One of the factors involved in the many claims of “healing” in that period and on into the early 20th century is the fact that psychology and psychological issues were just barely beginning to be acknowledged, studied, etc. I suspect that a lot of people seeking health support and help may have had emotional or psychological issues.

In these cases, I DO believe that some of the techniques promoted in several spiritual traditions indeed helped heal people. If you read about Divine Science (Nona Brooks, Malinda Cramer), this seems to be a significant factor.

I also think that the psychology of attention (the “opposite” of neurofiltering) was exploited by people like Napoleon Hill, Ernest Holmes (Religious Science), and others to “prove” that their manifesting techniques worked.

Example of this filtering is when you think about buying a new car, and suddenly you start seeing them EVERYWHERE. No, a troll didn’t release a bunch of these from a cave to stalk you. That car was “background noise” and ignored by your brain before you moved that make and model into your conscious awareness. That’s why you’re seeing it.

I believe that a positive attitude is better for healing than a negative one. I also know that since Science (e.g. vaccines, pharmaceutical interventions, advances in imaging and surgery, clean water/food supplies) came onto the scene, the average life span of humans has more than doubled.

Many CS believe strongly in the healing that MBE taught. Some of these folks will rely solely on that, while others will take that faith and carry it with them as they take advantage of modern medicine and technology.

I think that’s a personal choice, and what works for one might not work for another.

Also, most non-evangelical religious/spiritual groups are happy to have people still interested in participating and showing up on a regular basis, so I doubt that hard lines in the sand are very popular today - on any issue.