Article January 23, 1989 Issue

Is it lawful?

The Christian Science Monitor

The scene must have been dramatic. Jesus had entered a synagogue on the Sabbath and found there a man with a withered hand.^{See Luke 6:6–10 .} Challenging the Pharisaic interpretation of the Mosaic law, he asked a pointed question: "Is it lawful on the sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? to save life, or to destroy it?" Then, in answer to the question, he healed the man. Today the issue focuses not so much on differing views of Sabbath day activity as on spiritual healing itself Is it lawful?

Healing through prayer is prevalent throughout the Scriptures. It was practiced by the patriarchs and prophets, reached its highest, most infallible point in the ministry of Christ Jesus, and continued with the work of his followers. The apostles, including Paul, are recorded in the New Testament as spiritual healers who considered healing to be a natural result of following what Jesus had taught. Many Christians are recognizing today that healing through prayer is a viable response to the Christly command "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give."^{Matt. 10:8.}

Christian Science has championed spiritual healing for more than a century. The woman who discovered and founded this Science, Mrs. Eddy, states: "Sickness, sin, and death, being inharmonious, do not originate in God nor belong to His government. His law, rightly understood, destroys them."^{Science and Health, p. 472.}

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