The always-on-top-of-things Amy Sullivan over at Time has a good story on what role (if any) Christian Scientists should (or want to) play in the health care reform debate that’s about to pick up steam in Washington. I can vouch for the story — Phil Davis, who Amy quotes in her story, mentioned this to me a few weeks ago as one of their upcoming priorities.
From Amy’s story:
“Of course, they wouldn’t call themselves “faith healers.” They argue that the term dismisses what they do as simple wishful thinking. But practitioners of Christian Science as well as other alternative therapies – including acupuncture, biofeedback, herbal medicine, holistic medicine and Reiki, a Japanese healing and relaxation technique – are intent on influencing the coming health-care-reform process. “We’re advocates for people who want access to spiritual treatment,” says Phil Davis, a Christian Science practitioner and his church’s chief lobbyist. Their goal is to encourage Congress to think of health care as more than just medical care – and to allow insurance companies to provide coverage for their holistic treatments.”
It’s important to note that there’s a distinction — a big distinction — between Christian Science and the doctor-denying faith healers that we wrote about today. Christian Scientists’ first go-to option is prayer, but they’re never held back from seeking medical help from a doctor or emergency room.
