Reply #6: Deadly Blessings: Faith Healing on Trial [View All]

[Ian David]

From Publishers Weekly
Three California court cases, all involving what Brenneman ( Fuller's Earth ) calls "alternative healing," are the focus of this probe. The author, a Sacramento-based reporter and former Christian Scientist, first considers a Christian Science couple whose 17-month-old son died of bacterial meningitis when they put faith in God and refused medical care. They were cleared of involuntary manslaughter charges. The second case involves Jose Burgarin, "Brother Joe," a Filipino psychic surgeon in Sacramento who went to jail after a sting operation exposed quackery. Lastly, Brenneman delves into the strange saga of Betty Eisner, a psychologist whose practice combined the use of LSD, communal acting-out of hostility and, according to former members of her therapeutic community, group sex. Her license was revoked after a patient died during a hot mineral bath session. Even though Brenneman's cases seem well-chosen examples of irresponsibiity, the material does not support his blanket condemnation of nonconventional healing.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Brenneman, a former Christian Scientist and a veteran journalist, makes good use of both experiences in this investigative report of three cases of faith healing: a trial of a Christian Science couple whose son died of meningitis despite prayer; a psychotherapist's experience with group therapy and the use of a hot tub, which also ended in death; and an account of the Philippine version of "psychic surgery." Specialists will find this book's detailed notes useful, and general readers interested in religious subjects might request it. To his credit, Brenneman does not take advantage of the obvious sensational appeal of these cases, although the book is intriguing. If it is well publicized, libraries may have patron demand from the casual reader.
- John Broderick, Stonehill Coll., North Easton, Mass.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


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