Dossey (1993, pp. 191–192) noted: “Although skeptics often criticize spiritual healing as being simply the result of suggestion or a placebo response, the above experiments show that this cannot be true, unless skeptics wish to attribute a high degree of consciousness to bacteria and yeast. These results suggest that the effects of spiritual healing can be completely independent of the ‘psychology’ of the subject.”
Beverly Rubik conducted laboratory research on “volitional effects of healers on a bacterial system” while director of the Institute for Frontier Sciences at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The experiments were performed using the bacterium Salmonella typhimurium, a very well studied organism. The chief subject in the study was faith healer Olga Worrall, who had demonstrated positive abilities in other experiments.
One set of experiments involved volitional effects on bacterial cultures infused with low and high concentrations of the antibiotics tetracycline and chloramphenicol, which inhibit growth to various degrees. To influence the cultures, Worrall would hold her hands close to, but not touching, the culture dishes. After about 20 generations of bacterial reproduction (bacteria reproduce by dividing in two), the cultures that Worrall acted upon were compared with the control cultures. In all cases there was a significant increase in growth of the bacteria in the cultures treated by Worrall.
In the experiments in which the bacterial samples were infused with low concentrations (1 microgram per milliliter) of tetracycline, samples treated by Worrall showed 121 percent more growth than the control samples. In experiments with concentrations of 10 micrograms/ml of tetracycline, samples treated by Worrall showed 28 percent more growth than the control samples. In experiments with concentrations of 10 micrograms/ml of chloramphenicol, samples treated by Worrall showed 70 percent more growth than the control samples. In experiments with concentrations of 100 micrograms/ml of chloramphenicol, samples treated by Worrall showed 22 percent and 24 percent more growth than the control samples (Rubik 1996, p. 105).
Another set of experiments involved studies of motility of bacteria. The bacteria were placed on slides in a solution of phenol sufficient to immobilize but not kill them. The slides of bacteria were then observed under a microscope. Rubik (1996, p. 108) stated, “Application of . . . phenol completely paralyzes the bacteria within 1 to 2 minutes. Worrall’s treatment inhibited this effect . . . such that on the average up to 7% of the bacteria continued to swim after 12 minutes exposure to phenol compared to the control groups which were completely paralyzed in all cases.”
Distance Healing on Humans
Today, many people around the world are using alternative medical treatments in addition to, or instead of, modern Western medical treatment. Many alternative medical treatments involve spiritual and paranormal influences, such as prayer. A study published in the Journal of the american medical association (Eisenberg et al. 1998) found that 35 percent of all Americans had used prayer to help solve health problems. Another national study, published in time magazine (Wallis 1996), found that 82 percent of all Americans believe that prayer has healing power. A study published in the annals of internal medicine (Astin et al. 2000) found that “a growing body of evidence suggests an association between religious involvement and spirituality and positive health outcomes.”
In support of this assertion the authors of the study cited reports from a variety of scientific and medical journals.
In their study, Astin and his coworkers did a thorough review of published medical reports on “distant healing.” Their definition of distant healing includes “strategies that purport to heal through some exchange or channeling of supraphysical energy” as well as prayer (Astin et al. 2000, p. 903). Searching through the professional literature, Astin’s group found 100 clinical trials of distant healing. They then analyzed these according to a stringent set of criteria. This resulted in many being excluded from consideration. They stated (2000, p. 904), “The principle reasons for excluding trials from our review were lack of randomization, no adequate placebo condition, use of nonhuman experimental subjects or nonclinical populations, and not being published in peer-reviewed journals.” After this strict selection procedure, 23 clinical trials remained. Astin’s group noted that even these had some minor methodological shortcomings that could be improved with better experimental design and controls. Nevertheless, they found that 13 of the 23 studies (57 percent) showed a positive treatment outcome. They concluded (2000, p. 910): “Despite the methodologic limitations that we have noted, given that approximately
57% (13 of 23) of the randomized, placebo controlled trials of distant healing that we reviewed showed a positive treatment effect, we concur. . . that the evidence thus far warrants further study.” Regarding studies on nonhuman subjects, such as bacteria, Astin’s group, citing a review by Benor (1990), said (2000, p. 904): “The findings of controlled trials of distant healing in nonhuman biological systems are provocative enough to merit further research.”
Local Healing by Faith Healers
Let us now consider some specific cases of healing by spiritualists. Kathryn Kuhlman, a Christian faith healer who worked from the 1940s to the 1970s, was responsible for some interesting cures that appear to be well documented, such as the case of George Orr. In 1925, Orr was working at the Laurence Foundry Company in Grove City, Pennsylvania. A drop of molten iron splashed into his eye, injuring it severely. Dr. C. E. Imbrie determined that the cornea of the eye was covered by scar tissue, causing almost complete loss of vision. In 1927, the Pennsylvania State Department of Labor and Industry said the injury was equivalent to the loss of an eye, and granted Orr complete compensation. On May 4, 1947, Orr and some family friends attended one of Kuhlman’s meetings, in Franklin, Pennsylvania. Orr prayed for a healing. He felt a tingling in his eye, which began to shed tears. Later, on the drive back home, he realized he could see. The scar on his eye had disappeared. Dr. Imbrie later examined Orr and was astonished by the cure (Rogo 1982, pp. 275–277). The Orr case is significant because the healing was not just the result of an activation of the body’s own powers of regeneration. Rogo (1982, p. 277) stated: “Because scar tissue on the eye does not simply vanish or dissolve, George Orr’s cure must be considered a legitimate miracle . . . It was not of a sort that might occur naturally, Orr was under no medical treatment at the time, and the healing was instantaneous, complete, and permanent.”
In 1948, Karen George was born in Conway, Pennsylvania, with a clubfoot. Rogo (1982, p. 277) said, “The bottom of her left foot faced upward and a walnut-sized ball of flesh was embedded in its surface. The toes were pushed together as well, and the kneecap was twisted over to the side of the leg.” A doctor put a brace on Karen’s leg when she was three months old, the first of many braces. None of them worked.