I often read Billy Graham's column and thought today's was particulary pertinent to our profession. I'm just curious as to your own personal thoughts and feelings on the matter. (Please, no screaming at one another...this is not a debate.)
Dear Dr. Graham,
I'd like to be a Christian, but I have a hard time believing that Jesus rose from the dead. You see, I'm an intensive care nurse, and I know that once a person dies, that's the end. Maybe you can help me get past these doubts. -- Mrs. K.W.
Dear Mrs. K.W.:
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the most important event in all history -- and yes, incredible as it may seem, it really did happen.
In fact, it might interest you to know that one of the Gospels was written by a medical doctor (Luke). Like you, he knew that death is final and irreversible -- and yet he also gave us one of the most extensive accounts of Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Why? Because he had thoroughly investigated the evidence for Jesus' resurrection for himself and he knew only one conclusion was possible: Jesus had come back from the dead.
Why is the resurrection important? Why did God raise Jesus from the dead? One reason was to prove that Jesus was who He said He was: the divine Son of God, sent from heaven to save us from our sins. The Bible says that He "was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:4). The resurrection sets Jesus apart from every other person who has ever lived.
But the resurrection points to an even greater truth: Death has now been conquered! The grave is not the end, but heaven's doors are now open! Jesus is alive, and He wants to come into your life today. Why not discover this great truth for yourself by turning to Christ today?
Edited to remove the dead link that stretched things past the edge of the screen - hope it makes it easier to read :)! - Ratched
I thought the question was religion and nursing....seems we have wandered off into the forest here.
The ONLY religion that matters in nursing is the belief of the patient...our beliefs should NEVER be revealed as they are not important...the focus of our care is the patient...if they are deeply invested in spiritual beliefs our obligation is to support their beliefs as effectively as we can.
NO ONE cares what religion the nurse is as the nurses religious beliefs are IRRELEVANT to the actual practice of nursing....the focus is the PATIENT...if they worship shrubbery then we need to find them a druid priest because thats PATIENT FOCUSED CARE....we aren't at the bedside to practice nursefocused care so my best advice is to keep your lip tightly zipped when religion is asked though I do admit that in the south the patients will ask almost aggressively "are you saved?"...I do admit I did say more than once "saved from what?" I then told them I was a druid if they got really nosy.
Revealing your religion can hurt a patient..I have seen some whacked out nurses loudly praying over some freaked out patients...they quickly were relieved of their position thank goodness but still the damage was done..born agains harassing catholics...jews harassing christians...no thank you...
There is nothing wrong with using your personal faith to get you throught the day...just make sure you keep it personal and if you are religious you need to take extra care to not step on the toes of your patients who don't believe what you believe....no remarks about not getting into heaven etc..yes I heard this one told to a dying patient by the aforementioned nutcase.. that one got her the boot.
In the patient nurse relationship the goal is to meet the needs of the patient...your own spiritual needs are your job...do it on your own time.
Respect your patients right to believe whatever they believe..you are not required to offer an opinion about it.
If you were my patient and you were in need of spiritual help I would ask YOU what you believed and how best I could help you fulfill that need...a patient expressing spiritual pain is NOT an invitation to proselytize...your God isn't theirs.
The importance of religion is a question better directed to the patients we care for..it should be included in every nursing assessment we do so we will know what to do when the patient needs spiritual help.
It would also be nice if nurses could respect other nurses beliefs too but this problem shouldn't be a real issue because any smart adult knows discussing politics, religion or sex is inappropriate in a workplace setting...RIGHT?
I have seen fights over who should have won Survivor..I don't think we are grown up enough to discuss mush more than the weather as we are really a group of strangers working together.
I agree with putting patients' needs first, but I don't agree that this stuff has to be off limits with patients or co-workers, as long as you're respectful. When my Dad had his CABG, a nurse offered to pray with him and he really appreciated it. She didn't preach, she just offered. In my work, I've had patients initiate religious conversations and it has gone pretty well. Maybe it helps that I'm not all that sure what I believe, so it's easy to be open-minded about what others believe. Still, there are things I'm pretty commited to, and I don't feel it has to be a personal affront if someone else feels differently.
In the end, I think we can be as grown up as we chose to be.
Specializes in LTC, CPR instructor, First aid instructor..
I bet the mods never thought they'd create such a stir by combining two "similar" threads!! Now we aren't only discussing/debating about religion and nursing, we are arguing over which way to do it is best! :chuckle
At the back of a bedside locker, in a dusty Gideon Bible.
That dusty old Gideons Bible is a wonderful book which contains everything we need to know to live our lives the way our Creator intended (II Timothy 3:16,17). There are countless truths to live by found in this book and God's message to mankind.
At the back of a bedside locker, in a dusty Gideon Bible.
I agree with you and Einstein that humanistic morality is possible; indeed, I've found it to be the norm. By and large, free thinkers seem to be decent people with a high degree of personal integrity. On the other hand, I don't see religion and humanism as necessary antagonists. Think of Thomas More, or for that matter, Jesus.
Still, I've found times when I've felt I needed something more than humanist values and a taoist attitude. Sometimes it has felt like something was there to fill that need, and sometimes I've felt like I was on my own.
Is there anything special that gets you through bad times?
I agree with you and Einstein that humanistic morality is possible; indeed, I've found it to be the norm. By and large, free thinkers seem to be decent people with a high degree of personal integrity. On the other hand, I don't see religion and humanism as necessary antagonists. Think of Thomas More, or for that matter, Jesus.
Still, I've found times when I've felt I needed something more than humanist values and a taoist attitude. Sometimes it has felt like something was there to fill that need, and sometimes I've felt like I was on my own.
Is there anything special that gets you through bad times?
I bet the mods never thought they'd create such a stir by combining two "similar" threads!! Now we aren't only discussing/debating about religion and nursing, we are arguing over which way to do it is best! :chuckle
LOLOLOL!!!!:rotfl: Ya know, up until they were merged, we were having such a nice discussion, save a few select people. We were even talking about how good we were all being.
If so, I should probably take my leave right now...
Shel
Maybe you should PM Brian or a moderator and ask them your questions. What you don't realize is that so many of these threads with similar (and even not so similar) subject matter end up in the same old debates. I am sure that the one you started would have ended up much like this one.
LOLOLOL!!!!:rotfl: Ya know, up until they were merged, we were having such a nice discussion, save a few select people. We were even talking about how good we were all being.
I think the influence of Christianity and the history of nursing went hand in hand. Today it's very individual. But according to what we were told in school, before Christianity came along, women weren't thought to be worthy to care for the sick. No, I didn't go to a religious school. It was a secular community college.
nursemike, ASN, RN
1 Article; 2,362 Posts
In the end, I think we can be as grown up as we chose to be.