Relying Radically on Truth
Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized." Science and Health, p. 167 ; Sole reliance on the omnipotence and omnipresence of God, Spirit, Mind, divine Principle, Love, in obedience to the first great commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," Ex. 20:3 ; necessarily precludes reliance on the false gods of materiality, including drugs and other material remedies.
But someone may ask, "Why cannot our prayers be directed toward the spiritual welfare of the patient while the doctor takes care of the bodily disease?" In other words, why cannot Christian Scientists cooperate with material medicine in the healing work—the one support the other? While this may sound feasible on the surface, it will be found in practice that these two systems are fundamentally and diametrically opposed, each tending to counteract the effect of the other. Therefore they cannot be used together successfully.
As in a pair of balanced scales, whatever is put into one side outweighs the other, so in Christian Science whatever faith is put into matter and material remedies takes away from full reliance on God, Spirit, and vice versa. Our great Master, Christ Jesus, said: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." Matt. 6:24 ;
Jesus taught and practiced absolute reliance on God in his healing ministry, and his works have never been surpassed by any curative system. His devoted follower, Mrs. Eddy, writes: "You only weaken your power to heal through Mind, by any compromise with matter; which is virtually acknowledging that under difficulties the former is not equal to the latter. He that resorts to physics, seeks what is below instead of above the standard of metaphysics; showing his ignorance of the meaning of the term and of Christian Science." Miscellaneous Writings, p 53 ;
A statement from The Christian Science Board of Directors, entitled "The Christian Science Standard of Healing," refers to the aforementioned sentence from Science and Health on radical reliance and says: "To depart from this standard of practice, to rely on any material means for healing, or to endeavor to mix spiritual means with the material is not in accord with Christian Science. Such a departure, instead of helping the patient, can only result in limiting the demonstration of scientific healing power." The Christian Science Journal, Nov., 1957, p. 598;
It is always the privilege of the patient to choose whatever system he believes to be beneficial, and the practitioner will leave him completely free to make his own decision. If the patient chooses material means, the practitioner will retire from the case. But no practitioner advises or would wish to go on record as sanctioning material means of healing. Subsequent disappointment in such means may remove the patient's false trust and open the way for healing in Science.
A clearer understanding of Christian Science will progressively build up the necessary confidence in God and show the need for exclusive reliance on spiritual means as taught throughout Mrs. Eddy's writings, thus rendering one immune to the aggressive mental suggestions that urge resort to medical means. The student who has temporarily faltered in his trust in God should meet no sense of condemnation from his fellow workers but only the most tender, loving desire to welcome him back to a "radical reliance on Truth." Sooner or later all will find through actual experience that Spirit, God, is the only really safe and effective healing agency.
A little girl, who appeared to be gravely ill, had symptoms that in a previous illness had been diagnosed as bronchial pneumonia. When she did not seem to be responding to Christian Science treatment, the father, who was not a Christian Scientist, asked that a doctor be called. The mother, in desperation, pleaded, "Oh, but the child is much too ill to trust her to anything but God! Only God can heal her!" This powerful and convincing thought prevailed. Christian Science treatment was continued, and the result was that the high fever began to abate; and by the next morning the child was obviously out of danger and was soon happily at play.
Should the question of a medical diagnosis arise, it may be well to consider carefully the effect of such a compromise and the risk that this may become the thin end of the wedge leading to medical treatment. If a doctor should confirm the suspicions of the patient, giving the disease a name, outlining the medical laws supposed to apply to the case, picturing an expected course of action, and possibly pronouncing a frightening verdict, will not this tend to make the disease appear more real to the sufferer and consequently more difficult to heal?
On the other hand, if the doctor, who depends on material sense testimony, tells the patient that there is nothing the matter with him, what is gained? The patient may feel jubilant, but for the wrong reason. His belief in matter as an indicator of health has been reinforced. When the practitioner tells him that God's child has no disease, his wavering trust may not be able to accept this glorious truth. Let him ask himself, "On which am I really relying? Am I depending upon matter or upon Spirit?"
But how great is the reward of one who is willing in his hour of trial to trust his life absolutely to God! Besides having his healing, he gains immeasurably in spiritual understanding; his well-placed confidence makes further testing times less severe; he is strengthened in his knowledge that God's children are forever safe in His allness, tenderly cared for and enwrapped in His love.
Mrs. Eddy writes: "The scientific, healing faith is a saving faith; it keeps steadfastly the great and first commandment, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me'—no other than the spiritual help of divine Love. Faith in aught else misguides the understanding, ignores the power of God, and, in the words of St. Paul, appeals to an unknown power 'whom therefore ye ignorantly worship.'" The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Miscellany, p. 153 .
Adulteration of the purely spiritual means of healing by recourse to medical means, undermines the student's confidence in God, materializes his thought, and so impedes his progress Spiritward. Let us practice Christian Science in all its purity by "radical reliance on Truth." This is the only way to experience and preserve for posterity its "scientific healing power."
