The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1897-10-14
HEALINGS BY FAITH.
LOGICAL DISCUSSION OFTHE
SUBJECT.
Bishop Rondthaler Believes That
Faith Cures do Occur, but it Is
Disobedience to God to Ignore
the Book of Nature.

DAoOOOA1CACO " 0Oo " ~ AOIC
the Book of Nature.
The subject of Bishop Rondthaler's
sermon Sunday morning, at the
Home Church, was "Faith Healing, +"
and he selected as his text James
5 14:15:
lis any sick among you let him call
for the elders of the church; and let
them pray over him. amounting him
with oil in the name of the Lord !:
And the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up;
and If he has committed sins, they
shall be forgiven him."
The Bishop said the subject of
faith.healing has for some years been
attracting considerable attention. We
instinctively feel that there may be
some harm in 1t, that certain fanati.
cism may be involved in it, and yet it
is not easy to meet the doctrine. The
language of the text is very emphatic.
The practice of the Apostles is equally
definite. There has probably been no
century which has not witnessed
similar cures. Luther had something
of this power. Zinzendorf firmly
states his belief in the faith-cures
which took place among his brethren
about the year 1870. In our own
times there have been notable ex-
amples which cannot be Rainsaid.
the point needs to be made IN all
discussions of faith-healing that the
cures made by our Savior and His
Apostles we're only an incidental part
of His and of their ministry. They
did not start out to heal, but to
preach There was no systematic
plan Of cure introduced into the
church. Members Of The church died
then just as they do now. Faith
healing has only prevailed in excep-
tional .ses,
and similar ones, we must remember
that God has two books, the Book OF
Ma, ure along side of that of R:vela
tion. Men are Obliged to read both
books. It is not obedience towards
God to set these books against each
other. Now, in the Book of Nature,
men have been taught to see wonder
full things with regard to disease and
the remedies for it. In the days of
Christ and His Apostles the medical
treatment of sickness was irrational
and fanciful to the highest degree.
Men have read Gods Rook of Nature
aud have reached many most satisfac-
tory results Diseases have been pre-
vented; remedies have been discovered;
pain has been relieved; the surgeons
knife is constantly performing won
ders; the microscopic study of germs
have lesSened the rava2es of pesti
lence. To reject these advantages,
discoveries and improvements, on the
ground of general and ordinary faith
cure, is to disobey God.
La the light OF the text and of his
tory we may expect that there will be
cases OF cure purely on the ground of
faith ard prayer, aud there will be, at
times, Christian teachers specially
gifted 10 this way. These must be
looked upon purely as exceptional.
God will, ordinarily, work by means
which He Himself has supplied ia the
Book of Nature. He will bless the
remedy which He Himself has pro-
vided; the law of relief which He
Himself has ordained; the doctor who
has studied the things of God In medi
cine, Just as the minister has studied
Gods things in theology.
The Bishops conclusion and the
main point of his discourse may be
thus summed up: Real faith-heal-
ings do from time to time occur, but
they are exceptional in their charac-
ter and should, by no means, lead US
to omit the ordinary medical means,
in connection with which God usually
hears our prayer for the sick il 1t Is
His will that they should recover.