The Jesus Seminar adheres to the standards of scholarly research in assessing New Testament writings. Of course, The Jesus Seminar folk, for
the most part, take the gospel healing stories with a big grain of salt = they are not historical.  Bishop Spong also tells us Jesus really didn't cast out devils or demons from the sick, no matter what he or the gospel writers thought.  Demons that cause disease and mental illness is definitely a "no go" in our scientific age. Now, humans generally put their trust in medical science and not primitive exorcism of demons and devils.

Still, many modern Christians are loathe to abandon Jesus as Healer.
In the Gospels Jesus heals lepers, the blind, lame and crazies. Some NT healing stories seem to go beyond the usual hype of Jesus by the early Christians and actually touch on a real and significant part of Jesus' personality. In other words, the healing stories tell us 1) Jesus, like God,  wants all humans whole (I am come that they might have life in all its fullness) and 2) Jesus' Presence in your life  makes you want to live, want to be healthy and, in ways we still do not fully understand, activates powerful mechanisms within our minds and bodies to combat disease, and to preserve/restore physical/mental health. We all know folk in everyone's life that sap health and sanity by their negative/evil presence. You know, the person who makes you feel like two cents and constantly, in a bitching manner, remind you hardly merit the space to plant your two feet upon God's earth. Jesus, however, has, now and then,  the personal presence to really
keep us healthy.  More than all the vitamin pills in the world.

So, all Christians should heed the Jesus Seminar and the Bishop Spong types and live our faith equipped with a modern scientific world view. You may possess a solid understanding of DNA, evolution, Einstein's theories and Quantum Mechanics.  But scientific knowledge never eliminates your need for God's healing presence at the center of your life.
 

The Power of Faith 

A growing number of medical studies show people with strong religious beliefs are likely to be healthier and live longer than their less religious counterparts, Knight-Ridder News reports. Religious people are less likely to die after open-heart surgery and more likely to recover from depression. They have lower blood pressure and stronger immune systems. "The first studies were kind of snickered at. Then another was done and another was done," said Dr. David Larson, a psychiatrist who left his job at the U.S. National Institutes of Health five years ago so he could work full-time examining the links between spirituality and health. "Now we're saying, 'There's really something going on here.'"

Toronto Globe and Mail Jan./99