• “Good Health” and Christian Reasonableness
    The Watchtower—1982 | June 15

    • Other “cures” that became popular actually were totally ineffective because they were frauds.a They were promoted by men happy to separate sick people from their money. And, of great concern to Christians, some of the popular treatments seem to have involved ‘uncanny powers’ or spiritism, which the Bible condemns.​—Isaiah 1:13; Deuteronomy 18:10-12.

      ‘But,’ some ask, ‘how can I know whether a treatment might be a fraud?’ That can be difficult, for many of the past treatments that virtually everyone now recognizes to have been worthless had scientific-sounding names. And the literature distributed about them offered explanations that some found plausible. Where, then, can we find help?b

      Applying Reasonableness

      The disciple James wrote that “the wisdom from above is . . . reasonable.” (James 3:17) Though he is not a health expert, a Christian’s striving to be reasonable can help him to evaluate diagnostic (or testing) methods and therapies.

      Of course, we must realize that there are different approaches to many health questions; an active Christian cannot become knowledgeable about all of them. But when he needs treatment and is presented with a recommendation, he can ask: ‘Does the suggested therapy seem reasonable, consistent with knowledge about the body and disease? Or does it seem strange, even spectacular in its claims? Am I being influenced to accept this treatment by uninformed persons or those who stand to benefit financially? If I have doubts about it, should I wait until more facts are known?’

      These questions may sound elementary, but the fact that some bizarre treatments became popular in the past shows the value of considering the questions. This also might be illustrated by a recent experience: A woman, with a normal education and employed in an office, went to a practitioner who stressed an extreme dietary treatment. She later told friends that she had been shown “bottles of tumors that patients had passed,” including a “brain tumor.” Reasonableness could move you to think: Does the average person know what a real tumor looks like, and so how could he identify a true tumor regardless of how it supposedly was “passed”? Also, since the brain is enclosed, how could someone “pass” a brain tumor through the intestinal tract or in any other way?

      Finally, many of the past tests or treatments that proved worthless were promoted with claims about “miracle substances,” unusual “body forces” or strange methods by which a practitioner took ‘readings,’ perhaps from a pendulum or from a body part that did not seem related to what was being diagnosed. The appeal was to emotion, mystery or even to spiritistic forces, not to reasonableness.​—Compare Leviticus 19:26.

      What About Testimonials?

      We are further aided by this: “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.”​—Proverbs 14:15.

      That is good counsel, for most of us have heard of treatments that were recommended with testimonials such as, ‘Doctors told Mr. Jones that he had four months to live, but he took ​——​ and now he is fine.’ Whether “Mr. Jones” actually had the disease or not, you may know that many past health frauds were endorsed with testimonials. This certainly does not mean that we need be critical if an acquaintance relates a personal experience. However, in making major health decisions we ought to do more than ‘put faith in every word of testimonials.’

  • “Good Health” and Christian Reasonableness
    The Watchtower—1982 | June 15

    • a A museum in St. Louis, Missouri, has a display on such medical frauds. Included are radionics machines, colored lights to “cure” patients as they lay with their heads pointing northward, devices that supposedly transmit “cosmic energy” and others that involve diagnosis or testing based on mysterious “body forces.”

      b Occasionally, persons will inquire of the Watchtower Society as to whether a form of diagnosis or treatment involves fraud or spiritism. We are not in position to do research and judge the numerous “treatments” used earth wide. But we trust that the counsel in these two articles will help readers to apply Bible principles and reasonableness in deciding on health measures.