THE REV MR DOWIE AGAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1479, 10 February 1887, Page 3

THE REV MR DOWIE AGAIN

The doctrine of the Rev John Dowit as to the healing of diseases by faith does not appear to be accented by his clerical brethren a bit more readily than by the general run of the laity, who are altogether sceptical about it ; the disciples ot the Reverend John consisting principally ot women, who are of weak understanding m every sense of the word, the ailments for which they have been treaied being chiefly lameness, arising from rheumatism and other causes, such as usually yield, temporarily at least, to the curative or alleviative effects of galvanism or animal magnetism. The rev gentleman's doctrine- has indeed been openly controverted m more quarters than one ; a Baptist minister at Timaru having recently announced a sermon m which he undertook to prove not only that it is not supported by Scripture, but that it is of a mischievous .and pernicious tendency; while at Invercargill Mr Dowie has been publicly challenged by the Rev Mr Gordon, a Presbyterian clergyman, to defend the doctrine on the platform, Mr Gordon undertaking to prove from Sacred Writ that Mr Dowie's position is not maintainable by the test of the Inspired Writings. That challenge, however, Mr Dowie has not seen fit to accept, and appears to be content to rely solely upon the argument of results. Now, it may at once be admitted, that the logic of facts is the soundest of all logic, and that if the Rev Mr Dowie could produce unmistakeable evidence m the shape of actual cures of disease, then, however clear the arguments of his opponents might appear to be, we should be bound to assume that there was some undetected flaw m their reasoning, and should be obliged to accept the fact as an unanswerable answer to any amount of theory. Nay, we should be delighted to do so, because no greater boon could be conferred on humanity than so ready and universal a means of curing all the ills to which flesh is heir. But so far, at any rate, it does not seem that the facts are much more favorable to Mr Dowie's pretentions than are the arguments of bis critics. The other day it was shown conclusively that the alleged cure of chronic lameness at Timaru m the case of one Crozier or Croisier, which was telegraphed all over the colony as absolutely reliable, was no cure at all — Crozier's neighbour's, and, if we mistake not, Crozier himself, writing to the papers to say that it was all a mistake — and now it turns out that an alleged cure of blindness at Christchurch is another delusion. In yesterday's Press appear full particulars of the case referred to, supplied by a special reporter of that journalwho has fully enquired into the whole matter. These are prefaced by the statement that Mr Dowie has issued a circular concerning his two month's work m New Zealand, which opens with a joint letter m the name of himself and wife to their " beloved Christian friends m Fiizroy, Victoria," and m which, dating from Christchurch, the following statement occurs : — " The first healing m this city, since we came here, is that of a man blind for two years, who was saved and restored to sight m one day. No human hand touched him, but at an early hour yesterday mor.ning, whilst engaged m prayer at home, the Lord graciously opened his eyes, and he catne to the healing mission the same afternoon and asked permission to tell what ' great things God had done for him.' " Now although, as will be seen, Mr Dowie does not expressly lay claim to having been the instrument of the alleged restoration of sight, it is stated by the reporter that the man to whom the passage refers " openly stated at one of the meetings that he was cured, and attributed the cure to the Rev Mr Dowie's spiritual influence." It is, therefore, a matter of great interest to the public, especially to such as are themselves afflicted with the loss of sight, or have relatives or friends m such sad case, to know first whether a case of blindness has been enred m Christcburch, and, secondly, whether either the Rev Mr Dowie, or the Rev Mr Dowie's method, has had anything to do with that cure. And the special reporter of our contemporary has done a public service by the patient and full enquiry he appears to have made into the matter, and the very clear account Ihe gives of the result. From this it is abundantly plain that there has been no such thing as a cure of blindness at all. The patient, whose name is Henry Dodd, who has been a seaman and nv>re recently a cabdriver^ and is sixty years of age, is suffering from very defective vision, his sight having failed him two years ago, On the testimony of his daughter, an intelligent young woman, it appears that long before Mr Dowie appeared upon the scene " sometimes her father could see and sometimes he could not," and all that has happened appears to have been that Mr Dowie laid hands upon him, and that subsequently he saw a little better than he has done at some other times. His (the patient's) own wife does not believe that he is cured, and when his interviewer (the reporter), on taking leave, held out his hand, he failed to see it until the departing visitor touched bim, and "when walking over the room felt his way, and felt m several places for the knob of the door before he found it." It is true that he him self firmly believes that his sight is improved, and that it will get better day by day, but this is not surprising when we read that he "appeared to be very childish." Altogether, we think that no unprejudiced reader can rise from a perusal of the facls'as stated without having arrived at the conclusion that there is no more reality m the alleged cure of blindness m the case of Dodd rhan there was m that of chronic, lameness m the case of Crozier — m a word, that the so-called facts adduced m support of the faithbealing theory are not facts at all. The sooner, therefore, that peopfe give up a vain and silly hope that m cases of diseass miraculous cures will be wrought as the reward of what they are pleased to call faith, but which would be more fitly designated as presumption, the better. We are not iving m the days of the Apostles, and we have no warrant for the belief that the special powers which were conferred upon them have been continued to their successors. The laws of ' Mature are as much the laws of God as are the moral laws of Holy Writ, and -we have np more right to look for the

abrogation of the one than for the aim of the other, and as the law o Nature is ihai cause and efifcct are indisolubly united, curable disease can onl) he ix|K'Cied to be healed by the use c the proper remedy, and incurable dv .*as(- is not to be expec ed to be ciuci at all. That at least is our view, aiu it it is the correct one, then assured!} those simple-minded people who fl >c! to he:ir such mistaken enthusiasts as the Rev Mr Dowie are wasting theitime — and not only their time, but tln-i.-in >ney. For somehow or other, although Mr Dowie and others of that ilk profess to take no money for thi exercise of their healing powers, yet there is always a collection taken up, and it seems to us that if their often, large audiences are only moderately liberal the pecuniary result must not be so very unsatisfactory. We are willing for all that to assume that the motive on Mr Dowie's part is not wholly a mercenary one — he is probably innocent, too, of wilful deception, being himself deceived — but it would be altogether preferable tint lie should seek to exercise his supposed healing powers — or rather the healing powers which he is supposed to be able by the exercise of faith on the part of himself and the patient to command — upon the sick and suffering m our hospitals, and this without any fee or reward, direct or indirect. If he does that, and if he succeeds m effecting cures which will stand the test of medical investigation, we will admit that we have done him an injustice, and wiil remedy the wrong so far as lies m our power, but until he does so we shall continue to look upon him as an altogether mistaken enthusiast, leading captive silly women and still sillier men, and doing more harm to the cause of religion than he is evidently able to do good to his patients.