Your faith has made you whole

Jesus supposedly said "Your faith has made you whole" several times. What does it mean to you?

Luke 17:19

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Mark 5:34

And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Luke 8:48

And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Mark 10:52

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

To me, it means that a person's faith can heal them. The "placebo effect" has proven that to be the case.

What Is the Placebo Effect?

The problem I have with the concept is the fact that some people over-rely on it. Some people seem to think they can wish themselves (isn't faith just a wish?) into having anything they want. That can be counter-productive because if you rely too much on faith, it can keep you from taking action. In my experience, a lack of action is almost always ruinous.

Faith is the product of love for others, when someone helps another person faith is gained. If you have faith in someone you have love for them. As the bible says "God is love", so having and expressing love for others means you have faith which makes you whole(y Spirit).

Don't think it's completely to do with the placebo effect,, although some of it might do.

Think it's about spiritual enlightenment,, once you've reached that certain point you become whole (with yourself and with God) so to speak.

James 2:26 - For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

You can have faith that you will lose weight, but without doing something about it, it probably won't happen.

In the scriptures you quoted in the OP, Jesus is referring to their belief that he was the messiah and could heal them.

Of course the scripture I quoted is talking more about having faith in God and putting yourself out there to be used by Him rather than "wishing" for things.

a reply to: Profusion

When I read those passages, I always imagine a kindly shopkeeper telling the old neighborhood widow "Put your purse away, your money is no good here!"

That is how I take those verses. Faith was good enough "payment" for Jesus to do his healing sorcery and it was a price already paid in advance.

originally posted by: Abysha
a reply to: Profusion

When I read those passages, I always imagine a kindly shopkeeper telling the old neighborhood widow "Put your purse away, your money is no good here!"

That is how I take those verses. Faith was good enough "payment" for Jesus to do his healing sorcery and it was a price already paid in advance.

I like your interpretation

a reply to: Profusion by faith and herbal wisdom of plant matter i cured two
diseeases on my own body...believe it or not.... eis pretty awsome and the belief of Christs blood id very true concerning health issues...Great OP!
Many women before Christ BC, know of healing nature plants and things....ist understood believe that Christ understands the placebo effect of just thinking of a natural cure....thats why i love him... thanks for the thoughtful OP!

Call me crazy but I don't see how believing in something without proof or evidence makes you whole.. how does that work?


faith = belief in something with no proof or evidence

originally posted by: Profusion
Jesus supposedly said "Your faith has made you whole" several times. What does it mean to you?

Luke 17:19

And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Mark 5:34

And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Luke 8:48

And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Mark 10:52

And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.

To me, it means that a person's faith can heal them. The "placebo effect" has proven that to be the case.

What Is the Placebo Effect?

The problem I have with the concept is the fact that some people over-rely on it. Some people seem to think they can wish themselves (isn't faith just a wish?) into having anything they want. That can be counter-productive because if you rely too much on faith, it can keep you from taking action. In my experience, a lack of action is almost always ruinous.

Your faith isn't responsible for the placebo efect, your ridiculously awesome imune system deserves that thanks.

Most modern medicine doesn't fight an illness. It helps your body fight it. Sometimes your immune system kicks the butt of things it really shouldn't have.

If faith were required or religion had something to do with it, then the placebo effect would only effect faithful Christians. Instead it effects saints and child molestors all the same.

a reply to: Profusion

I get the impression that the Jesus character was rather annoyed by people. Many of his dialogues are worded in such a way as to send crowds of would be followers away.

The people were expecting great magic and teachings from him ever since John the Baptizer foisted the attention off of himself onto him.
"Teach us!" they cried.
"Go read the Law and Prophets" he replied.
"Heal me!" they cried.
"Go your way, your faith has made you whole" he replied.

He thought the children were cool though, 'cuz they just wanted a blessing. Blessing children is its own reward.

At least that seems to me how the story reads.

a reply to: Profusion

I think Jesus was talking spiritually rather than in a way that we become well.
There is plenty of evidence of sick christians to suggest faith does not make a person well.

The issue as far as I am concerned is the actions that follow the change

a reply to: Profusion
Paraphrase; "Your faith in God has given you access to the power of God, and the power of God has made you whole".
This is illustrated by your first example, the woman who had a "discharge". When she touched him, Jesus "perceived in himself that power had gone forth from him" (Mark ch5 v30)

Because you're taking your examples from the English translation, you haven't noticed Luke ch7 v50, where Jesus is addressing "the woman who was a sinner". The statement in the Greek is exactly the same as in your examples- HE PISTIS SOU SESOKEN SE- but the usual translation there is "Your faith has saved you". It is a re-phrasing of what he said two verses previously- "Your sins are forgiven".
(I discussed that statement in Jesus said; Your faith has saved you)

Let's first assume that creation/reality is manifested on a quantum probability field where every part can be connected to another part thru entanglement.

Let's assume some souls have learned and created tools for how to manipulate other parts of creation on a low level to increase calmness in another being.

Let's also assume that some people have found different tools to manipulate their own bodies so that they are in a calmed state and certain chemicals make their bodies happy even if their mind can be all over the place experiencing joy or suffering. Let's call this an heightened energetic body state.

If faith in that these things exist make you seek them then if you find these tool and learn to use the, then you will experience these things.

But if faith in that these tools do not exists then you will never seek these tools and might even ridicule people who use the tools.

If I say that Reiki is one tool that can be used and experienced and that every soul can test how good of a tool it is for themselves will faith (preconceived notions) make them seek out that tool if they need it or not?

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
If faith were required or religion had something to do with it, then the placebo effect would only effect faithful Christians. Instead it effects saints and child molestors all the same.

Yes, it affects saints and child molesters all the same... who have faith in something. The placebo effect relies on faith in the placebo they are taking, whether that is a pill or belief in their gods. Faith doesn't always mean Jesus.

Faith should be the stepping stone in coming to know what is true…There’s essentially 2 forms of belief in my opinion…belief by faith and belief through knowing…although the later may not be regarded as believing as such. People do though use the phrase “I believe” when they know that something is true.

I think many of Jesus teachings are catered towards two groups of people. One is aimed at those who know and the other is aimed at those who believe through faith. Jesus teaches in both ways because he recognized that there is a starting point for all (faith) and then a transition into knowing the truth IMO…

Faith uses aspects of intuition combined with some degree of knowledge to form itself (Faith)…but there will always be some degree of doubt where faith is involved…the next phase/step is to completely know, which removes all doubts…

With the Placebo effect however people believe or know (although in reality they only think they know) that they are taking the cure, even though it is just a sugar pill in most cases. This doesn’t really seem like faith to me because they (think they know) believe they are taking the treatment that will cure them. In other words they have no reason to doubt the doctors cure for his or her ailment, so it isn’t really faith as such…

Also, in many of these Placebo trials there is a medication that actually works, so the patient who unknowingly gets the sugar pill, has no reason to doubt that the medication he or she has just taken will cure them…

Btw – I’m not suggesting that faith can’t make you well too, because I believe it can…it’s just that I see two different types of belief in action here; one through Faith (believing) and the other through knowing (believing) And even if they only think they know, it’s still believing through knowing…


- JC

It's a 2000 year old sales pitch....similar to "this lip gloss will make you sexy, "vote for me and I'll end crime" and "Join the darkside and we will rule the galaxy as father and son"

a reply to: Profusion

Your answer is found in James 1:6-7.

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
If faith were required or religion had something to do with it, then the placebo effect would only effect faithful Christians. Instead it effects saints and child molestors all the same.

Yes, it affects saints and child molesters all the same... who have faith in something. The placebo effect relies on faith in the placebo they are taking, whether that is a pill or belief in their gods. Faith doesn't always mean Jesus.

I'm not so sure. Is it that faith in the placebo caused the "healing" or did the immunsystem just kick its butt, and in hindsight we assume the persons belief effected it?


Kinda like eating an apple and getting a stomach ache. Did the apple cause the ache or just coincide with it?

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
If faith were required or religion had something to do with it, then the placebo effect would only effect faithful Christians. Instead it effects saints and child molestors all the same.

Yes, it affects saints and child molesters all the same... who have faith in something. The placebo effect relies on faith in the placebo they are taking, whether that is a pill or belief in their gods. Faith doesn't always mean Jesus.

Also, assuming one religion does actually have it right, shouldn't faith only work when placed in before mentioned religion?



Since faith doesn't seem to be connected to any one religion. Doesn't that elude to them all being wrong?

No religion says faith in other gods is ok..

originally posted by: JoshuaCox

originally posted by: Abysha

originally posted by: JoshuaCox
If faith were required or religion had something to do with it, then the placebo effect would only effect faithful Christians. Instead it effects saints and child molestors all the same.

Yes, it affects saints and child molesters all the same... who have faith in something. The placebo effect relies on faith in the placebo they are taking, whether that is a pill or belief in their gods. Faith doesn't always mean Jesus.

I'm not so sure. Is it that faith in the placebo caused the "healing" or did the immunsystem just kick its butt, and in hindsight we assume the persons belief effected it?


Kinda like eating an apple and getting a stomach ache. Did the apple cause the ache or just coincide with it?

No, it's really about the subject's faith in the placebo. Interestingly, I read a study once that even when it's the doctor who is given the placebo unknowingly, their patients will benefit from the doc's faith in the medicine. That one has always messed with me.


ps edit - I want to add that I'm not claiming the body isn't doing the actual healing; I'm saying that faith in the placebo is what causes the body to do that.