The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-13
CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.
What DIR. McLane Hamilton, an Authority ON
Nervous Diseases, Says About the Craze.
Report of Speech In New York Evening Post
specialists in nervous diseases are of course,
particularly likely to hear OF these wonderful
effected by Christian scientists mind
Dealers, ETC., for it is pretty we'll established
that they do nothing except in nervous affections;
all the claims made by such people to cures OF
organic diseases are groundless. and are based
Upon the presumption of the so-called healer
and the credulity of the healed. Naturally, /
have taken great interest in the whole matter,
ard have followed the spread of the craze pretty
closely 1t is no new matter. Books by the
dozen may be found treating of the very same
thing under different names ana at dlHerent
times Within the last generation we have had
the Zouave Jacob; who treated thousands OF
sick and deformed people in France; the halt
and the blind focked to him twenty-five years
ago. In this country not many years ago we
had the Perkins tractor and magnetic craze. in
which magnets and pieces of wool applied to
different parts of the body were said to produce
wonderful effects; mesmerism in its curative in
fuence was part OF the thing, and clair
voyants have been thriving longer than the
oldest in habitant can remem Der, upon this very
same influence of mind over body. Perhaps the
very worst error that can be made in discuss
ing the matter is to assume that there is no SUBJ
stratum of truth underneath. the mountain of
ignorance, superstition, and laundering that
cover it.
Every competent physician. especially every
physician who has had to deal with mental
troubles knows perfectly well that the influence
of the mind upon the body is something to be
counted upon as of the utmost value as the
rspeutical adjuvant, and scores of men
their emlnence in the profession to their faculty
of influencing the minds of their patients for
good. l need not go over the literature of this
subject. which is ancient history. The
cases in which bread pills have acted as purga-
tives, in which hypodermic injections of warm
water have produced sleep, etc. endless.
and every writer upon the subject has set forth
facts bearing upon this mater which cannot be
Rainsaid The whole thing reduces itself to
the reality of the effect of expectant attention.
The patient believes that this or that will hap
pen. and without volition on his or her part be
causes it to happen. The naturally healthy body
acquires during years of normal and healthy
developement certain physical routine largely
automatic. This activity may 90 on indefinite
ly unless something happens. We will say that
accident causes a break in the working of
this beautiful human coordination of function.
For some reason or other, the machinery is
stopped or interfered with for WHILE and the
mind conceives the notion that it is impossible
for the body to resume its ordinary functions
Suppose we consider the case of a man who has
been disabled for time in the of an arm
a leg. Especially if he is weak minded,
worn out by sickness, it will be very hard to
convince him that there exists no real reason
why he should not begin to walk again. al
though for certain time walking may have
been extremely painful, or even impossible to
him. Now take this man and suddenly convince
him that he can walk, and he may start off. and,
without knowingly making the physical effort
the automatic action of the body will go on as
before. The is not aware that he has
made involuntary motion; he attributes it to
the prayers of himself or his friends. or the jar
gon with which some Christian scientist has puz-
zled him.
Every specialist in nervous disease will tell
You that one of the curious features of hysteria
is the tendency of the patient to counterfeit
ganic troubles; an hysterical patient will be-
leve that she IS subject to all sorts OF troubles
which have existence except in her imagina-
ton. Evidently the proper treatment is to
strengthen the mind that these delusons will
$50 far as organic troubles go, there is not,
in the whole history of medicine, what may
be considered history, an instance of the effect
of mind upon body to the extent claimed as
every day experience by these Christian sci
entists, / have been looking for years for ono
case in which organic trouble has been cured
by will power, call IL Christian science, mind
cure, or anything you like, and am still wait
ing gr. :- :. ~
fraud, it is only natural that religion should
play large part in It. Take weak minded
woman, probably hysterical. whose system has
become debilitated. and whose faith in religion
is about the only faith she has left; certainly
she has no faith in doctors Some one tells her
that Christian science will her. The
Christian scientist appeals to the only faith she
has left, and as the successful scientist is
usually person Of strong will power who COM
pletely dominates the weak pa tient, the results
may be surprising, and they frequently are.
The religious faith is the last to go in very
many of these hysterical women, and IN all
times the quacks who have allied themselves
with religious superstition have always had the
beat of II. / do not doubt that the Christian
scientists more successful than tho mind
curers who profess to do without any religious
sentiment. 1t may surprise some people to
know that even so late as 1922 there was publish
ed IN London book setting forth at length the
wonderful cure Of boy in whom the devil had
taken his abode 1t would scarcely do to-day
to revive the old belief in demoniac possession,
but our Christian scientists very far
from it. The title of the curious little work of
which speak IS The Extraordinary Affection
- nlyaE~ - 10 Res v1vn a.
be the Effects of Spiritual Agency, Carefully
Examined and Faithfully Narrated; with OBJ
.servations on Demoniac Possession and Ami
madversions on Superstitions- By James Hea-
ton. There are pages after pages given up to
discussion between Mr.. Heaton and the demon
who possessed the boy AT last the demon
yielded to the united efforts of seven preachers
of the gospel. who. in turn. powerfully and eff
fectually rebuked him.
Coming now to the dangers of this craze
they are serious and very easily defined. Take
q person OF not very strong mind, afflicted with
organic disease. He tries Christian science as
a last resort and Christian science fails; the
suit is disappointment and shock which may
have the worst effects. certain that in
sanity may be induced by just such process.
Again, the practice OF most OF such quacks in
declaring any treatment except mental
1gious treatment to be superfous. exposes the
patient to neglect which may prove fatal. We
have had within the last few months several
instances of the kind which have been widely
announced in the newspapers. The most Curl
Gus of harm through Christian science
faith cure that have recently heard OF was
that of an old lady who afflicted with
disease of the hip joint, and who prevailed
upon by friends to present herself subject
Tor prayer at one OF these seances. After the
managers or leaders of the meeting had worked
the foolish women present up to high state of
emotional excitement. some of the people
sent tod the victim that God had cured her.
Throw your crutches into the air. they shouted
and the unfortunate woman did So but she
tnmbled down and broke both legs. Perhaps
some people would like to know who ought to
pay for the damage done.
II not sure that it is good policy to at
tempt to stop this craza by legislation. Prose
cution' is likely to make it thrive, and we can
only trust to the good sense of the community
Probably it will die out quickly as previous
crazes of the same type. few fragrant cases
in which patients have suffered and perhaps
died through the neglect of proper treatment
will probably come before the coroners. and
when that happens the whole thing will ger into
- Faf1