The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-01-18

willing to allow his-or moro generally her
superhuity or abundance to overflow into the
person of some patient in whom it is declared
the presence of disease proves the absence Of
the Lord. The process is Of the simplest The
healer sits down with his back in contact with
the corresponding portion of the patient per
son. and for the moderate price of "a dollar an
hour allows the supposed Divine influence to
filter from vertebrip to verteTR We are in
formed of the case Of one lady in this city, sup
posed to be neither unintelligent nor irrel4 ious
who has recently paid 800 to one of these Chris
tan scientsts-if that term be exact-for sitting
with her that number of hours, back to back.
and professedly letting the spirit of the Lord
emenate from her backbone!
Such nonsense cannot but seem hlasphemous
to the devout and sober minded, yet among the
adherents TO the mind-cme are people OF lntiu
ence and prominence and some whose names
are as familiar as household words. They have
tales to tell of the efficacy Of their cures when
border closely upon the marvellous. They use
eXtravagant phrases. The temperance at church
of two invalds for some time absent, becomes
Resurrection Sunday" They relate how Il
patient was raised from death-bed by the pres
ence in the chamber of a mind healer who poured
out tlod of God-force which expelled disease
so potent rs to have brought the sick person to
the very moment of dissolution. Doubling
questions do not disturb them: their faith and
enthusiasm stick at nothing. They resent with
vigor any suggestion of the efficacy of the will.
One lady gravely relates how she encountered
a severe blow. But it did not hurt me- she de-
clares. 1T did not really hit me at all, for my
real being is with God Ridiculous as this
proposition may sound, irreverent as it must APP
pear to any person at all sensitive concerning
respectful and devout attitude towards the Deity,
similar words might be quoted from persons
we'll known in the community. She bore the
pain with a fortitude which denied even to itself
the existence of confusion, which yet left the
injured member black and blue One lady to
whom the miracle was related recalled the anec
dote of the courageous wife of an English
premier who had her hand crushed in the car
riage door when setting out with her husband on
the occasion when he had an important speech
sheer will power, her terrible agony, lest
it should distract his attention. The
mind-curer, however, scouts all idea
of willpower. 1T was not will" she assey-
Grated, with perfect conviction ut was not
willpower, but God!' Against such protesta
ton, evidently perfectly honest argument is
manifestly of no avail. When asked upon the
sources of inspiration, a prominent woman, a
writer of reputation, naively replied, "Oh, we
read up, and then give out our light to others.
The new philosophers even quote Charming,
from whom many stray passages are culled by
the mind-healers, very much as the use OF Shout
derknOts was i'll ''rhe Tale of a Tub justified
by disconnected letters from the Scriptures.
Some odd fragments of st. Martin, not the
famous saint, but one little known, with
venient texts, many from St Paul, complete
the list of standard authorities generally
quoted, with whatever shreds and scraps of
modern scientific discoveries may serve or
with which the mind-curer chances to be ac-
quainted.
The favorite method of disseminating the
new faith is by parlor meetings, where some
ardent sister promulgates the doctrine to audi
enceS whom it is more charitable, in view Of
their means of obtaining genuine scientific and
religious training and their claims to be conSid-
cred Intelligent, to regard as drawn together by
curiosity rather than by faith. Considerable
sums of money are gathered by these lecturers
but the laborer is supposed to be worthy his hire
whether he furnish amusement or more material
service; and we are willing to give the mind heal
ers the benefit of the doubt and accept rs genuine
their emphatic proteStations that they labor not
for money, but for the enlightenment and
elevation of mankind. case is quoted in
which IA lecturer, having been worsted in an
argument by skeptical visitor, and
further injured by the remark, AS far
statements, you are quack," offered to return
the dollar paid by the unbeliever for admission
to the seanGe. Scorn of pecuniary return,
coupled with such modification of the flesh as
may be implied in receiving it, is one of the
characteristics Of the leaders, or, at least the
teachers of the new faith. 1t would be unfair,
however, to convey the impression that the
body Of believers are not both sincere and disin-
terested Their nervous, radiant faces are, as
they themselves insist sufficient proof of the
borne in mind the radiant faces of new converts
to any religion or philosophy must be, and are
evidence of honest assurance. Any strong
nascent belief shines in the countenance of the
freshly convinced. and how absurd it is to make
enthusiasm the test of truth has been proved so
often that this very denial has become a truisin
Looked upon in cold print this whole matter is
absurd and apparently not worthy of public at
tention. Yet, when one recalls the conyulsion
lists of st. MedaTd, or, to come to our own day,
the Canadian Jumpers, socalled it ceases to ap
pear unimportant to deal frankly with what may
possibly become an hystcrc epidemic in however
mild form Or, if the analogy seem over
strained it certainly is worth consideration that
numbers of the classes who Should lead the cult
walton and intelligence of Boston are lending
contenance to the promoters Of theory alike
blasphemous from Il religious stand point and
utterly contemplate from that of reason That
there are grains of truth mixed in the tissue is
plain enough. The power Of the will, of faith
Of personal contact, even, have long enough been
acknowledged and numberless theories have
been built thereon If, however, the mind
curefs are mere supporters of some form of mag
netic treatment, it is contended that it would be
far better to say so honestly. rather than to
offer for sale the alleged emanation of an ON
npotent and 0mnipresent Deity, at a dollar an
hour.