Let's consider these elements regarding "faith healing":

• Mobilization of healing forces by confident reliance on certain substances, rituals or procedures.
• The power of religious faith, mobilized by rituals and prayer in putting to use those (or similar) forces.
• Distinguishing sincere healers from charlatans and frauds.
• The points of interaction and points of conflict between faith healing and scientific medicine.

Faith-generated Healing Forces

When doctors try a new drug they generally divide the trial group into two sections. About half the subjects get the new drug and half get sugar pills (made to look like the hopefully-effective product). These inactive tablets are called "placebos".

They do this because patients often experience relief when a doctor or institution in whom they have confidence prescribes anything new and different. In one study of a medication being tried for arthritis, for instance, 40% of the patients who were taking totally ineffective...