Has a diagnosis of m.s. altered people’s thinking about their religious beliefs. Has having m.s. made people more/less/ religious or possibly made no difference.
Hi Made no difference to me. I wasn’t. Regular church goer Xmas, Easter, hatchlings, matchings, dispatchings, 1st communion (kids) Still do the same Mike
It’s made me think more that I would like to be religious. I’ve always quite envied people who are. It hasn’t actually made me more religious, though.
I suppose just more curious about it. I was quite religious in my youth, but not for a long time now. I never took to it as naturally as some seem to.
T.
I am a born again atheist, but do have fairies at the bottom of my garden, which is much the same thing as religion.
It’s not made me more religious, but it has changed how I’m religious. Before getting ill I was very much an evangelical Christian, with quite a simplistic, black & white world view. I’ve inevitably been on quite a journey since. It’s made me question who I think God is, who I am, what gives life purpose & meaning, where beauty can be found, things like that.
I’m still a Christian but of a very different sort, and I get a lot more out of contemplative spirituality now. I find it has a lot more to say on suffering, and has a lot of appreciation for the so-called dark night of the soul.
Why do you ask?
Dan
I wasn’t religious before and I’m not now. I had a couple of old ladies of the church at the door the other day telling me I’d not have MS if I believed and that I should have a long hard think about that!
l am an Atheist - [yes it deserves a capital letter] - when l was dx with ms - l did think what did l do to warrant getting this -
l just hope that whatever it was - l had a blooming good time doing it!!!
And Amylou- l hope you reported the old hags to their Vicar - how dare they come to your door with their ‘doom and gloom’. ln our village we have a pub on one corner and the church on another - l know whose door l would knock if l ever needed help!
F.
I too am an Atheist, I question everything! I was a Fun child 
“Did dx change the way I think?”…no - I personally see it as just another “thing” that is put in my way during life’s chaotic journey.
If religion give’s people HOPE then that is a precious & productive thing (so long as its does not persecute others) as we all need Hope to make life that little bit more bearable, I obtain mine from a different route.
Amylou, doesn’t that just make your blood boil…grrr
Allen
x
Not really, I felt a bit sad for them that they were so misled.
Thanks for the replies.
I thought there may be on the one side those who had abandoned religion because they had m.s. whilst on the other side there would be those who embraced religion as a means of support.
In my case I don’t think it has changed me I still pray go to church occasionally.
Hi, it`s like opening a can of worms, asking folk about their religious beliefs, eh?
Here`s my own personal viewpoint on the matter.
ive always believed in heaven, God and hell. Some folk ask why me? when they are struck down by some serious illness or other. Then theres the awful disasters around the world. This makes folk ask why a merciful God would allow such suffering to happen.
Well I can`t answer theose questions, but I have never asked why have i got this mystery condition…it would be a waste of energy I reckon.
I accept my lot as no-ones fault....just that we dont have perfect bodies. I don`t believe it is my punishment for a former life.
I have a close MS buddy, who is a strong believer in God and Jesus, she has helped me understand why some things are as they are and how to reconcile them in my own mind.
I feel strongly, that being a good Christian involves treating others as you`d like to be treated yourself.
Well you did ask, eh?
luv Pollx
Amylou - I hope you told those two old biddies what to do with their long hard think. I’m all for religion if it gets people through life, with or without MS, as long as they don’t try to palm it off on me.
Hi
I believe there is a ‘being’ but that we know very little about this entity & that as Mrs.Brown says ‘If they wrote the truth from the bible, it would be a pamphlet’.
People who live life as a christian should are fine [Poll] I don’t have a problem with that at all, why should I, it’s people who use it to control, abuse others in it’s name & protect those that do wrong within it’s community that make me angry.
No I have not changed my view since my DX at all is my answer to your question.
Hazel
x
Hello all,
I can’t say that my MS has made me any less religious than I was before, but then again MS isn’t the worst thing to wash up on my shore anyway. I am C of E and still a disinterested Christian, but what is interesting is that my Mum, who is a convent educated Catholic, lost all her belief when I developed MS - strange.
Take care all, no matter if your religious or not!
Moira
Good grief! What arrogant misguided fools. Decent Christians would never ever say such a thing. I had a go at ex-friends who were holding a ‘healing’ session in the street the other day. I think it’s really dangerous to give people false hope. The chap said “I’m sorry Debbie I thought you were still a Christian.” My words were exactly as above - “nope, I’m a born again Atheist!” Nothing to do with ill health, more to do with geology!!
I teach RS as well - but I think it’s healthier coming from an Agnostic or Atheist tbh.
Interesting. A different perspective from what diagnosis does to a person’s religious beliefs.
I am a Christian and I have lived through some difficult times, undoubtedly as many people have done.
My husband was raised C of E.
However, limbo and only limbo, has severely tested my faith and has destroyed his.
hi
i have always believed but i sort of lost my way in my teens.
like anitra, i have watched with curiousity as people with strong faith talk about it.
when my mum died suddenly from a brain haemorrage at 54 yrs of age, i insisted on seeing her immediately at the hospital.
there was this wonderful energetic woman whose live had been full of love. i looked at her body and i just KNEW that all that life and energy must have gone somewhere. surely it couldnt have evaporated?
that was 20 years ago and then when my dearest friend died in january this year it all became very real to me. kath had everything to live for. she had her career which was focussed on helping those in need (very high up in the city council), she had her 3 sons (all wonderful) and 4 grandchildren who she lived for. she was so brave and faced her death with amazing dignity. she worked really hard right up to the end - making things easier for those she was leaving behind.
after her funeral i started going to church. i find it gives me a sense of peace.
my family are a bit perplexed at my new found faith but they probably think its to do with the ms!
i sometimes feel mum and kath near. i send them my love and i can really feel their love coming back to me.
so the answer is yes. i have found my faith since ms but more especially since losing my loved ones.
carole xxx
Wow, Carole, that is beautifully written and very moving x
An interesting question under investigation is whether an altered sense of religeosity can come about as a consequence of developing a brain lesion in a particular area of the brain. Bit like the suggestion that the apostle Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus may have been caused by an epileptic fit.
I have been a strong beleiver since 1987 ish. before I was diognosed in 1991 with M.S. I am a born again believer and have strong belief . ( John ch3 verse 3 Jesus replied, Very truly I tell you, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again )
I****t made very little difference to being Christian
Derek