Russia Licenses Faith Healers

While I've been known to question some of the silly things we do here in the US, I will admit that often, what I read elsewhere are even more astounding. Like this one coming out of Russia. I didn't realize that the government, at least in Moscow, actually issues licenses to "certified" faith healers! Honest!

For the past two years, the Federal Health Service has been issuing licenses to practitioners of what it calls "traditional medicine," meaning anything from the use of herbal treatments to the manipulation of "auras." His claims buttressed by officialdom, Fadkin charges patients 3,500 rubles ($150) per session.

If you think this is funny, wait till you read some more of it.

Andrei Karpeev, director of the Federal Scientific Clinical Center for Traditional Methods of Diagnostics and Healing, which administers the tests, insists that folk medicine, including psychic healing, is backed by scientific studies. While he acknowledges some of the criteria for determining who has healing powers are subjective, he claims the tests are able to wean out "charlatans." According to Karpeev, there are perhaps 100,000 people in Russia offering to use magic, psychic or other extra-sensory methods to cure illnesses, read minds or cast spells.

Er.. what "scientific studies"? And who's checking up to see whether he himself isn't a charlatan? What is his expertise? Besides, why do they really need a committee to weed out the actual faith healer? Couldn't they use one of their certified psychic to weed them out? After all, these people could read minds, couldn't they? They should, by definition, be able to tell right away if that person seeking a license is a fake.

Oy vey, I'm taking this silliness way too seriously already! :)

Zz.