!

Prayer, well, it's still better than doing nothing.

are you sure?

I have a brain tumor that is causing Grand Mal Seizures (Much like T. Kennedy). I think God hates me. It (GOD) certainly didn't reveal itself when I died in December 2006 and was in a coma for six days after being shocked back to life. It didn't help me when I couldn't make my rent and was made homeless. It didn't help me remember when I knew nothing. It certainly didn't bestow helpfulness on behalf of my family.

/sorry to be such a downer

clovis69: I've had cancer twice, and had a relapse, and I was cured all three times. I was cured by a fark-load of drugs and fark-loads of radiation.

So I'm getting a kick out of these replies...

/Seriously, three times including the relapse
//I have alot of scars and its true
///Chicks dig scars

Two bouts for me. I survived because I was so farking angry and was determined to live. Plus a shiat load of drugs and radiation treatments. Some religious type told me that my anger and determination was a form of prayer. I don't know about that.

/6 years, no relapse.

Single White Male: GHOUGHPHTHEIGHTTEEAU: Courts are deciding miracles now? What's next, elections?

Yeah, right. No respectable democracy on Earth would do that.

What's next, sarcasm?

/He used...SARCASM!
//Not obscure

MetalLizard: pnkgtr: I guess prayer can work for cancer but it just can't seem to get the job done when it comes to missing limbs.

God also works through people. He will get humans to help those without limbs. God is love.
/lol

Whenever you hear "act of god", you know it's bad news.

FirstDennis: Not very friendly to put the ASININE tag on someone's religion/lifestyle.

-5 points for submitter and Fark.

I dunno.

+5 points to spite this guy?

What?

CAN'T OUTSMART BULLET?

TF2 TIME

This is like the woman that was cured by Mother Theresa. She prayed to MT, and her cancer was miraculously cured. Also, she received multiple rounds of chemotherapy from doctors. That's a somewhat unrelated tidbit of information though...

Meditation, prayer, positive thinking, whatever. If you have nothing to lose, and are trying everything science has to offer, knock yourself out. Sometimes it does work. The mind is powerful.

On the other hand, to attribute it to Divine Providence is sick and twisted. That a God would cure you and leave others do die for some higher plan means the plan sucks. Any plan that involves pain and suffering when you have the power to avoid pain and suffering means either 1) you don't care 2) you have no power to stop it 3) the plan is constraining you.

Any one of those being true, and you are not a benevolent divinity.

SphericalTime: Wow. God cured a Catholic by prayer. Considering that there are a billion Catholics in the world, that means that prayer is effective once in a billion times or so.

Yes because all billion of us have cancer and 999,999,999 of us are going to die of it. That'll cure the world of Catholics. Idiot.

So what if she feels she got cured by prayer? It's not like there's anybody out there anywhere being denied medicine because they should try praying first. Praying for a cure for cancer is just about the best use for religion there is - hope when things seem hopeless.

Doctor probably messed up, or maybe the test was bad. Or maybe the cancer did disappear.

The bottom line, don't expect much.

PC LOAD LETTER: Any one of those being true, and you are not a benevolent divinity.

Or we're all just spoiled rotten children who call God mean whenever things don't seem 100% fair to us.

FirstDennis: Not very friendly to put the ASININE tag on someone's religion/lifestyle.

-5 points for submitter and Fark.

Shouldn't you be in church learning about your fairy tales this morning?

Batewoman: Or we're all just spoiled rotten children who call God mean whenever things don't seem 100% fair to us.

Death is pretty unfair, I would say.

PC LOAD LETTER: Death is pretty unfair, I would say.

Or it's nothing, in the eyes of God, and just seems unfair to us. The same way broccoli seems unfair to a child who sees his friends getting Snicker's bars.

Batewoman: PC LOAD LETTER: Death is pretty unfair, I would say.

Or it's nothing, in the eyes of God, and just seems unfair to us. The same way broccoli seems unfair to a child who sees his friends getting Snicker's bars.

I wouldn't call it nothing.. but I also wouldn't ever call it unfair.

It takes everyone, you know.

Pain, now that's unfair!

Confirmation bias.

Atheists, very rarely, are diagnosed with a terminal disease and inexplicably recover. The human body remains a bit of a black box. We simply don't run around screaming "PRAZE JEZIS!!!" every time it happens.

I've had several limbs grow back from the power of prayer.

The Josephite nuns say doctors could find no scientific explanation for her recovery.

That's it? The entire article only contains this one sentence regarding whether or not something was a miracle. No interviews with the doctors that treated her? Nothing? That's it??

I was really hoping for more. I know the article was a bit short, but it seemed to assume that this was, in fact, a miracle. Where's the proof? A nameless doctor may or may not have said there was no "scientific explanation" and that the only possibility was a miracle? I doubt that.

Where are the details?

Philo_T_Farnsworth: I was really hoping for more. I know the article was a bit short, but it seemed to assume that this was, in fact, a miracle. Where's the proof? A nameless doctor may or may not have said there was no "scientific explanation" and that the only possibility was a miracle? I doubt that.

Actually, it doesn't. The article is about the now opening investigation into whether or not this is a miracle and lists one possible evidence in its favor.

Wait, you need to do TWO miracles to be a saint? One just ain't enough somehow? That seriously does not seem fair.

"Hallelujah! The power of Christ has, through me, saved these orphaned children from a burning building when all the firefighting know-how in the world couldn't do the trick!"
"Awesome, get back to us when you do it again."

To all of you with cancer, may you experience one of those one-in-a-billion statistical blips. I know it doesn't sound as good as "I'm praying for you" but it's the best this godless heathen can offer.

Batewoman: PC LOAD LETTER: Any one of those being true, and you are not a benevolent divinity.

Or we're all just spoiled rotten children who call God mean whenever things don't seem 100% fair to us.

God is mean and cruel. How can anyone question that?

Helen_Arigby: Wait, you need to do TWO miracles to be a saint? One just ain't enough somehow? That seriously does not seem fair.

Actually, I think you need three.

Batewoman: PC LOAD LETTER: Death is pretty unfair, I would say.

Or it's nothing, in the eyes of God, and just seems unfair to us. The same way broccoli seems unfair to a child who sees his friends getting Snicker's bars.

When you hear "act of god", do you expect good news, or bad news?

Not Bob: Though I am agnostic with atheist tendencies, I do believe in the power of prayer.

No reason why you shouldn't; the placebo effect is amply documented.

PC LOAD LETTER: Batewoman: Or we're all just spoiled rotten children who call God mean whenever things don't seem 100% fair to us.

Death is pretty unfair, I would say.

Nature does not recognize this word "fair" of which you speak.