else a claim that this particular sect
is the only real and true exponent of mental healing, and that it
produces the only genuine cures. Those which claim to be Christian
sects, however divergent the direct explanation of their results, give
the final credit to God, and base their _modus operandi_ upon the
Bible--in fact, they claim to be the direct successors of Jesus and
his disciples in this respect.

We find, however, that the healer connected with the Christian sect
has no advantage over his Mohammedan or Buddhist brother, and that
neither is able to succeed better than the non-religious healer in all
cases. We recognize that when one class of healers fails in a case
another may succeed, but the successful one is just as liable to fail
in a second case when the first one cures. What particular form of
suggestion is most effective in any given case depends upon the
temperament of the individual and his education, religious training,
and environment. When we consider the whole matter we are forced to
the conclusion that mental cures are independent of any particular
sect, religion, or philosophy; some are cured by one form and some by
another. Not the creed, but some force which resides in the mind of
every one accomplishes the cure, and the most that any religion or
philosophy can do is to bring this force into action.

As a general rule, one sharp distinction is noticed between the
religious and the non-religious healers, viz., the religious healer
sees no limit to his healing power, and affirms that cancer and
Bright's disease are as easily cured, in theory at least, as neuralgia
or insomnia; the non-religious healer, sometimes designated as the
"scientific healer," on the contrary, recognizes that there are some
diseases which are more easily cured than others, and that of those
others some are practically incurable by psycho-therapeutic methods.

The line has been drawn in the past between functional and organic
diseases, the former including diseases where there is simply a
derangement of function, like indigestion, and the latter
comprehending the diseases where the organ is affected, like ulcer of
the stomach. The more we know about diseases the less sure we seem to
be about their classification; some of which we were formerly sure
have recently caused us considerable doubt. For example, we have
formerly classed cancer as an organic disease and consequently
incurable by mental means. The question is now