Editorial November 27, 1989 Issue

Where controversy may lead

Michael D. Rissler

An alumnus of Principia College and former member of the Christian Science Church recently wrote an article for the Journal of the American Medical Association. He compared alumni records of his college with those of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where he now teaches mathematics. He concluded that graduates of Principia—a college for children of Christian Scientists—have less longevity than graduates of the school where he is employed.

In a related article in this issue of the Sentinel, readers will be interested in questions that have been raised about the study itself. The fact that a prominent medical journal has published an article by a former Christian Scientist is as noteworthy in itself as it can be misleading.

There's a lot of baggage that goes along with the popular stereotype of Christian Scientists as "those people who don't believe in doctors." "Not to believe in doctors" gets hooked up with "religious fanaticism," "faith healing," primitive superstitions, and a host of other negative connotations.

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