Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you are driven to, if you think it will do more good for you than taking time to pray, study, and listen to the Father. Exercising and dieting, out of fear of what might happen if you do not, is wrong! “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”(James) Much more important to our health and well-being to take on what God has given us!
However, having done that, taken on power and love and a sound mind, it is normal and healthy to exercise and watch what you eat – to feel like you are taking care of yourself. We all have an inner voice that guides us rightly, and when we pay attention to it, we feel better about ourselves, more able to fulfill Jesus command: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.”
A better question is: “What kind of a God would allow such evil in the world?” A cruel God or a mistaken one? Certainly a man-created God. Mary Baker Eddy provides 7 synonyms for God which help thought to let go of this “big Man-in-the-sky” misconception: Mind, Principle, Soul, Spirit, Life, Truth, and Love. These are all rendered in the singular, and are infinite, even as God is one and infinite. As such, there is no room for evil, any more than there is room for mistakes in the principle of mathematics. Would you blame the principle for a mistake? Time questioning why the principle allowed the mistake is time wasted! The longer you spend indulging the mistake instead of applying the principle to correct it, the longer you have it! Only as the sin and sickness of the world are regarded as illegitimate, contrary to the law of God, can we overcome them.
In order to have MY healing, one has to have MY problem. Big mistake-pride in a self apart from God. If you have ever been healed in that state, it was not Christian Science healing. Paul explains it: “The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom.) We understand that God is not a big man in the sky, but He is Principle, Love. And “Principle is imperative. You cannot mock it by human will.” (S&H), so it is us that must obey Him, because Love knows what is best for us. If you are looking for healing and have not found it, get some help from someone who you can trust to lead you out of the problem, someone with “an absolute faith that all things are possible to God,— a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love.” (S&H) We recommend the practitioners listed on this website.
“The vital part, the heart and soul of Christian Science, is Love.” (S&H) Only a bastardization of Christian Science could make you feel guilty. Guilt is the false prophet’s means for instituting control over the individual. Religious organizations try to control what people believe in order to justify their particular belief system. With Thomas Jefferson, we should “swear upon the altar of [G]od eternal hostility over every form of tyranny over the mind of man.” It is an abomination for a Christian Scientist to suffer guilt for seeing a doctor or for taking medication, or for having a problem of any kind. Only the use of human will could bring about such a travesty! Christian Science IS NOT a belief system. Any institution or person that attempts to enforce it upon another is messing with the laws of the universe. “Man’s rights are invaded when the divine order is interfered with, and the mental trespasser incurs the divine penalty due this crime.” (S&H)
Isn’t it stupid to pretend you are not sick when the evidence clearly indicates that you are?
Yes, it is stupid, even dangerous to pretend you are not sick when you are. But the correct practice of Christian Science is far from pretending! It is the holding to an unchanging principle, just as the mathematician holds to what he knows to be true, until the problem is solved. A mathematician is not afraid of admitting he has not yet solved the problem., nor should a Christian Scientist be afraid to “tell the truth about the lie”, so to speak. Mrs. Eddy did say, “If you say your are sick, you plead guilty.” But she was referring to the mental battleground with thought within oneself, not the practical application in a world of observers perhaps unaware of how Christian Science works. Denying that something is wrong to some loving soul who is concerned about your welfare aggravates fear, and is not Science because it is not love!
See the testimonies listed on our website. Christian Science treatment brought about those healings despite the “incurable” verdicts of medical science. Christian Science is far more effective and complete because it not only eliminates the symptoms, but also dissolves any latent fear associated with the problem. The Christian Science healing is a “sign of Immanuel or God with us”, a divine influence”(S&H), and as such, it is unmistakable.
However, if you are going to ask someone for Christian Science treatment, don’t assume anything. Be sure you can trust the moral integrity of the one you ask. Mrs. Eddy makes the point powerfully: “Better suffer a doctor infected with smallpox to attend you than to be treated mentally by one who does not obey the requirements of divine Science.”(S&H)