Re: [MET] Absent & spiritual Healing and Complementary Therapies trashed on radio

Personally, I can't find this so dramatic.

It seems that this program has given a place to a pro- and an anti-voice in this controversy.
In itself that is fair enough, I'd say.
That it ended with an anti-voice, well...

People will contine to ask for complementary medicine whatever is being said about it. And "mr sceptical" may very well have discredited himself with his clichés. He is not the first and won't be the last who rants against anything that lives outside his comfort and $$$$ zone.

I think the worst we can do here is to become defensive (and maybe become unconsciously associated with "esoteric charlatans".)

Maarten

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Paul O'Connor
  To: Life_Coaching_Ireland_at_yahoogroups.com ; center_at_ijhc.org ; LucernePsychics_at_yahoogroups.com ; meridian-Energy_at_yahoogroups.com ; meridiantherapy_at_yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 7:36 PM
  Subject: [MET] Absent & spiritual Healing and Complementary Therapies trashed on radio

  THIS IS IMPORTANT.

  A discussion on an Irish radio programme, called the Marion Finucane Show,
  started out last week with a very critical discussion of companies which
  offer telephone tarot readings over very expensive, 1850- and 1890-, leased
  phonelines, and focussed how they are exploiting vulnerable people.

  Unfortunately, the discussion shifted this morning into the area of
  spiritual and absent healing with the claim by a listener that it also
  exploits vulnerable people and the presenter (who is a skeptic, but comes
  from a country background with the experience that those with the 'Gift' did
  not charge money) could not understand why persons/healers charge for what
  they do when they do not guarantee results!

  My immediate thought was that many vulnerable people pay the legal
  profession much larger sums of money for a service which not only fails to
  guarantee results but, when it fails to work, results in even higher costs!!

  A spokesperson/healer came on and defended the use of healing and explained
  how they confirm the effects for their clients by using Kirlian photography
  to show the effects on the energy field.

  The most disappointing part was when a clinical psychologist from the
  Central Remedial Clininc (and the newly formed Irish Skeptics) came on and
  claimed that
  a) there was no link between the mind and any effects on biological matter,
  b)there was NO such thing as an energy body,
  c) that the placebo effect, and medical remission, were the reasons for
  people getting better and
  d) he continued to trash the complementary and alternative therapies!

  The show ended there, in a very unbalanced state. This show is one of the
  most influential radio programmes on Irish Radio. You can hear this piece by
  clicking here.
  http://www.radio1.ie/morning/marianfinucane/
  and by listening to the last 20 minutes of the show.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

           
Received on Tue 04 Feb 2003 - 19:47:02 GMT