Psychiatry - Psychology - Health (and even “Christianity”) —Charlatanry, Quackery, Totalitarianism, or Sincerity? How Can We Know Which is Which?
Someone emailed me
with the comment: "I never thought I would ever say that there was a good psychologist. If you were in the middle of a train bridge and a train was coming at you what would you do? Worth the watch. 1hr."
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My comments:
This Lebanese doctor makes a good presentation... many people may be impressed, being fooled by his charisma and ploys.
HOWEVER, the majority of it seems to be little more than an informational sales-pitch, feel-good, love-yourself, motivational seminar.
He is a psychiatrist (not merely psychologist)... he says some good things... he speaks derisively of prozac... but all the things that he says that gain the audience’s attention and favor have nothing to do with the facts; he is a little sloppy in his facts, at times, large and small.
He does not teach psychology or psychiatry in this presentation, but it seems, only USES his knowlege of it to sell to the unsuspecting audience.
First of all, he mentions one or two main facts (not greatly documented) and then spackles in those facts with filler of emotionalism, humor, visualizations (which humorous or impressive, really have no bearing on anything), etc., and because he says something funny, the audience thinks he has substantiated the facts—he has won... he has elicited the response from the audience each time he wants it (with or without cue cards, like a game show).
Yes, he humorously refers to the utter lack of intelligence of a person walking on a train bridge... and shows a video clip. His questioning the wisdom of walking on a train bridge indeed is true and funny; but what he says actually invalidates reality, since what those on the bridge did saved their lives. Again, I would not recommend it, but that is reality.
[Also, I assume that the video clip may have been from a movie. If from a movie, unless you know the full story, you don’t know why they were on the bridge. Maybe they had been kidnapped, escaped their kidnappers, and were on the run, and had to cross the bridge to get back home, and the only other bridge was another 5 miles away. Who knows. In general, yes, what he says is valid; in specific... quite possibly it is still valid, but with extenuating circumstances, a person does what he must.]
If you read wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Amen
he has collected 50,000 brain scans... however, at a cost of $170 million; that is, he did not pay for it out of his pocket, that was money that he collected from his patients (which insurance did not cover), which amounts to $3,400 per person—and it seems he likes for each person to have 2 such scans: 1 before and 1 after following his course of treatment. Thus, for a family of 4, before and after cans would cost over $26,000 NOT counting the actual cost of the office visits, anything else incurred, and his own life of supplements that he recommends. On top of that his books have sold total around a million copies. Assuming $3 per book, that’s a fair chunk of change; as well as seminars, t.v. programs (sponsors pay money), endorsements, etc.
His being excited and getting up in the morning with passion on a mission... well, $200 million would fuel such passion also.
My copy machine repair man watches Owlsteen... one day the repair man said to me, “Do you ever notice... that guy’s always smiling?” (thus inferring that his message was good because it results in happiness [or perceived happiness]).
I replied, “I think he had plastic surgery, to make the smile permanent; but YOU’D be smiling TOO if you were making the money he is making!”
Amen (or should that be Ammenni?) throws out a useful fact (if it is true; I think he mentioned a university in Pittsburgh—though I don’t remember Pittsburgh being the mecca of university research in any area; but as far as I can recall, he does not mention what the date was, what the study was called, what evidence proved the claim, how many were in their study, who was in charge of the study, if the results were published in any journal, etc.), that when a person’s weight increases (that is, abnormal, excess body fat, to the point of obesity and beyond), the size of the brain shrinks and the function / activity of the brain decreases (which most people may not think is a problem, but it means DETERIORATION, disease, rotting, decay, holes in the brain: the brain controls everything else, so loss of brain function results in loss of BODY function... nerve impulses, immune system, body’s ability to heal, organ health, memory—and a poor memory is not merely forgetting to pick up a gallon of milk on the way home, it is demetia, Alzheimers, etc., forgetting people in your life, not knowing how to get across the living room, forgetting to eat, forgetting to hold your bowels or bladder, swallow, breathe, wake up, etc.).
Regardless, it is a very important fact if it is true; but he then, to legitimize it, tells heart warming stories or makes funny comments. He is not a standup comic trying to “win over” the audience (though indeed he is witty and can be funny). So what else would be his reason? Well, he is functioning as an entertainer and as a salesman, it seems. This is the bait and switch, pure and simple. Now, there is nothing wrong with making something dry and academic interesting—it is exactly what I would do... HOWEVER, the entertainment should be used as filler in among academia, substance, fact; not the other way around: a factoid, every now and then, being stuck in among a lot of humor and storytelling.
It does not necessarily mean that what he says is not true about the brain size... but if he had facts to substantiate his main claim (as Jorge Fletchas, John Bergman, Andrew Saul, etc. do—backing up what they say with facts)... then why would he not give more facts.
Also, he uses visualizations as bait in his stories to then set the emotional hook in the mind. The bit about “Meet the Parents” and his not giving a lie detector test to prospective sons-in-law who wanted to date his daughters, or to his girlfriend, wanting to see her naked brain first, before they married... while humorous—what was the point? That you are so rich you can blow $3,400 on a brain scan without batting an eye, as commonly as someone else might order a cheese sandwich for lunch? Did that brain scan reveal if those prospective young men were moral? Did the brain scan reveal that his girlfriend loved him for who he was, not for all his money?
Another “bait and switch” is the pictures of the brain imagining. Yes, anything that someone has never seen before will impress them... they will feel ignorant, and, of course, the guy showing the pictures is the “expert”.
Yes, those photos may show brain damage, shrinkage, diminished capacity; the after images may also show improvement.
However, the before and after photos do not prove all that he claims in between. Some of what he claims in between may indeed be true (obesity and depression and diminished brain size and function being related)... but it is a deceptive “missing middle” presentation that is the problem. One does not prove the other.
All of the factors need to be considered... brainscans of hundreds of obese and depressed individuals need to be taken before, and then after, if they faithfully adhered to the program, etc. Furthermore, as controls, brain images need to be taken of all kinds of YOUNGER people with bonafide, and sever mental disorders (down syndrome, other mental retardation, Schitzophrenia, neurosis, psychosis, etc.). YOUNG patients, would be important (and both vaccinated and nonvaccinated, since the vaccines could well cause the mental and organic deterioration) to rule out drugs and alcohol and environmental pollutants being the cause of the brain dimishment (and loud, senseless rock music or “rap”). Brain scans of people who listen to Mozart and who eat a truly healthy diet and take supplements (and who avoid radiation, which, presents a dilemma with the scans themselves), etc. THESE are the TYPES of scans and histories that need to be ammassed. Maybe he has amassed this wide array and collected and extrapolated all the data. However, had he actually done that, maybe other “scientists” would have taken him more seriously, and had he actually done so, it would seem that he would have had more FACTS to present, instead of entertaining emotional filler.
Reading the wikipedia article... clearly one should realize that the author of the article is biased against him (which wikipedia claims, quite often, in many articles, that the article is biased and needs correction, but I did not see any such notice on this article, though clearly it is not neural or balanced) and whoever wrote it did not include much favorable comment, only negative. Of course, those “experts” who said negative things were not impartial, but were also defending their own cash-cow substantiability (and the “establishment” position of what is “valid” (which is a whole topic in itself), which Amen calls into question. These “scientists” and “doctors” disparage herbs, nutrition, as “unproved” or (others, to downplay results, refer to such as “anecdotal”; that is, unless the person in question is a “recognized expert” (with an official piece of paper saying he is an expert—regardless of his grades or the validity of what the institution taught) with a Ph.D. wearing a white lab coat, who is paid $200,000 to produce the results that his benefactors want, who may also doctor the results and then publish the results in a respected journal, then and then only are the results are trustworthy and “valid”; but without all those conditions, they are merely “opinion” / “anecdotal”, that is, “legend” or “superstition”, “old wive’s tales”; but that is not the case. If 500 independent people take large doses of vitamin c, niacin, olive leaf, ginkgo, iodine, magtein, lithium orotate, coconut oil, etc., and their brain and overall health improves and illness and disease abates—that is not merely “anecdotal”. True, the individual factors are all not recorded and all the data is not compiled in a double-blind study that someone else can replicate... but that does not mean that the results are meaningless, to be scoffed at (which is what they mean when they say “anecdotal”). Often to discredit studies in nutrition, major universities or hospitals will claim to replicate a study and claim that they did not get any results, but they purposely leave out key elements, or change them (or they are just incompetent).
So, while some of what the mainstream “experts” say about Amen is true, they are also biased, and partially ignorant or dishonest due to their training to only see things the way the AMA says they can see them; as if there is only one road to Rome (and it is a heavy toll road), not many roads... as if 4+4=8, but not 2+2+2+2 or any other variation. “Math is how we say it is”; just like corrupt judges in corrupt courts who instruct the jury to rule on the law based upon “how the judge explains it to them”; thus wanting the jury to be his puppet to rubber-stamp his decision based upon his corruption of the Constitution (all other “law” being invalid when it contradicts the Constitution in the spirit in which it was written at the time, which must be interpreted according to the Common Law of the time (Christianity, and no other religion being part of the Common Law).
I have not watched this entire program... it is taking way too long with dial up... it will take 3 days... I got about 25 min. in and that is all, regrettably, that I have time for. I did not listen to his plan to correct things.
However, in the wiki article one person claims that Amen speaks common-sense things: like use a smaller plate so that your small portion of food looks larger and you imagine you are eating more (or something to that effect). If this is the case indeed it is silly, and he probably tells funny stories to make people laugh to think that what he has said is substantiated. But really, a smaller plate? Why not a smaller table, smaller chair, smaller house, tighter clothes? If a person is easily fooled, a smaller plate might work... but is anyone really that stupid? That’s like a prison cell with no bars. What is going to keep the prisoner in? The honor system? People are overweight because they can’t control their appetite, eat the wrong foods, and don’t burn calories. A smaller plate simply means going back for another helping on that smaller plate, unless he is going to honor the prison cell with no bars. Now, all these little things may help a tiny bit, the person who is teetering on the edge... so they are not without merit. But they won’t work magic and people can think of such things on their own. Maybe a better solution would be only to eat meals, alone, naked in front of the mirror.
The wiki article also mentions that he has worked in conjunction with Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback megachurch... who claims to have trained thousands of ministers—but his “christianity” is corrupt humanism.
[I stock these titles: Burning Down ‘The Shack’: How the ‘Christian’ Bestseller is Deceiving Millions (2010), James B. De Young, 253pp., pb., 16.00 + P&H. See also another important book exposing false doctrine and popular books written by the pastor of one of the largest “mega-churches” (22,000 in weekly attendance) in the U.S. (Rick Warren): Deceived on Purpose: The New Age Implications of the Purpose-Driven Life, Warren Smith, 211pp., pb., 13.00 + P&H. Ironically, Warren Smith exposes Rick Warren and James B. De Young exposes William P. Young. Zondervan book company, originally a Dutch-Reformed Christian book publishing house, founded in Michigan, was bought out by Harper-Collins (owned by billionaire Rupert Murdoch, who some claim is part Jewish) in 1988 for around $50 million; by 1991 they were doing $175 million a year in business. Most all major Christian book publishing houses and Christian music recording labels were bought out by their secular counterparts, who are all owned by a half-dozen Jewish media moguls, because they were missing out on a lucrative piece of the market, and because they were then able to implement a complete “theological shift” [and SHIFT DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN...!] in the content of what is produced (and the multi-cultural, inter-faith image) and thus not only destroy the Christian Church from within, but also make the watered down, “feel good” message palatable to a far larger audience, increasing their sales. Clearly, a t.v. series called “Touched By An Angel” (of bloodless, repentance-free redemption) would be more popular with the masses (as has been the case with Catholicism) than a truly Biblical t.v. series called “You Reap What You Sow, But God Can Still Save You If You Repent.” The “new” Zondervan then printed Rick Warren’s, The Purpose Driven Church (1995) and its sequel, The Purpose Driven Life (2002), which has sold more than 35 million copies (and both of which have spawned various spin-offs and curriculum). Murdoch, who is worth about $12.5 billion, is a member and supporter of Warren’s “Saddleback Church.” Warren claims to have trained over 400,000 pastors and church leaders at his seminars.]
Thus, what is important to realize, just because Amen mentions “his favorite Bible verse” or mentions “God”, that does not mean that he believes the Bible as a true Christian, that does not mean that “God” means to him what it means to a true Christian. Now, I am not saying that it does not, since I can’t read his mind and I don’t know him, I am just saying that it is very suspect.
[I had a job in sales one winter, decades ago in Baltimore, giving personality tests that were then used by the company to better know how to “sell” the prospective buyer. I never attempted any hard sell or tried to sell to someone anything, but presented the information and let them decide. I was simply “me” with no pretense. But I knew one unscrupulous guy, who was NOT a Christian, but who carried a Bible with him in his briefcase, and he told me that if he noticed the person he was trying to sell was a Christian, saw Christian art or posters or such on the walls, a Bible or religious books on the table, etc., then he would pull his Bible out and say, “You know, that reminds me of the verse I was just reading this morning...” and thus he would deceptively try to build a bond with that person to make a sale. HOW REPREHENSIBLE. He will not dodge that in JUDGMENT. Regardless, I do not claim that Amen is doing this... I don’t know. I do know of others, even in the natural health industry, who are clearly NOT Christians, who are clearly NOT moral, who will throw the word “God” or even “Christian” out, as decorations in their presentation (depending on their audience)—but again, what “God” is in HIS mind, is NOT what it is in the mind of someone who actually knows and understands the Bible. Such a person throws out such words to build that bridge, to deceive, to sell himself and his product. Those who are Christians, who are honest, would never imagine such a thing—and that is why I share that one story from my personal experience. Those who are not of God are wicked. They may not all be axe-murderers, but they will deceive to make a sale and / or get what they want (and I have known other people, co-workers at other jobs in the past, or guys in college—a Christian college—who would also pretend to be Christians to get a girl to warm up to him, so then he could try to take advantage of or seduce her). “The children of this world in their generation are wiser than the children of light”. Weeds mature faster than good seed, which need cultivation and care. The wicked, often, like wolves, raise themselves on the streets, learn “street smarts” and are not hampered by such things that clutter the mind and soul, like “morality” or “conscience”. Caveat Emptor.]
So this is another type of deception to be aware of. Someone may scatter like flower petals a lot of good words, but those words don’t really mean to him what they mean to you; he is just trying to win your vote. Like magicians, entertainers (or snake-oil salesmen) will distract you with smoke and mirrors, bright colorful lights or sequined clothes, humor, peculiar mannerisms, etc., trying to distract or deceive you, win you over by some common ground, in order to keep you from actually looking at the heart of their presentation: the facts.
Indeed, sexual desire IS the origin of MANY sins... but it is not the Oedipus / Electra Complex (maybe in Jews it is) and it is not penis envy or sexual frustration of any form, regardless of type—which are entirely different things. Indeed, Freud was wrong... but that is about all that Amen says on this point that is true, unless my memory is what is incorrect (that is, that penis envy and Oedipus complex are the same thing; which I do NOT believe they are).
Amen is sort of correct in that there is no “normal”—ANY MORE. That does not mean that there never was a normal. This is indicative of the deterioration of society, like the deterioration of a brain. His claim that 50% of the population at any given time (if I remember correctly, with dial up I cannot go back and listen to certain sections again... on youtubes this long) have a mental illness. The key word here is “illness”. EVERYONE has things that upset them; their own phobias, obsessions, strongholds, mental blocks, personality, mannerisms (not to mention morals or lack thereof). But, by so labelling as “illness” (and not merely “problem”, “disturbance”, “confliction”, “passion”, “weakness”, etc.) a myriad different things, the “experts” can then claim that it is their exclusive (licensed) jurisdiction.
Earlier Amen, showing a photo of deceased actor Robin Williams for sympathy, claimed many do not go to psychiatrists due to the stigma. While this may be true, it is not the real reason. The real reason is because the majority of the population don’t have $300/hour to waste on a weekly basis (and of course, that will be fuel to push toward socialized / communist medicine and overtaxing to pay for it all). The real reason is also that probably not 2 out of 10 “experts” (psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors) that you could pick out of a phone book in a large city will agree on much of anything, and certainly won’t agree as to the pathology client’s problem or the course of “treatment” (except, of course, those psychiatrists who mainly prescribe pills—that is more standardized; but that does not mean it is the correct “diagnosis” or the correct “treatment”, only that the pills make doctors and drug companies a lot of money and the pills make patients more easy to control; not without OTHER serious health risks).
My dad was a psychiatrist (and one of my degrees is in psychology—and although I don’t speak out of total ignorance, I don’t claim to be an “expert” who understands all), but he was a Reformed Christian and he had his own counselling office and his sole prescription was the Word of God. There are valid principles of psychology... these are used to understand the person and the situation and history; but most all problems (other than organic brain damage) have their roots in sin—sin of the individual, and sins of the parents or other family members who helped screw up the other person’s mind and emotions). Once sin is recognized, repented of, once sin is confessed, God’s forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice is sought—and once a person gets serious about stopping sinning and obeying what God commanded, only then can mental “illness”* begin to be corrected.
[* and I am not referring to those on the extreme ends of the bell curve: severe dementia, schiztophrenia, psychosis, psychopathology, even demon possession, etc. Some people are fully evil, and God has ordained for them to continue in that state; and drugs may control to some degree, but they will not change.]
3 decades or more ago, studies showed that those normal people (people in every day life who have tragic things happen, which upset their lives) who went to professionals (counsellors, psychiatrists, etc.) did not show any greater improvement than those who did not. The issue is not the “professional”—and the “experts” often screw things up WORSE, with their anti-God, humanist, hedonist, socialist nonsense (and drugs). Most often, the majority of people simply need TIME (which can’t be speeded up) to heal... and everyone is different. Some people need someone—anyone—to talk to... not professionals, not someone to give them advice, but just someone to listen, a barber, friend, relative, pastor, etc. (often, depending on who the listener is, it is best to IGNORE whatever advice they give). It is true, that some people are do entrenched in their worship of self, their own delusion, their own selfishness, their own denial and delusion, that they cannot change on their own—but likewise, such persons would also reject what a professional had to offer by way of advice (even if that advice was sound and valid and Biblical).
[Also, socialized medicine (and socialized mental health) and the socialized public schools and universities, and the socialized programming on t.v. and other forms of “entertainment”—and its utter godlessness—is actually what produces the mental / emotional “snowflakes”, those who are, for the most part, morally lobotomized, intellectually hamstrung, and the mental / emotional equivalent of a 5-year old who has just spent the past 15 minutes getting bundled up in his winter clothes and is outside ready to play with his friends—and then realizes that he has to pee; then someone yelling, “who wants my leftover Halloween candy, there’s lots of chocolate; then hearing his mother call him and tell him he can’t play any more and that he must come in and do his chores and homework. Godless, mental health “professionals”—dispensing psychotropic drugs as if they were Pez candy... have helped to create this “perfect storm” of weak moraled, weak-character, demanding, emotionally ravaged and uncontrollable “snowflakes”. Those who apply themselves and fix their own problems will be stronger. This is not to say that they may not need a strong, experienced, intelligent, godly guide to help them; but that is not how most are used. Most are treated as gods, the patient (maybe half of all children in the U.S.) drugged with dangerous medications and rendered into weak, pliable tools that produce nothing when left on their own, but are easily controlled by bad associates or agitators into forming a mob to “act out” what they think should be the resolution of whatever “ghost story” has been implanted in their mind. See my other Rumination on this topic.]
Thus, the REAL reasons that most individuals don’t go to “experts” in this so-called “mental health” department, is not due to “stigma”, but due to the majority:
1. realizing that they don’t need to;* and
2. the price being so outrageous; and
3. the experts not really being experts; only having a degree on the wall that says they are experts
[—but if they were truly experts, would they themselves not agree on most anything? But that is not the case (some being Freudian, others Jungian, Glassian, Rogerian, Frankl-ites / existentialists, or a myriad of others—or, like an emotional, headstrong obsessed “lover”, they just ignore all they are taught and embrace the reality that ‘feels’ right to them: thus, once they have their coveted degree—except if dispensing narcotics—they then jettison all that they have learned and teach whatever “feels good” or “makes sense” to them; truth being an irrelevant bystander and victim of “collateral damage” in the individual “counsellor’s” quest to make reality what he wants it to be). How on earth can they be “experts”...? Likewise, dispensing powerful and dangerous drugs (that cause many other problems, as well as death) is not the “correct answer” simply because it makes the problems more controllable (and many in nursing homes and mental instutitons alike are simply sedated, because it is less expensive than the additional staff required to care for the patients, and because it is easier, and the drugs are paid for by insurance—and the insurance and nursing homes and hospitals are subsidized by the “government”—which means the taxpayer pays for it all without realizing it.]
If you went to one doctor and he said that you needed to have your tonsils removed; and another that you went to said NO, that you needed a heart-bypass, another said NO you needed liver transplant, another said NO you need a frontal lobotomy, and another yet said NO you needed some magic crystals and a pyramid and just needed to chant a mantra and “find yourself”... it would be clear that NONE of them (or at least all but one) were “experts”.
In this regard, psychology can be fraudulent—when it departs from facts and engages in inventive fantasy storytelling. If you ring a bell and then feed a dog, eventually the stimulus transfers and the bell ring alone results in salivation (not salvation) of the dog (unless you stop feeding after ringing the bell and the response is extinguished once the dog learns (subconsciously) to just ignore the meangless bell (and so Americans are brainwshed, programmed, extinguished, taught learned-helplessness by lying political candidates and politicians; year after year).
However, for the “expert” to claim to “know” the dog’s mind, and that he is drooling over past trauma because his mother was a bitch and his father absentee, and that he drools only in the attempt to gain control over things he cannot control because he has fire hydrant envy, of course, is all a high-dollar con act (even if the “expert” ACTUALLY BELIEVES his own nonsense).
Now, this does NOT mean that there are not underlying issues, going back even to childhood (as the twig is bent so grows the tree), and that the “sins of the fathers (and mothers)” are not dynamic realities that do shape and indeed control us. we BECOME our parents, even if we think we don’t... if we were raised by them... it is nature and nurture... it is inescapable, it is part of God’s Law of the Harvest. I had an neighbor once, who was in her 60s, a nurse, who realized this more each day and finally confessed, though she had tried to deny it for decades, “Mirror, mirror on the wall... I am my mother after all!” This is not to say that God cannot cause the individual to triumph over these dynamics, if that is His Will. But God uses all things to teach and mold us, and it is our duty to recognize all these factors... to meditate upon them, confess them (not be in denial or resist confessing reality); to see what God wants us to learn, and by His Power and Spirit (working upon our mind, through our knowledge of His Will which is revealed in His Word—morality, His Law, never changes) and then rise above them to be stronger.
It may help having someone who is intelligent, who knows the Word of God, who understands natural health, the human mind, the body, etc. to help guide the person who is not knowledgeable in all these areas... but not even the greatest “expert” has a crystal ball... he cannot know what is in the other person’s psyche... he can offer possible insight. However, the impressionable, low dominance person, easily confused, emotional, less educated (especially if worshipping the “expert” as indefatigable “expert”, through transferrence or being in awe of the “expert’s” larger-than-life persona or “god-complex”) can very easily be brainwashed into thinking that mere “possible” insight and suggests are REALITY, and thus whatever spoken by the “expert” becomes a “self-fulfilling prophecy” in the star-struck patient and that which the “expert” spoke “becomes” reality (that is, the delusion that forces reality out of the mind, permanently or temporarily), even if it had not been.
Similarly, in my Rumination on supplements in my discussion of Niacin,* what I do is explain all of the possible “side effects” that a person may expect to experience taking niacin. Each person is different and the reaction will be different each time even for the same person, depending upon various factors. But, where that which is legitimate becomes illegitimate is if the “expert”, instead of pointing out possibilities, proceeds to tell the “patient” “THIS is what you are now experiencing”. NO. That person alone knows what reactions are taking place in his own body (or mind)—even if he does not fully understand or even recognize them, until he learns to recognize and understand them. The “expert” cannot “will” reality to be, though, if he has just the right patient, he can misguide the patient into believing any pseudo-reality that the “expert” wants him to believe (and drugs always help with brainwashing—why do you think there are so many chemicals in the food supply, to the point that you need a degree in chemistry to read the list of ingredients of practically any can or box of food that you pick up off the grocery store shelf?—many of these chemicals are drugs).
(forgive any typos... I seem to be having a rare ocular migraine at this moment, which may last 30 min... and looking at my screen and trying to type is like being underwater with jellyfish getting in the way of my vision adding to the blur of the water currents.)
The aura or flavor of this presentation by Amen, even from the very beginning, by the person whose show it is who introduced him, is that of a “cultic” seminar in which the audience drools over whatever is presented, and the person who introduced Amen, and Amen later in the program, take turns drooling over each other, saying how much they love the other, respect each other, how “Amen saved my life, helped me”, I appreciate your work, he’s the best, I love what he does, isn’t this guy great...?, etc. —it is a bit over the top, cultic, and again, is a ploy of substantiating what is presented, simply because these 2 “respected” individuals are falling over one another so much to complement the other; but all those “good feelings” legitimize NOTHING. [Talk about an “Amen-corner”...!]
This is not to say that either are insincere (which I cannot know), or that they do not have valid experience, or that they do not present truth. However, the entire presentation is emotion oriented, not intellect; it is passion drive, not fact driven. That Amen is sucessful, has 6 clinic, 10 tv shows, a million books in print, followers worldwide, or even double-board certification, is no proof of truth. Joel Oystersteen is worth x amount of money. Nuff said.
Thus, the weakness of this presentation (the 25 min. of which I could view) is that stories, humor, emotions, visualizations all take the place of what should be facts.
This is not to say that losing weight, eating the right foods, taking the right supplements, having a positive mindset, not giving in to depression—as well as things, which, I can only guess, that Amen never mentions, such as: confessing Christ, repenting of sin, confessing sin, OBEYING GOD without which one cannot be at peace—etc., are not important. All of these things, indeed, are important and need to be put into practice daily. Amen truthfully points out, you are in the crosshairs of many evil people trying to sell you their poisonous, addictive foods and you will die sooner if you let them. However, even with all his photos of brain scans... he has not proven his point by data, fact, or evidence. He has substituted a placebo of emotions, humor, visualizations, witticisms, etc., that take the place of that which is real in terms of facts.
In the wiki article the other “experts” castigate Amen for subjecting his patients to dangerous radiation. This indeed is possibly true, as well as hypocritical... for those same “experts” probably subject their patients to FAR-MORE radiation.... but they that think “their” radiation is “supported” (by their interpretation of limited data and their prejudiced, personal opinion* concerning the problem and solution) and therefore, “their” radiation is perfectly proper. Furthermore, will a single one of them even mention to a single soul and warn of the astronomically greater dangers of 5-G technology that might microwave the entire nation...? “Methinks the lady doth protest too much!”
[* Similarly, you can go to many different doctors or dentists and get different opinons of what they think the problem and remedy is. You can then even go to (woo-hoo) “specialists” in any given area, above and beyond the “common” doctor or dentist that you initially went to—and even different “specialists” may disagree and many won’t have any more answer than the common doctor. But, you have the privilege of paying each one an obscene amount for his “opinion”. “Sorry, I don’t know what to tell you. Make sure you pay your bill. NEXT!” Somehow, the Hippocratic Oath has been lost amidst the AMA red-tape, and the lust for money. Socializing it will not fix it. Sociliazing is what has caused the problem... and fully socializing it will cause it to collapse because it is an unsubstainable fraud: a ponzi scheme; and once fully subsidized by the State, the only difference will be that the monetary corruption in exorbitant billing, the determination of who needs treatment and what treatment, and the general incompetence, will be fully provided by the government. You will receive even worse “treatment” and will be forced to pay for it and everyone elses (through direct, unavoidable totalitarian taxation), even if the “experts” determine that you need no treatment at all. Debt, like anything else (operating according to the laws of nature—reality) can only be stacked so high. Those who ignore the inordinate, insane, stacking think that the system works just great; but they are fools.]
This, of course, ignores the fact that you can hardly go to a hospital emergency room for any reason, without there being an $8,000 to $26,000 bill (because the medical system, the insurance company, and the government are all engaged in conspiracy together to rob the people of all their wealth and control their very lives and health, and keep them in fear)—as a result of their ENDLESS, NEEDLESS, EXPENSIVE, tests, yes, including needless “radiation” (“just to rule something out”) in many cases. Thus, the “professionals” are “professional guessers”—who, like gamblers at Vegas, gamble with YOUR money, while they guess.
Thus, take away from this: eat right, lose weight, maintain a healthy weight, take as many nutritional supplements as possible... it is a TOXIC world, TOXIC environment, TOXIC food, TOXIC water, TOXIC air, TOXIC everything imported from China—TOXIC everything (did I say “toxic” or “everything” yet...?); the soils are depleted as well as toxic (due to petro-chemicals) and most food has little nutrients and is full of chemicals and even dangerous frankensteinish, unpredictable (but known carcinogenic) GMOs. DO ALL YOU CAN to be healthy; stay away from doctors and drugs and most food unless you read the labels and can understand the ingredients (and NonGMO, organic, No HFCS, now renamed “corn sugar” to deceive you”; no MSG or its evil step-sisters (disodium guanylate and disodium inosinate), no white sugar, no artificial color, and dozens of other ingredients (read the other Rumination I offered herein on health and watch / listen to those youtubes that I recommend: What Are the Most-Important Health Nutrients? Can You Really Prevent or Reverse Disease?). Research. It is your life. Don’t trust anyone else with it. Submit to God. Read His Word daily. OBEY IT daily. See also my: “If ‘Good’ Men Sit”