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When the power of magnetism was discovered in the 1700s, it simply blew people’s minds.
Magnets seemed like magic. How could ordinary-looking metals exert a mysterious force, at a distance, over other objects?
Today scientists know that all chemical interactions and life processes are, at their core, electromagnetic.
But 200 years ago, it was widely hoped that magnets might turn out to be much, much more. Could they be the key that would finally unlock the mysteries of human healing?
Doctors, researchers, and quacks immediately began experimenting with magnetic stones on everything from tumors to headaches to zits.
The most celebrated actor in this new drama was a German physician named Franz Anton Mesmer. He became convinced that a magnetic fluid flowed through the tissues of all animals, including human beings.
Mesmer even gave it a name: animal magnetism.
In our own time, “animal magnetism” might be mentioned in the context of a Chippendales dance performance. But in Mesmer’s day it was a serious scientific hypothesis.
Mesmer combined his passion for magnets with a strong interest in hypnotism. His clients, like the ones who appear in this print, were connected to a magnetic source and then eased into a hypnotic state. Those experiencing such therapy were said to be “mesmerized.”
Were sick people healed?
The consensus of medical historians is that the patients who believed the magnets helped them probably felt better afterwards – an illustration of the placebo effect.
But there is no evidence Mesmer’s techniques had any objective healing power, and animal magnetism as a theory has long since gone the way of the Earth-centered universe.
The excitement about magnets illustrates a well-known pattern. New scientific discoveries often inspire “miraculous” new therapies.
Early last century, radioactive particles were widely sold as cure-all’s – until it was learned they caused cancer.
Soon after, inventors peddled devices that produced radio waves – until it became clear that such waves have no effect on humans. It’s quite possible that radio waves playing “Baby Shark” are passing through your body right now, but they are not likely to improve your acid reflux.
Today consumers are hearing about so-called “quantum” healing techniques – primarily because they sound cutting edge, and because people haven’t yet grasped that such therapies have nothing to do with quantum mechanics.
New discoveries are always fascinating. That was the secret of Mesmer’s charm.
Finally. The great new breakthrough has arrived – the one that will make life worth living.
But there is a deeper, richer discovery that can be reclaimed by every generation.
What can ground our lives, and make us whole, is a Story that is older than our grandparents. And considerably older than their grandparents, too.
This should come as no surprise.
Our children want to hear the same stories again and again. They get better with the retelling. And most of us are fixed on a playlist of favorite songs and a handful of cherished movies that we’ve seen dozens of times. Our personal “classics” never seem to get old.
Human beings seem to be hard-wired to fall in love with a transforming story or a heart-warming song, and then to savor it all their days.
Older churchgoers grew up singing a classic hymn: Tell Me the Old, Old Story. Its tune and lyrics may sound a bit corny to younger generations. The last verse goes like this:
Tell me the same old story, when you have cause to fear
That this world’s empty glory is costing me too dear;
And when the Lord’s bright glory is dawning on my soul,
Tell me the old, old story: “Christ Jesus makes thee whole.”
In a world where everything from soap to SUVs to spirituality is hawked as “new and improved,” people thirst for something that never changes.
Our hearts aren’t healed by the latest fads, but by reconnecting with ancient truths – like the assurance that we are loved beyond measure by a God who will never abandon us.
Ironically, it’s that old, old Story that has the power to make all things new.
And that can be downright mesmerizing.