--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After hearing much from his patients…" description: "\"“After hearing much from his patients about alleged faith-healing, a Minnesota physician named William Nolen spent a year and a half trying to track do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/carl-sagan-160_cardiovascular-disea_after-hearing-much-from-his-patients-abo_3165577.jpg" --- # After hearing much from his patients about alleged… ![“After hearing much from his patients about alleged faith-healing, a Minnesota physician named William Nolen spent a year and a half trying to track down the most striking cases. Was there clear medical evidence that the disease was really present before the ‘cure’? If so, had the disease actually…” quote by Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/carl-sagan-160_cardiovascular-disea_after-hearing-much-from-his-patients-abo_3165577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/carl-sagan-160_cardiovascular-disea_after-hearing-much-from-his-patients-abo_3165577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7b8/carl-sagan-160_cardiovascular-disea_after-hearing-much-from-his-patients-abo_3165577.jpg) > ““After hearing much from his patients about alleged faith-healing, a Minnesota physician named William Nolen spent a year and a half trying to track down the most striking cases. Was there clear medical evidence that the disease was really present before the ‘cure’? If so, had the disease actually disappeared after the cure, or did we just have the healer’s or the patient’s say-so? He uncovered many cases of fraud, including the first exposure in America of ‘psychic surgery’. But he found not one instance of cure of any serious organic (non-psychogenic) disease. There were no cases where gallstones or rheumatoid arthritis, say, were cured, much less cancer or cardiovascular disease. When a child’s spleen is ruptured, Nolen noted, perform a simple surgical operation and the child is completely better. But take that child to a faith-healer and she’s dead in a day.”” [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques faith‑healing, showing no credible evidence that serious organic diseases are cured, and highlights the danger of relying on unproven methods. **In simple terms:** Faith healing lacks scientific proof and can be deadly. Key Takeaway Rely on evidence‑based medicine. Themes skepticism medicine faith healing Mood cautious critical concerned Type analytical informative When to use this quote - patient care - alternative medicine research - public health policy - clinical trials Key Concepts confirmation bias placebo effect medical ethics Questions to Reflect On - What standards should verify a cure? - How can we protect vulnerable patients? A Different Perspective Reliance on anecdotal reports can mislead patients. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cardiovascular disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardiovascular-disease/) [Disappeared Cure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappeared-cure-5740512/) [Faith Healer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-healer-315454/) [Faith healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith-healing/) [Healer Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healer-patient-3453504/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Psychic Surgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychic-surgery-5740511/) ## Related quotes > [The only person who is a worse liar than a faith healer is his patient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-only-person-who-is-a-worse-liar-than-a-faith-healer-is-his-patient/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“A faith-healer may or may not start out with fraud in mind. But to his amazement, his patients actually seem to be improving. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/a-faith-healer-may-or-may-not-start-out-with-fraud-in-mind-but-to-his/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [Is it fair to be suspicious of an entire profession because of a few bad apples? There are at least two important differences, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/is-it-fair-to-be-suspicious-of-an-entire-profession-because-of-a-few/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [“You cannot face it steadily, but this thing is sure, That time is no healer: the patient is no longer here.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/you-cannot-face-it-steadily-but-this-thing-is-sure-that-time-is-no/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [The planetary-etheric body is whole, unbroken and continuous; of this etheric body, those of the healer and patient are intrinsic parts...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-bailey/the-planetary-etheric-body-is-whole-unbroken-and-continuous-of-this/) [Alice Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-bailey/) > [“This hardly needs to be stated, but if a faith healer tries to “heal” an autistic person, the implied message is that the “healer”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-d-taylor/this-hardly-needs-to-be-stated-but-if-a-faith-healer-tries-to-heal-an/) [Thomas D. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-d-taylor/) > [What happens to the faith healer and the shaman when any poor citizen can see the full effect of drugs or surgeries, administered without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/what-happens-to-the-faith-healer-and-the-shaman-when-any-poor-citizen/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [When a faith-healer commands God to perform a miracle, in the absence of a prayer that says, 'Thy will be done,' it is, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/when-a-faith-healer-commands-god-to-perform-a-miracle-in-the-absence/) [C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/) > [I also visited several healing meetings... and became angry with what appeared to be the manipulation of people for the material gains of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wimber/i-also-visited-several-healing-meetings-and-became-angry-with-what/) [John Wimber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wimber/) > [In my 20s, I got into giving people massages and realised I was able to encourage their bodies to heal by passing my hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-de-burgh/in-my-20s-i-got-into-giving-people-massages-and-realised-i-was-able/) [Chris de Burgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-de-burgh/) > [When I turned about 14, I developed a friendship with this guy whose mom was the secretary to Ernest Angley, the faith healer, who's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/when-i-turned-about-14-i-developed-a-friendship-with-this-guy-whose/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“Time is a great faith healer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/time-is-a-great-faith-healer/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [I am a faith healer. My prayers have immense power, which I utilise whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/engelbert-humperdinck/i-am-a-faith-healer-my-prayers-have-immense-power-which-i-utilise/) [Engelbert Humperdinck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/engelbert-humperdinck/) > [My grandfather was a faith healer and medium, and he always encouraged faith in the unseen. I believe in fortune tellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-goss/my-grandfather-was-a-faith-healer-and-medium-and-he-always-encouraged/) [Luke Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-goss/) > [I was deeply influenced by an Episcopal laywoman named Agnes Sanford, who in her day was quite famous as a faith healer, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/i-was-deeply-influenced-by-an-episcopal-laywoman-named-agnes-sanford/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## More by Carl Sagan > [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. 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If a human disagrees with you, let him live. 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These are the thinnest, healthiest, longest-lived people with the least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-barnard/i-m-thinking-of-people-in-rural-japan-and-china-where-mcdonald-s-hasn/) [Neal Barnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-barnard/) [Browse all 31 Cardiovascular disease quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cardiovascular-disease/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After hearing much from his patients about alleged faith-healing, a Minnesota physician named William Nolen spent a year and a half trying to track down the most striking cases. Was there clear medical evidence that the disease was really present before the ‘cure’? If so, had the disease actually disappeared after the cure, or did we just have the healer’s or the patient’s say-so? He uncovered many cases of fraud, including the first exposure in America of ‘psychic surgery’. But he found not one instance of cure of any serious organic (non-psychogenic) disease. There were no cases where gallstones or rheumatoid arthritis, say, were cured, much less cancer or cardiovascular disease. When a child’s spleen is ruptured, Nolen noted, perform a simple surgical operation and the child is completely better. 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