The National Lottery has given £205,000 to fund a two year research project which will make spiritual ‘healing therapies’ available on the NHS. The project, led by charity Fresh Winds, is designed to identify the effectiveness of a Buddhist ‘healing’ technique (called Reiki) by testing the method on 200 patients suffering from bowel disorders at NHS Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. The National Lottery will brief the NHS on the research findings next year ‘to inform their decision whether to introduce elements of complementary therapy into the management of irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease.’ The controversial therapy, which has been termed by critics as another form of ‘voodoo’ involves the running of hands over the patient’s body (without touching) to radiate ‘healing energy’ which allegedly works ‘like a gentle set of jump leads’ and relieves symptoms of pain.
Pray: that the healing power of the Holy Spirit would be recognised as superior to alternative therapies. (Act.10:38: Mt.10:1)