Article April 20, 1899 Issue

Christian Science Better than Medicine

Denver Republican

Dr. Samuel W. Abbott, secretary of the State Board of Health of Massachusetts, recently contributed an article to the Boston Globe, in answer to the question: "Is the practice of Christian Science dangerous to human life?" In this article, which was, of course, antagonistic to Science, he said: "The real reasons for the success of the thousand and one substitutes for rational medicine, which are constantly appearing in different parts of the world, are mainly two in number. First, the fact that the majority of all cases of illness—at least nine-tenths—tend to recovery, and the patient recovers under any system sooner or later, in consequence of what is commonly termed, 'the healing power of nature.'"

It may not be unfair to ask whether the success of "rational medicine" (such as it is), is not also mainly due to the same cause, to wit: the tendency to recovery of nine-tenths of all cases of illness?

In addition to this large percentage of cases of what doctors would call real sickness, that need no other physician than nature, there is vast number of people who are always complaining of purely imaginary ills. It is all but imaginary acknowledged that many people who drag through life believing they are invalids, have nothing but imaginary disease, and physicians of all schools agree that this is so.

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