7. NO DOCTORS AND MEDICINES PLEASE, WE ARE CHRISTIANS
Allow me to make these statements first:
1) I am a believer in miracle healings, having experienced such healings on myself, and having prayed over others and seeing them healed miraculous, including a 2-year old boy in coma, written-off as a vegetable by the doctors at the UH.
2) I believe in God’s power to cast out demons, having seen the power of God’s word over manifestations
3) I believe God can heal any condition if He wills, i.e. if He wills. He will not heal Paul, even though Paul appealed to him variously. So don't come and tell me that all Christians will be healed if only he has faith. That is a lie.
4) I have the testimony of a late 80+ year old sister in Christ, in whom the Lord grew an by-pass artery to her heart, so that she did not have to go through the angioplasty operation.
5) All medicines are poisons. It is only a matter of degree. Even vitamins taken in large dosage can be poisonous. And poisons also have healing properties – consider arsenic, mercury and snake venom for starters.
6) I am all for holiness teaching, being sanctified and set apart for God; but I am very against wrongful teaching, purportedly to make ourselves more acceptable to God. Pharisees were like that.
The Dilemma
I am pleased to say that not all churches fall into this trap. I believe maybe 1 in a few hundred churches would teach this cultish belief. But having said that, I am sad that few churches ever come out openly to rebut this wrongful teaching with scriptures.
A Christian brethren, a new believer posed to me this new found fear today. He said,
“I overheard a pastor saying that medication has its roots in witchcraft. The Greek word of medication is ‘Pharmakeia’, which means witchcraft, as is translated in the bible. Is it true then that I should not visit doctors anymore? That I cannot take medicines? That I must avoid all herbal cures?”
To which I only need to reply with,
1Co 6:12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.
1Co 10:23 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not.
Simple and powerful truths. The truth sets you free. Pastors in their fervor to create their own branding squeeze verses out of context to find meanings of their own.
{Sigh}. When will authoritative figures of the church stop making silly interpretations of bible verses? In my 10 years as a Christian, I have never heard a pastor expound on the above 2 verses, and I am one who likes to visit all kinds of churches. Pastors seem to dread these 2 verses. These verses stop them from preaching taboos and set believers free to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Pastors don’t seem to believe that the Holy Spirit is capable of teaching believers, neither do they like it; so they usurp the Holy Spirit’s role and dictate their own laws to the believers.
And how good it is that this brother has the good sense to check out whatever he hears.
The Source of the Misinterpretation
Let’s first have a quick look at the word sorcery and its derivatives in the bible.
- Act 8:9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery { G3096 mageuō }, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:
- Act 8:11 And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries { G3095 mageia }.
- Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer { G3097 ‘ma-gos’ }.a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
- Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer { G3097 ‘ma-gos’ }. (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
In these 4 verses, sorcery is translated from mageuo or magos, meaning magic. So we will just leave them out of the discussion. I think magos has more to do with illusions than with witchcraft and idolatry. Some may disagree. But anyway, some magicians would have mixed witchcraft with their illusions anyway.
I believe that it is these following verses which are being taken out of context. Yes, the word pharmakeia does point to sorcery being practiced together with the dispensing of drugs, potions and cures and so the bible has much to say against it:
- Rev 9:21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries {G5331 ‘pharmakeia}, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
- Rev 18:23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries {G5331 ‘pharmakeia} were all nations deceived.
- Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers {G5332 pharmakeus}, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
- Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers {G5333 pharmakos}, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
But when I consider the context of the latter 4 verses as above, I am more inclined to think of witchdoctor-type of treatment and drug abuse, i.e. the use of intoxicating plants to induce trances and hallucinations. I am not inclined to think of conventional medical treatment.
In these 4 verses, we see the derivatives of pharmakon, and the noun pharmakeia is described by the Vines bible dictionary as:
<A-1,Noun,5331,pharmakia[-eia]>
(Eng., "pharmacy," etc.) primarily signified "the use of medicine, drugs, spells;" then, "poisoning;" then, "sorcery," Gal_5:20, RV, "sorcery" (AV, "witchcraft"), mentioned as one of "the works of the flesh." See also Rev_9:21; Rev_18:23. In the Sept., Exo_7:11, Exo_7:22; Exo_8:7, Exo_8:18; Isa_47:9, Isa_47:12. In "sorcery," the use of drugs, whether simple or potent, was generally accompanied by incantations and appeals to occult powers, with the provision of various charms, amulets, etc., professedly designed to keep the applicant or patient from the attention and power of demons, but actually to impress the applicant with the mysterious resources and powers of the sorcerer.
So, by the above we can safely guess that in the olden days, healers mixed potions derived from plants, animals and minerals, and then in addition to dispensing these cures and potions, they would call upon the spirits through chants and spells to either empower their potions, or just to create an air of supernatural power for show.
Doubtless, this kind of action is what the bible calls idolatry and witchcraft. But today, do the pharmacists and pharmaceutical companies today cast spells, dance and ring bells, wave wands over their capsules, tablets and ointments before selling them to you?
Look here, the mere act of dispensing cures and potions surely does not constitute witchcraft. It is the acts of chanting and calling upon the spirits to empower the cures that constitutes witchcraft. Take note that the bible does talk of healers, physicians, cures, balms and ointments without condemning them. Go and check out these verses for yourself:
Physicians and Healers:
Ointments and Balms:
Binding of Wounds:
Use of Herbs for healing:
Vinegar and Myrrh as painkillers:
Wine for stomach ailments:
It is silly of anyone to say that all medicines, including the herbs must not be consumed for fear of pharmakeia. The bible is so clear on the fact that not all dispensing of cures is pharmakeia, and not all healers are sorcerers!
How can a pastor ever ignore these and go on to tell a believer that all kinds of medication is pharmakeia? Are they not preaching against the bible?
Pharmakeia is pharmakeia only because it is practiced with calling on the dark forces through chants and spells. Making ointments and balms and mixing herbs without the involvement of dark forces IS NOT pharmakeia!
What about "Images "
The word pharmakeia has been interpreted as sorcery .... something not godly. In a similar vein, the word images {H4676 matstsêbâh} {H8655 terâphîym} ,{H2553 chammân} {H6754 tseh'-lem} is also linked to idolatry in almost all instances of appearance. Does that not obligate these pastors to preach against all images as being offensive to God, and therefore no Christian should have any photo or sculpture in his possession? Yet these pastors can discern properly in the case of the word image. But they cannot discern properly in the case of the word pharmakeia.
Drugs and Mental Illnesses
I am not a medical doctor. Neither am I trained in psychiatry. I know next to nuts about these subjects. But these I have to say. Many people appear to be mad, talk to themselves, have irrational fears, hate themselves, have certain obsessive habits, and even hear voices. The medical and psychiatric business have given these all kinds of high sounding labels. Their ability to stick a label to any condition is what makes them expert practitioners. Their ability to dispense certain medications to “treat” certain illness is the reason why they are sought out, and paid big bucks.
But there is another side to these so-called "madnesses" – the spiritual side. By putting medical labels on them, we conceal the probability of spiritual forces that cause the condition. The bible tells us that Jesus cast out the demons that caused what appeared to be madness and epilepsy, and people get healed.
So there could be 2 dimensions to the problem – spiritual and physiological. If the cause of the “madness” is spiritual, no drug in the world is going to heal the problem. The drug merely suppresses the behavior of the person so that he appear more controlled. He is drugged, so to speak. He stays “mad”. The drugs can only help if the “madness” is physiological (due to chemical imbalances), and the drug helps to restore the chemical balance in the body.
But God can heal both physiological and spiritual disturbances. So prayer is always encouraged, together with fasting. But God is sovereign. God will have mercy upon whom He will have mercy. He will have compassion upon whom He will have compassion. There is no knowing who God will choose to heal, who he will not. So I am not going to create a PR spin for God. He doesn't need me to.
But if you, having little faith in God, are sure that the condition is a physiological one, and you are also prepared to live with the side effects ( including the $$$$ effect ), addictive effects, etc of the manufactured drug ( for I am sure Pfizer, Zuellig etc certainly did not cast spells over these drugs during the manufacturing process) , then go ahead. Remember that the bible warns in 1Co 10:23 "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." and “all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any”; for when one becomes dependent on it, one has been brought under its power, neither is it expedient and edifying!
So, one should set his heart to fast, and pray and pray and pray, and hope for his mercy.
The Evil of Pharmaceutical Industry
Admittedly, the pharmaceutical industry, driven by greed and the love of money has been promoting drugs that do not really cure. These drugs merely suppress the symptoms. In their greed, they even hide long term negative effects of addiction and destruction to the body systems. Worse yet, these drugs even have mind-altering properties, often long term as with LSD and the likes.
But the issues here are the greed of the manufacturers and the dangers of physical poisoning, addiction and destructive side effects. Is the healing property of the medication an issue if the dangers are absent?
The right thing for pastors to do is to warn believers of the dangers of the lies of the pharmaceutical industry. It would even be correct of pastors to warn people that taking such drugs may cause them to reduce their faith in God’s ability to heal, for people would rather trust man-made products that damage the body system, rather than on God’s healing.
But would it be correct of the pastors to classify taking medicines and seeing doctors to be a sin against God that will lead people to hell? I would think not.
Most businesses, if not all are driven by the profit motive anyway. In the their pursuit of profit, all kinds of trickeries, deceptions, lies and cheating are being perpetrated. Every product advertisement is a lie. Every service slogan is a lie. Do you ever wonder why every brand of soap powder claims it is the most effective? Do you ever wonder why every bank claims it best look after your interests? And that’s for starters. Why don’t these pastors start telling their congregation to stop getting involved in business, to stop working for them? Why don’t these pastors tell their members to stop working for advertising companies?
Business in itself is not wrong. The evil is in the methods they employ to get profits, in their love for money. So too, the problem with the pharmaceutical industry is not the medication, but the lies behind the products they sell.
There is also an argument against pharmaceutical companies being the supporters of Hilter, and that they produce chemicals to kills Jews, and Agent Orange to kills Vietnamese. Hello, my friends, John Calvin, one of early protestant reformers also ordered the drowning of the Anabaptists, so therefore all churches must be condemned. Why are you not doing so? The aircraft companies also produce airplanes to kill and destroy, right? Why are you pastors still flying here and there on jet planes? The steel industry has been producing materials for guns, bombs and bayonets to kill. Are you still using knives in your kitchen?
Consistency of Interpretation
Also, one of the tools by which you can test any teaching is to look for consistency of application. For example,
Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers {G5333 pharmakos}, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
Now, we see the word sorcerer being pharmakos or druggist in the same line as the word dogs. Now, for consistency of application, since we are against the word pharmakos, are we then not supposed to also say that Christians must also avoid dogs, and not keep dogs? Alarm bells should start ringing now. We should immediately start checking for the correct meaning of pharmakos, which we are to avoid, else we must also avoid dogs.
And About Medical Doctors
1) I believe a person should always learn to depend on God first, and avoid seeing a doctor if he can, or has enough faith do avoid doing so.
2) But not all Christians have the same degree of faith. Faith is a gift. The word of God says of faith having regard to the gift of prophecy in Rom 12:6 "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;” so, exercise the issue of healing according to your proportion of faith!.
3) I believe my God is gracious, so that he provides doctors for those who are not in the faith, and those who have little faith as well.
My Conclusions
1) Do not be involved with any medication, treatment or cures that call upon the spiritual world through chants, amulets, meditation and calling upon of spirits. Flee from idolatry. If your Chinese sinseh waves his hands over the herbs and mumbles his incantations, flee. So too, if your doctor or pharmacist does so.
2) Be careful with medications that are addictive, cause dependency ( like sleeping pills ).
3) Be on guard against medications that are mind-altering, causes hallucinations, avoid these.
4) Flee from any treatment that results in you turning away from God, diminishes your faith in Him or gives glory to other spiritual beings.
5) By right, Christians should welcome death, because in death we will immediately be with the Lord. But as with Hezekiah, not all of us are willing to leave this world at God’s call. Therefore many turn to doctors in the hope of a few years extension. What am I to say? Can I tell you a secret way of convincing God to extend your life?
6) Many of us turn to doctors not for the fear of dying, but for the fear of not dying only to live in a state of invalidity, morbidity and helplessness. Again, what am I to say? Do I have the method to surely make God not put the sufferings of Job on you?
7) Therefore, be free to enjoy the medicinal value of herbs, created by our Almighty God and give glory to Him. Accept the medications of the doctors by all means, only do not turn away from Him nor glorify Him less.
The unpleasant truth is that churches no longer dare to stand up for the truth. They just avoid raising issues with false teachers. Why? Because they themselves are carrying too many false teachings. So people who live in glass houses would not throw stones.
Jesus says,
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free
Here are some of the sites on this subject:
