Faith Healing Confronts Modern Medicine

This is the second of a 3-part series analyzing a recent report in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine claiming to have shown positive results (a 100% increase in pregnancies from in vitro fertilization) resulting from distant prayers performed simultaneously by 3 different volunteer prayer groups in 3 different countries. Part 1 analyzed the scientific defects of the study. Part 2 analyzes the theological problems and inconsistencies that arise from acceptance of the study’s results. Why would God select IVF but not natural conception for answering prayers? Why would God grant pregnancy to just 25% of the subjects? On what basis would God select those worthy of positive results? The problems disappear if one accepts the criticisms in part 1 that the results were likely erroneous.—EDS.