Article May 2, 1988 Issue

Divine permission to heal

The Christian Science Monitor

The last words of Christ Jesus in the Gospel of Mark are "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."^{Mark 16:17, 18.}

Noting the lack of such signs among her Christian contemporaries of the nineteenth century, Mrs. Eddy wrote, "Our missionaries carry the Bible to India, but can it be said that they explain it practically, as Jesus did, when hundreds of persons die there annually from serpent-bites?"^{Science and Health, p. 328.} Devoting the latter part of her life to restoring to Christianity what she referred to as "its lost element of healing,"^{Manual of The Mother Church, p. 17.} Mrs. Eddy has articulated the Science by which Christian healing is being practiced successfully today in countries all over the world, India included.

But while this great power of God has restored thousands to health, joy, and purposefulness, millions more are still held in bondage by suffering and disease. Jesus clearly indicated that we can all challenge and defeat the claims of sin and disease. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils,"^{Matt. 10:8.} he instructed his disciples.