By Peter Kennedy
“They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar.” – 1 Chronicles 24:5
Until the eighteenth century, most medical experiments had a bias to them where the patient would report an outcome that may or may not be true. Then in 1784, Benjamin Franklin, while serving as an American ambassador to France, was asked by the Académie des Sciences to co-chair a commission on animal magnetism. The claim that invisible forces exerted by animals provide therapeutic relief in humans was first made by German physician Franz Mesmer; the term mesmerism is alternately used to describe this supposed phenomenon. Mesmer’s ideas influenced medical practices for nearly a century in Europe and the United States.
Franklin teamed up with French chemist Antoine Lavoisier to investigate this claim. Without realizing it the team would define the future of medical science by creating the first blind trial. Mesmerists were given flasks filled with vital fluids to find out if the essence of certain objects, such as trees, would improve their health. The patients had no idea what was in the flask. The answer to the experiment was a resounding no. The experiment disproved mesmerism because it had no bias.
The Lord is impartial and desires us to also to be free of prejudice. Today in prayer, confess any sin of prejudice and thank the Lord that He is impartial to all people.
“Prejudice is a disease caused by hardening of the categories.” – William Arthur Ward
God’s Word: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” – James 3:17
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