The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-13

power may infringe the rights of man. It produces evil continually. and is not factor in the realism of being. Truth and not corporeal will, is the divine pow CT which says to disease, Peace, be still"
 A writer in Public Opinion of April 1905, said Suggestion is the operation of one human mind controlling another through statements which the operator does not always believe. For example, the mental manipulator suggests to the patient you are well believing all the time that he is sick, which, on the face of 1t, shows that the statement could not contain within itself the vitality of truth to operate as law In other words, how can the healer expect that a state ment in which he does not believe can have any efficacy in the destruction of error.
 Christian Science analyzes all discord and inharmony as error, and declares that the remedy is truth. The Christian Sci enlist believes that his method of heal ing is in conformity with Jesus methods, and he refuses to believe that Jesus was hypnotist. The idea is repugnant to Christians and Christian Scientists alike. In fact 1t is the very thing Jesus was accused of by his scholastic enemies, and your contributor is doubtless familiar with Jesus reply: "If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out"
 If, as 1t asserts. Christian Science does it's work in imitation of the practice of Jesus, 1t Is important to know what he thought of his own methods, and how he described his healing
 In John V, IT, He declared, My fath- worketh hitherto. and I york; Again He said, "The son can do noth- ing of Himself, but what He seeth the father do, for what things soever He ola l,A wise" Here 1t is plain that Jesus ascrlbed His healing power, not to any hypnotic ability of Ills own, not to the human mind, but to His Father. to the one infinite intelligence called God Paul understood this when he said to the early disciples, Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" In other words. Christian Science is mind healing on spiritual basis Hypnotism is mind healing on a ma terial basis. The mind employed by the Christian Scientist is not what in common parlance is called his own mind, but is the mind that governed Jesus Christ. and which, He said, "ds the works" If H. s. w. is correct in asserting that Jesus was a hypnotist and if we accept Jesus statement that His Father was responsible for all that He did. then we must conclude that God is the master hypnotist of the universe; a conclusion 50 monstrous that 1t cannot be considered seriously for a single instant. God Is Of purer eyes than to behold evil"
 H. s. W. may have his own theories and beliefs about Christian Science practice, but until he has put them to test and has actually attempted to heal the sick, according to the rule of Christian Science. he will not be in position to speak with authority
 Your contributor says, among other things Mrs. Eddy appreciated the fact that Jesus used very powerful suggestions when He fed the multitude with few loaves and fishes. when He turned water into wine, when He healed the sick and cured the blind, and when He raised Lazarus from the dead" In other words, this writer means that Jesus was little better than a mountebank, and that He merely Suggested" to earth's sufferers that there was a way of redemption from sin and pain and human want. This is a parody on the Saviour's mission, and Christian Scientists. fortunately, have a more noble concept of Jesus and His work. In this connection 1t Is in teresting to read Mrs. Eddy's analysis of cures by hypnotism: "In no in- stance" she says. lis the effect of animal magnetism, recently called hypnotism, other than the effect of illusion. Any seeming benefit derived from 1t Is proportional to ones faith in esoterio magic" (Science and Health, page 101-30) In other words, if H. s. W. Is correct, 1t was only an Illusion that Lazarus returned from the grave and was restored to his family. The five thousand were not really fed and were not really satisfied. they were only tricked into believing that their need had been met. I think H. s. W. will find many earnest thinkers. outside the ranks of Christian Science. who will take issue with him on this most i'm portant question.
 The article under review states that fit Is impossible to hypnotize anyone against that persons will" and the in- ference is that hypnotism is not moral or intellectual menace to society The preponderance of opinion is all on the other side of the scales. As a mat ter of fact the newspapers, during the past few years, have had frequent &C., counts of the i'll effects of hypnotic suggestion. A case comes to mind of a man in Des Moines, Ia-, who was sen- tenced to term in the penitentiary for hypnotizing a young girl 22 years old. The newspaper account said "The exercise of hypnotic influence the supreme court yesterday defined as the use of artf1ce to accomplish the crlfn- inal purpose referred to in this case This does not substantiate H. s. W.'s contention that the victim can reject the suggestion if he sees fit.
 Speaking of the danger of mental sug- gestion the Brooklyn Daily Eagle saysi This fact has been proved by expert medical testimony and by the experi- ments of Charcot of Paris, who was one of the first to use hypnotic suggestion in the Paris hospital. After a few years this practice was forbidden by the French government, owing to it's criminal mis- use."
 A lecturer on the Emmanuel move ment recently spoke in Buffalo. His address practically amounted to a plea on behalf of hypnotism. There were sew eral representative Buffalo physicians in the audience, who made things interest ing for the lecturer when he had fln- fshed.
 I take the following extracts from the Buffalo Express of October 19, 1907: How many persons can be hypno- tized? asked man in the last seat in the hall. should say about 90 per cent replied Dr. McComb and he went on to explain things. Then Dr. James w. Putnam had word to say: Well, if 90 per cent of the people can be hyp- notzed then should say that 90 per cent of that Q0 Der cent should never