Healing Through Faith: Judge Hanna at the Opera House
A prominent Christian Science lecturer visits the Walla Walla Opera House to explain the doctrine's stance on sickness and the 'mental cause'.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At the Walla Walla Opera House last night, Judge Septimus J. Hanna of Chicago delivered a lengthy and interesting address to a fair-sized audience. The speaker was introduced by Mrs. Anna Osgood, a leading member of the Christian Scientists in Walla Walla. Judge Hanna argued that sickness does not arrive without a cause, often rooted in 'wrong living' or mental conditions. He posited that the role of the metaphysician is to address the mental cause of an ailment rather than merely tinkering with the effects. 'The Christian Scientist endeavors to awaken his patient spiritually and point out to him his true relationship to God,' Hanna said, framing prayer as a path to health and spiritual relief.
“The Christian Scientist endeavors to awaken his patient spiritually and point out to him his true relationship to God.”
During the early 20th century, spiritual movements like Christian Science offered an alternative to the then-emerging professionalization of medicine. This story reflects a time when public forums for alternative healing philosophies were major cultural events in towns like Walla Walla.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.