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This isn't unlike some christian experiences within extremely charismatic circles. For me, I've had a slew of crazy 'spiritual' experiences that I can't quite

This isn't unlike some christian experiences within extremely charismatic circles. For me, I've had a slew of crazy 'spiritual' experiences that I can't quite reconcile now that I've stepped away from the church. In a sense it can be quite haunting. In my late teens I had a bunch if warts on my hands. It was really gross and I was appropriately self-conscious. The church I was part of had these INSANE / aggressive faith healers or whatever come through once a year. A bunch of crazy stuff would happen each year (e.g. people quitting smoking en masse after smelling an overwhelming stench of cigarettes followed by something resembling fresh baking...) The overall tone was 'spiritual' -- either through anticipation or expectation, I'm not certain. We were sitting around and my buddy suggested I go up re: the warts, but I really didn't want to. He said that he had warts as a kid and his Dad prayed over him for healing. The following day the warts turned black and fell off (gross) -- and that was it. No scarring, etc. So we prayed for healing over these warts and I didn't think much of it. I'd seen this sort of fruitless petition many times, so it wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The following day I was getting out of the shower and noticed that all of the warts had turned white. I washed my hands in the sink and sure enough, the warts all came off. These days I chalk this up to persuasion / placebo -- as if somehow something clicked in my mind to trigger some sort of targeted healing... but it's still extremely hard to reconcile this experience. When you're in this environment for years on end, or even a weekend (church camp), everything is spiritual -- and even normal things like a bag of salad that seems to last longer than expected is made out to be something it isn't. I don't view it as healthy, but regarding your friends' experiences, I can totally understand the experience, emotions, etc that make something like that seem real.

nkrisc 7y ago
On the hand, if nothing had happened to the warts you wouldn't be telling this story. How long ago was this, are you certain it was the next day? Or do you just remember it that way? There's lots of things I remember from 20 years ago that I'm not really sure happened the way I remember. In fact, I don't really know how it really happened as the only record I have is my memory. I'm not trying to suggest you're lying or anything, but these kinds of stories get warped in our memories over time and sort of settle on a more significant, but less accurate version. Personally, I think that these things seem real to people because they want to believe it's real, and so they'll latch on to anything that remotely stands out and attach a meaning to it. Over time their memories of the event settle on that idealized version of it.
- stevewillows 7y ago
  It was the next day -- but I get what you're saying. I think it ultimately boils down to persuasion and the environment. When you're surrounded by 'faith', you can pin a lot of things onto that -- much like how some folks buy into horoscopes, homeopathy, statues, prayer cards, etc. I know someone who considers themselves to be really lucky because they win a lot of contests -- but they only win a lot of contests because they enter a lot of contests.
  - nkrisc 7y ago
    I suspect also that since we can't possibly remember everything that happens to us, we preferentially remember events that have some kind of significance. Sounds reasonable. I used to have warts on my hands and feet when I was a kid. It wasn't bad, only one on a finger and two in a benign spot on my feet. But they were very persistent for many years. I never saw a faith healer, but they still fell off on their own one day, never to return again. I had actually completely forgotten about that until I read your message, likely because it held no significance for me. The coincidence of faith healer + warts falling off appears more significant that warts falling off with no apparent instigator.

nkrisc 7y ago

On the hand, if nothing had happened to the warts you wouldn't be telling this story. How long ago was this, are you certain it was the next day? Or do you just remember it that way? There's lots of things I remember from 20 years ago that I'm not really sure happened the way I remember. In fact, I don't really know how it really happened as the only record I have is my memory. I'm not trying to suggest you're lying or anything, but these kinds of stories get warped in our memories over time and sort of settle on a more significant, but less accurate version. Personally, I think that these things seem real to people because they want to believe it's real, and so they'll latch on to anything that remotely stands out and attach a meaning to it. Over time their memories of the event settle on that idealized version of it.

stevewillows 7y ago
It was the next day -- but I get what you're saying. I think it ultimately boils down to persuasion and the environment. When you're surrounded by 'faith', you can pin a lot of things onto that -- much like how some folks buy into horoscopes, homeopathy, statues, prayer cards, etc. I know someone who considers themselves to be really lucky because they win a lot of contests -- but they only win a lot of contests because they enter a lot of contests.
- nkrisc 7y ago
  I suspect also that since we can't possibly remember everything that happens to us, we preferentially remember events that have some kind of significance. Sounds reasonable. I used to have warts on my hands and feet when I was a kid. It wasn't bad, only one on a finger and two in a benign spot on my feet. But they were very persistent for many years. I never saw a faith healer, but they still fell off on their own one day, never to return again. I had actually completely forgotten about that until I read your message, likely because it held no significance for me. The coincidence of faith healer + warts falling off appears more significant that warts falling off with no apparent instigator.