A few months ago I temped at a children’s hospital . The parent’s of one child had misgivings about the treatment the hospital was supplying. The parents searched for a suitable Homeopath to help their child. The homeopath who suited their requirements promised to ‘cure’ the child. The homeopath told the parents to stop giving the child medicine prescribed by the consultants at the hospital and to rely on his.. well.. small amounts of water…a week later the child was admitted to the hospital on an emergency admission.

The parents were extremely worried for their child. They were desperate. The child had a serious condition and, as any parent can understand, it was extremely emotionally straining to see their child in the situation. After referring the child to the adjoining Homeopathay hospital the parents were persuaded to start the child back on the real medicine.

I very much applaud Ben Goldacre for his collumn, in a newspaper where the science section appears to be shrinking, for his ‘crusade’ and hope sense infiltrates the bullshit that is permeating our countries beleif.

Anyway… I recommend reading Mind Body Spirit Festival brochure. I have scientificaly proven that it causes my stomach to tighten, induces in me dizzy spells of disbeleif, and causes fury of gigantic proportions…a superficial and often contradictory and offensive blend of beliefs, conspiracy theories, angels and nonsense-science. Unfortunately people do beleive this. I know enough peole who do, unfortunately…

www.mindbodyspirit.co.uk.

‘The Dynamics of RaphaYad Bioenergy Healing

This form of healing is used for chronic or difficult illnesses. It works with the body’s electromagnetic circuitry to access connective pathways & neurological systems’

That’s ‘chronic and difficult illnesses’. I have no doubt there are people vulnerable and desperate enough to beleive, unfortunatly.

As a believer I do not have a need to proselytise. Don’t need Mr S or any government to “talk sense” to me either. These are common and lazy assumptions many atheists make in relation to those of us who have chosen to believe in God.

to that bit of advertising asking me to buy something (now removed)

But you can’t go into a pharmacist and buy yourself a big bottle of “placebos”. The fact that you know they are placebos would negate their effect.

This is why homeopathic remedies are useful. You can buy placebos for yourself without knowing it. Of course skeptics like us can’t benefit, but at least we can point and laugh at the credulous public. What’s the point of “winning” this battle ? Most people don’t mind being fooled.

We’re all quite happy with that my friend, but when people pretend that they have an efficicaious treatment for which they get a lot of money then aren’t we justified in in pointing out that the evidence that they cite (and cite it they continually do) is flawed? You appear to be advocating a strange form of post modernism whereby the fervour and tenacity with which one holds an opinion is all that is required to make that opinion right. Seems a bit silly to me.

“Something’s bothering me though; isn’t the placebo effect a more recent “discovery” than homeopathy, which has been around for 200 years or so? ”

And what has that got to do with anything? If longevity of beliefs ensured precedence, we’d still all be flat-earthers (I hasten to add, for fear of offending you, that I truly respect the belief that the earth is flat. We’d be all the poorer if everyone was convinced, by evidence and reasoning, that it wasn’t)

My favourite doctors are the ones that combine a sound grounding in conventional science and medecine combined with a deep faith. Square that one please, Ben.

www.badscience.net/?p=164

Yeah, like anecdotal evidence is sooo convincing: skepdic.com/testimon.html

And I note the word “almost”

“In addressing erectile dysfunction and impotence, homeopaths often find a mental/emotional root-cause,”

Nicely put.

“The Society of Homeopaths theme in 2005 is Homeopathy for Men and Women,”

As opposed to…?

“Ben Goldacre’s crime is that he has judged something solely on the evidence against it.”

thefoodofgoats.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_thefoodofgoats_archive.html