God and the 'Placebo' effect?

[Guest]

[sinister_miss_nancy]

When treatments and medicines are tested for their effectiveness, a 'Placebo' is always added into the equation. This is some sort of 'treatment' that should, scientifically, produce no effect to whoever it was that tested this.

But my question is whether God is a 'Placebo'. Many have a belief that He, whoever that it, saves us, helps us and protects us. For example, in a dangerous situation, when someone clutches at their cross, or asks for God's help, is there actually a help, or 'treatment', for the use of going back to my first paragraph, or is it all a Placebo. If we believe hard enough that He will, we automatically help ourselves.

Can I just point out, I'm coming at this from no particular angle, so I'm not trying to be disrespectful. Had this conversation the other day and I'm just trying to cover my back.

[WA2]

Personally, I don't pray because I want God to intervene. Indeed, I am more of a Deist. I don't think God would intervene on prayer. I think that the point of praying is that it's more of strenghtening ones belief in him, so that it drives you to do your best or what is right. Prayer is the illusion that we are asking God to interevene, but really, this is making us stronger to do our best and what is right. The strenght of faith is what makes us stronger (by us I mean people who believe in God, pacifying jrkulmer).
So I would say that praying is a placebo.

[JJ]

I would say that some people who believe in God accept and admit that God is "a placebo".  To quote Asher Roth in the song "Fallin'" he says "I'm convinced god works in mysterious ways, like everything happens for a reason. I had to believe it, cause that explains why they leave us." As WA2 pointed out in a conversation we were having, "they" refers to the people we lose in death. Not being a religious sort of person I can't say this myself, but many  of my Christian friends have agreed when I asked them.

[WA2]

I is not understanding JJ.

[Ploe]

To have complete faith grants a comfort that feels almost omniscient. That's why deists act like they know what it is all about.

[WA2]

Depends what you define as complete faith with regards to omnisciency. IMO, to have complete faith is blindness, and to be unsure is to drive you towards achiving greater knowledge, even though that is unattaiable. So...complete faith is impossible, unless you are blind. To not be blind is the same as having a questioning faith. I think I am a deist.