Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

1843magazine.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 139 posts

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#121

Post by crispinb »

sdegutis wrote: post #116
crispinb wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a humble trust that Jesus came into this world to suffer and die for our sake 'humble trust' is a genuinely useful attitude to have towards reality, but impossible to achieve towards a description of the world one does not believe to be true. You have things backward - if you genuinely intend your prescription to be helpful you need first to offer your readers reasons to believe your specific supernatural claims to…

There is an overabundant proof that the Catholic Church's teachings are true. The only reason people do not believe is because they do not want to. They choose to believe logical fallacies and pretend it's logically consistent rather than believe the truth.

> There is an overabundant proof that the Catholic Church's teachings are true.

Most people clearly don't accept this. Which leads us to:

> The only reason people do not believe is because they do not want to

What's your evidence for this? It's certainly counter to most non-Catholics' own statements. So they're either lying or deceiving themselves. Each option would need extremely strong evidence for a reasonable person to believe it.

I'd be interested in your response to a bald statement like "There is an overabundant proof that Hindu/Buddhist/animist/Islamic/Gnostic/whatever teachings are true". No doubt the more extreme members of each of these faith communities will make such proclamations. What's a poor rational non-believer to do? Spend a lifetime assessing the claims of dozens of different religions? I guess you'd insist they should ignore the others and look only at yours. Why?

> They choose to believe logical fallacies and pretend it's logically consistent rather than believe the truth.

Do you really believe truths about the world can be deduced through logic? Would you put your children if you have them in an aeroplane that had been constructed out of a mind of a genius logician?

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#122

Post by dghughes »

kirrent wrote: post #94
dghughes wrote: post #86

My dad has rheumatoid arthritis and is in constant pain. Even humeria doesn't help much. Now I have started waking up in the morning with hands so stiff I can barely make a fist. The pain doesnt bother me as much as the fear of being doped up on opioids. And the fact organ damage goes along with rheumatoid arthritis. And to top it off every nut around you says weed or some diet will cure you. It's always cure not mai…

I'm sure you're already on top of all of this and I hope you'll forgive the tangent, but if you're starting to get RA symptoms you should be acting now. It used to be the practice of rheumatologists to wait to treat until symptomatic relief was required by patients. That's no longer the case. The earlier you act and get on DMARDs (and you might even need to try a few before getting one that works or finding the one t…

Thanks for the advice but even if the doctor told dad all that I'm not sure he'd understand. I've heard of DMARDs but never read up on them if I did tried to explain it to dad he'd never sit still to listen.

He's still quite strong sick as he is and age 76 he lifted and emptied a large bucket of rocks, then complained of shoulder pain. I think dementia and old age are a factor here too, poor judgement. People laugh at the joke "if that hurts don't do that" but it's too true.

He's on a couple of strong pain meds and steroids. He's a bit better now that he started oxygen he doesn't look as pale.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well it's a terrible disease not like there's a good disease. Just make sure to keep an eye on your lungs.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#123

Post by tasty_freeze »

sdegutis wrote: post #118
tasty_freeze wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was going to make a similar comment, so I'll tag on here. Jesus was supposedly crucified for a few hours, which would be terrible, but he also knew what was waiting him, and that he would be remembered and revered. In contrast, my sister suffered through multiple rounds of chemo, then a divorce by a husband who was jealous that she was "getting all the attention". The cancer spread to her brain and spine and lungs,…

You assume you know just how much (or how "little") Jesus suffered, based on a physical description. I felt the same way for a few years. But his was physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, all at once, for almost a full day straight, and intensified beyond what you can imagine. He barely showed any typical signs, like screaming out in pain or cursing people, because he is all-powerful, and those come from a lack of…

You are absolutely right -- I don't know how much he suffered. But then again, people who claim he suffered unimaginable pain because he accepted the sin of humanity have no idea how much it hurt (if you accept such a thing is possible).

This is just typical having it both ways -- he was fully human and fully divine. That isn't some cosmic thing worth pondering -- it is just a contradiction. If you believe he is god and that it was unimaginably painful, then you should also accept as god he has infinite tolerance for pain and so it isn't so impressive.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#124

Post by sdegutis »

ozzmotik wrote: post #120
sdegutis wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the most common cop-out of our day, and it's one I also used for many decades. But it is an intellectual cop-out. There is significantly more proof for Jesus's claims as represented by the Catholic Church than for any other religious beliefs. The only reason people do not believe it is because, at least deep down, they do not want to.

is there something wrong with not believing because you don't want to? and what if the reason you don't want to is because you define belief as something that requires evidence in order to practice? i really don't appreciate what you're doing here. I was trying to simply say that everyone has their own path in life, but instead of trying to meet me halfway and understand that, you're telling me that there is an over…

Look around you. Nobody is truly happy in life that you've ever met. Not consistently, not genuinely happy. When hard times come, most people buckle. The only people were the Saints. They were happy even during suffering. This is the power of Jesus. Like you said, many people pretend to be happy but are not. The Saints truly are.

And as if that wasn't enough testimony of Jesus's resurrection, consider the many miracles that attest to Catholicism. A significant number of undisputed miracles are attributed to the Saints, and Marian apparitions, and Eucharistic miracles, and intercessory miracles. Even in our times! Consider that in our own times, a woman was instantly and miraculously healed of a very deadly internal bleeding by crying out to John Henry Newman for his intercession. A baby dead for 61 minutes came back to life through the intercession of Fulton Sheen. These have been officially verified by medical professionals.

There is an overwhelming superabundance of proof for Catholicism. The only reason people make excuses to avoid looking into it is because they know what it means: real change. And they're afraid of change, because they have no faith that God is good and that God's changes to our lives will be good and that God wants good for us.

"For no one can draw near to God unless they believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him." Many people believe one or the other, but few people have faith in both.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#125

Post by sdegutis »

crispinb wrote: post #121
sdegutis wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an overabundant proof that the Catholic Church's teachings are true. The only reason people do not believe is because they do not want to. They choose to believe logical fallacies and pretend it's logically consistent rather than believe the truth.

> There is an overabundant proof that the Catholic Church's teachings are true. Most people clearly don't accept this. Which leads us to: > The only reason people do not believe is because they do not want to What's your evidence for this? It's certainly counter to most non-Catholics' own statements. So they're either lying or deceiving themselves. Each option would need extremely strong evidence for a reasonable per…

Logic can get us very far. Socrates was martyred because he taught that there is only one God, and there is objective morality that we must follow to be with God. He reached these conclusions by logic alone. But Divine Revelation is necessary for the fulfillment of human understanding and our perfection. Jesus crucified and resurrected is the start of this, because nothing any wise teacher or religious founder says matters unless it can save us from death. This is the only religion that can, because it's not a religion as much as a Living Being that we can encounter immediately, and who will save us if we only let him.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#126

Post by sdegutis »

tasty_freeze wrote: post #123
sdegutis wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You assume you know just how much (or how "little") Jesus suffered, based on a physical description. I felt the same way for a few years. But his was physical, spiritual, emotional, mental, all at once, for almost a full day straight, and intensified beyond what you can imagine. He barely showed any typical signs, like screaming out in pain or cursing people, because he is all-powerful, and those come from a lack of…

You are absolutely right -- I don't know how much he suffered. But then again, people who claim he suffered unimaginable pain because he accepted the sin of humanity have no idea how much it hurt (if you accept such a thing is possible). This is just typical having it both ways -- he was fully human and fully divine. That isn't some cosmic thing worth pondering -- it is just a contradiction. If you believe he is god…

He allowed himself to feel the fullness of that suffering to expiate our just punishments, and to merit for us a portion in his strength to overcome suffering, and so that nobody could ever say "God does not know what it means to suffer like I am."

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#127

Post by sdegutis »

faissaloo wrote: post #80
searine wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus died on the cross in six hours. Let's see jesus crush a few vertebrae and live disabled for 40 years without pain meds, and then talk about suffering. Like I get it. Religion does help many, and it can take you away from pain, but suffering is real and don't shortchange people's misery who are dealing with it.

Jesus (PBUH) was never put on the cross, they crucified the wrong guy.

I am glad to find another religious person here! Think and pray more about Jesus and you will discover that he would not have allowed anyone to take his place, because as he said, "My soul is trouble, but what shall I say, 'Father save me from this hour?' No I tell you, for this purpose I have come to this hour." He would never escape it, and he would not allow anyone to take anyone from it.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#128

Post by antidaily »

DougWebb wrote: post #74
nate wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's my some basic rules as best as I can describe it. It's not super scientific and fairly Slow-carb like. I'm still experimenting as it's really hard to dial in the specifics. Breakfast: Spinach+carrot+blueberry+strawberry+banana+flax+protein powder smoothing. We're careful with how much fruit we put in this. Can definitely make this even lower carb if we wanted to. Lunch and dinner: eat pretty normally, but I ke…

I've been losing weight using a keto diet, which is very low-carb: - No more than 20g of NET carbs per day. (Carb grams minus soluble fiber grams in the US; food labels in other countries may already show Carb grams with the fiber subtracted out.) - Protein depends on your lean body mass, age, sex, and activity level. See https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/ - Fat depends on your goals and hunger. If you're trying to…

I tried that one, too. Felt like my food costs went way up, but it was easy to stick to otherwise. So, what did you eat today??

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#129

Post by ozzmotik »

sdegutis wrote: post #124
ozzmotik wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

is there something wrong with not believing because you don't want to? and what if the reason you don't want to is because you define belief as something that requires evidence in order to practice? i really don't appreciate what you're doing here. I was trying to simply say that everyone has their own path in life, but instead of trying to meet me halfway and understand that, you're telling me that there is an over…

Look around you. Nobody is truly happy in life that you've ever met. Not consistently, not genuinely happy. When hard times come, most people buckle. The only people were the Saints. They were happy even during suffering . This is the power of Jesus. Like you said, many people pretend to be happy but are not. The Saints truly are. And as if that wasn't enough testimony of Jesus's resurrection, consider the many mirac…

i personally never said anything about being happy. I said pretending to have a better life. just for what it's worth, i don't think that happiness = a better life. if anything, being a slave to happiness is just another mundane chemical attachment that we all allow to control our lives. i get that most people want to be happy and it's easier to convince other people to believe you it you can point to something and say "ah but look how happy it makes me and other people", but unfortunately you're not going to convince me with that. i personally believe that the only way to a better life is in having balance in all things; sadness is just as important as happiness. when you cut one side of the equation off, you cause a decline in homeostasis and your body and mind must react in order to try and get back to balance.

as far as miracles, im sorry but I don't believe in magic spells and third party attestations as to their veracity. humans will see and believe what they want to see and believe. and they will do whatever they can to maintain a consistent worldview, even if that means discarding a rational explanation for what happened.

as far as God being good, I'm sorry but have you read the old testament? the new testament and the word of the Christ might be the foundational text of Christianity, but the fact of the matter is Yahweh of the new testament is still Yahweh of the old testament. he may have made a new covent with humanity, but imagine some serial killer killed hundreds of people, then suddenly one day said "ok i know I did some bad things but I totally promise that I won't do those things anymore." would you believe him? if not, why would you believe Yahweh meant it? because he gave divine inspiration to people and essentially guided them to write a bunch of propaganda that says "God is good!" despite all the atrocities that were committed in his name and according to his word? need i mention, say, the canaanites and the amalekites? I'm sorry, but God is not good. he is a vengeful, imperfect being who is jealous and even admits it and yet people just ignore that to take what they want from the religion because it suits them. and it's fine if that's what you're doing, just be willing to admit it and accept that if you can do that, then I certainly can just as well take what was said in the Bible as proof that it is nothing more than allegorical and somewhat historical, and made by man to justify the behavior of a very restricted group of individuals.

Re: Will there ever be a cure for chronic pain?

#130

Post by faissaloo »

sdegutis wrote: post #127
faissaloo wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Jesus (PBUH) was never put on the cross, they crucified the wrong guy.

I am glad to find another religious person here! Think and pray more about Jesus and you will discover that he would not have allowed anyone to take his place, because as he said, "My soul is trouble, but what shall I say, 'Father save me from this hour?' No I tell you, for this purpose I have come to this hour." He would never escape it, and he would not allow anyone to take anyone from it.

My worship is directed towards God alone and we were given the Qur'an to clarify these matters among other things, read here if you'd like to understand the Islamic view of the crucifixion: https://quran.com/4/157-167
Post reply on HN