FAITH HEALING.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 448, 5 March 1909, Page 4

FAITH HEALING.

ALLECED WONDERFUL CURES. ; VIEWS' of a distinguished .. .-, The js an abridgment of" a paper prepared for the Westminster Ruridecanul Conference by Sir Lfc'co Duckworth; M.D., LL.D., consulting physician to St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and ■ Vice-Provost 1 of tho Guild of St. Luke, and is published in the "Guardian"! of January; 131 am' to' speak to you about the maintenance of health, p,nd to discuss chiefly tho question of healing 'he ailments of tho body by means of-prayer Simply or by means of faith. I shall dispose of the former part of my thesis at onco by stating that prudence, common sense, and, abovo all, moderation are tho main factors In assuring and maintaining the health of tho body; and these aro found in practice to bo well-established principles of action oy all persons blessed with a sound constitution who have reached thirty years of ago. The second part of my task is a large and, at tho present moment, a somewhat pressing one for treatment. It has assumed importance to-day, because a considerable portion of,.cur better-placed and leisured community has' become interested inl and actually captivated by, what is, as I think, very seriously -nis•named Christian science and faith-healing. If I take up a decided line of opposition to this new phase, I do so as a devoted memocr of the Anglican Communion, a physician with forty years" of experience in practice, a hospital teacher of mcdicine, and one who has travelled in most parts of tho world.

["' Tho Now Dootrlno. As regards this new doctrinc of healing tho sick by means of prayer and tho exercise of faith, wo find, first, that it comes from America. That, to my mind, at once arouses a suspicion as to its origin. It oomes from Boston, a city I know well, having twieo visited it, a city which is a perennial source of false doctrines, which produces, and contains, moro unstable men and women than any other city I know; To prove this allegation, I will only ask you to read tho Saturday edition of any Boston newspaper, and note tho long-lists of so-called religious services advertised for tho following Sunday. If that does not excite your wonder and your pity, J nm sorry .for you.. A careful study of Mrs. Eddy's..doctrine at the hands of serious and capable critics lias plainly shown that it is incompatible with tho tenets of Christianity, and if/this be'tho'case, I fail to see why tho matter should further attention from tho olergy or the- laity. ' It is, however, a fact .that it has enlisted, 'and. continues to attract, interest and support from many persons, both in_ America and in this country, who arc baptised Christians. I havo therefore felt compelled to believe that thoso who liavo thus failed in their allegiance to the Holy Catholic Church , aro to bo reckoned amongst-weak brethren and sisters who aro either ill-instructed"' in the doctrinos of Christianity, or elso "of a class, common amongst us to-day, in which "everything mw carries a greater weight, and makes a deeper impression 011 a weak mind." I agreo, too, with Canon Wilson, of Worcester, that "among tho educated classes thero is now a marked alienation from Christian thoughts, and in somo cases tho growth in its place of fantastic beliefs, strangely concocted pseudo-science and credulity." I am therefore led to .the. oijinion that fot "faith" in

tliis matter of so-calletl Christian scicnce wo may safely read "credulity," and wo know that the ono lias nothing to do with tho other. lam ready to bo told, as 1 have often been told already, that tho absolute proofs of tho success of the methods employed by tho administration of this system a'ro too safely assured to bo denounocd or discarded by any opponents of it. For myseif, I havo only to state that I havo yet to witness aJly appreciable benefits secured by it in casus of disease that havo been accurately diagnosticated by competent medical practitioners, and I regret to add that I havo witnessed syul had knowledge of cases of serious disease in which grievous harm has accrued from tho deliberate withholding of appropriate treatment under this system. Tho conduct of some of tho devotees has beon so cruel and inhuman that it alone stamps tho system as non-Christian and distinctly demoralising. In somo instances the results of this doctrine appear to havo • a further harmful and demoralising effect in destroying tho mental capacity of its adherents to realiso pain and suffering, to appreciate plain facts, and even to differentiate truth from falsehood in everyday matters.

Grave Indictments. These ate surely grave indictments to bring forward against any system, but I weigh my words as I proceed. If, as is alleged, good results liavo conio in tho way of better and holier lives on the part of somo who have been influenced by Eddyism, I am 'of opinion that these blessings might have been better scoured by Christian teaching and ministration, unless in tho case of ignorant or weak-minded subjects. Most of tlio alleged wonderful cures wo hear about are readily explained. In not a few of them ordinary remedial measures are unnecessary. The sufferers are generally of a nervous and unstable habit of body. They aro highly Sensitive and impressionablo, readily influenced by suggestions from stronger wills and stronger minds ; and when a deeply religion* tono invests tho administrator's efforts, a further rousing effect is apt to awaken powers that have lain dormant in minds previously little serious or refleetivo, oi; overridden with harmful sympathy, indulgence, or pure worldliness. Do you suppose that we physicians do not recognise such cases? Wo do, indeed; and they are amongst tho plagues of our practice. . Yet wo do succeed in inspiring many of them, and raising them to a higher piano of both bodily and spiritual life. For the rest, we do not pose as thaumaturgists, or miracle-workers, and have 110 intention of becoming such for crazy sufferers. In other instances, especially in cases of cancer, of which we hear much, it has to bo borne in mind that tho whole subject is fraught with difficulty. Mark this—the best and most experienced of us mako mistakes, : and wrong opinions are certainly sometimes "given iniprudently, if in all honesty. The difficulties presented by this subject can alono be understood by experienced medical men, and a layman's opinion upon it is worthless. These difficulties rolate to sex, age, habit of body, and other matters which call for great skill and circumspection. All cancers aro not deadly, and they- sometimes wither away, or cease to givo trouble. An innocent' tumour may. often arouse suspicion of its vicious nature',at first-and bo pronounced as definitely dangerous. Such a growth becomes readily recognised in time as innocent, and disappears or ceases to grow, and may easily be conjured awav or healed by the faith-healor, who is subsequently summoned to treat it. '

Coats Money. That is the explanation of cases of that kind. Again in cases of consumption, the natural tendency is to arrest and cure, anil more people dio with arrested consumption than of progressive consumption. These two are very favourable cases for tho faithkea]cr- Let me now describe another case. A medical friend of mine has a contracted linger which nothing can. rectify, any operation being certain to do mare harm than good. A professional lady faith-healer undertook to cure this distortion in a'' short timo. She told my friond ho had nothing to do in the matter, he was to bo simply passive; sho and-others would prajf, ajid ■certainly secure the release of fhis finger. She paid ten visits, receiving a guinea each time, (I may remind you that faith-healing costs money; and is no system of religious charity). At the end of the time no change whatevpr had occurred in tho finger, and the administrator confessed to failure in this instance. But she declared that my friend had been all along obstructing the beneficent process that was beiiig . prayed- for. In vain be denied this, .for. he longed for a free finger once more, arid •'he reminded the lady. : that'she told him-he was-to do nothing, and be simply passive. He discharged her, and silenced her by asking whether it was in her power to obstruct and defeat the purpose ot his Maker if they were moved in his favour.

Every skilled physician is well aware of the power which resides in inspiration ,and assurance as exerted by him in rousing many pationts to stronger will-power ana confidence, and to stir the very embers of recuperative; power in 1 his patients. ,'Somo possess this faculty' in a higher degree than others. No one denios this. It is a dangerous art to practise'in cases of a grave inature which afford no reasonable prospect of recovery, yet nothing shakes confidence moro than an evil prognosis which is not ultimately justified. it is not seldom assumed in tho discussions now going on that members, of my profession are littlo, if at all, concerned in the spiritual welfare of their- patients, ;and it has recently been declared that our hospital patients receivo little of religious ministration. Such statements are quite unjustifiable, and made in ignorauce of facts. They constitute a grave chargo against some of the best and most 'devoted of the clergy acting as hospital chaplains, and of the ward Sisters, which I will here' and now repudiate on their behalf ; nnd as regards ourselves, they are little less than an impertinence. Residence in any well-ordered 1 hospital is the most civilising and Christianising influence I know of for any one who has tho privilege of entering it, as wo physicians well know.

"I Bandaged, cod Cured." To sum up, I will declare that so-called Christian Science, or Eddyism, stands condemned as an unwholesome and un-Christian method, and convicted as a source of mischief and positive danger for the sick. I do not believe much in faith'without works, and tho uso of God-given skill is surely very different in' these days from that which prevailed in St. James's time. Further, I regard all new methods of healing which result from honest study, and experience as much tho gifts of God, and as fully charged with spiritual grace and power, if duly administered and religiously received, as any mothods practised in tho days of tho early Church. As tho great French surgeon Ambroiso Tare observed in the sixteenth century, "I bandaged, God cured." Yes, the bandaging is necessary as one of God's means. Wo dare not suppress our knowledge, and hold our hands, m assisting Nature's processes in ways we know by full experience to be useful. Nineteen centuries of acquired knowledge surely count for something' in our dealings of to-day with disease. With Kingsloy I will say that "There is no moro uso iii praying without practising than there is practising without praying." Knowledge advances and new truths aro discovered daily. We dare not ignore them. But amidst all these developments wo havo soberly,, and by Divine guidance, to keep' our heads, and pray daily for a right judgment jn all tilings. For, assuredly, "What is neiv is not always true."