comment from post 3

I like the statement made in our lecture “for many people their religion/culture colors the way on which they view their entire reality” and I feel that is generally true. I am a firm believer in higher powers, because we, as nurses, have witnessed miracles happen that can’t be described by science. Scientism is a system of ethics based on reason without recourse to supernatural belief (Leffel, 2009). While encompassing a wide range of ideas, postmodernism is typically defined by an attitude of skepticism, irony or distrust toward grand narratives, ideologies and various tenets of universalism, including objective notions of reason, human nature, social progress, moral universalism, absolute truth, and objective reality (Duignan, n.d.) As stated by Meilaender (2013) “body and spirit cannot be separated in our understanding of human beings”. After reading Meilanders writings, it brought even more questions to me. I do believe that we shouldn’t let people with no quality of life suffer. However, who is to decide what a “quality life” is?  I consider myself a Christian, but after the readings, am I truly a Christian or am I choosing and picking what I believe? I don’t believe that science pays respect to spirituality, faith and religion. As medical personnel, I feel that we have to balance science and spirituality. Most importantly, we cannot push our beliefs on others. We have to support each patient in their beliefs and if that means praying with them or listening to their beliefs, then so be it. Yes, it may compromise what we believe, but ultimately, we are there for the patient.