wfn.org | Church Health Expert Warns of "Mystical Medicine"

["Christian B. Schäffler" <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

February 7, 1999
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Church Health Expert Warns of Dangers of "Mystical 
Medicine"

San Diego, CA/USA. [ANN/APD]  A health expert from 
the Seventh-day Adventist Church warned of the 
dangers of "mystical medicine" during a Church-
sponsored presentation in San Diego on January 23.

"False promises and healing schemes bombard us 
endlessly from the mail, Internet, print and word-of-
mouth," says Stoy Proctor, associate director of the 
Adventist Church's health ministries. "We need to be 
sure of the guidelines for discerning spurious claims 
and choosing the most effective and scientifically-
sound methods for disease prevention and treatment."

Many forms of mystical medicine or alternative 
therapies have their origins in philosophies alien to 
scientific and reasonable principles, according to 
Proctor.

"Mystical medicine is based on and influenced by 
pantheism, vitalism, and spiritualism," reports 
Proctor. "Ideas such as God is in everything, that you 
pass on vital force, that you can heal through mediums 
and channels-these conflict with good science and with 
the principles of Christian faith."

Proctor cited examples from Ayurvedic medicine and the 
"Qi" energy ideas of Chinese traditional treatments to 
show their basis in religious concepts stemming from 
spiritualism, animism, taoism, and other religions.

"These human-centered ideas for treatment reject 
important principles such as examining objective 
evidence and the Christian concept of God," says 
Proctor. "They also promote false hopes of healing to 
those often most vulnerable. It is irresponsible to 
endorse any such treatments as effective that have not 
been subjected to the proper examination. Mystical 
medicine with its focus on the obscure and occult is a 
dangerous alternative to evidence-based treatment." 
[99/04/04]