Humanity's quest for health

Christian congregations regularly pray for those who are ill. Often these prayers are offered when drugs and surgery can no longer help. At such times the sick literally have no resort but prayer. Christian ministers have prayed at the bedsides of countless people in the spirit of the Apostle Jame's words: "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; ... and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." A church member or minister would think it heartless to do anything less. It is the Christian thing to do.

In other circumstances, however, the attitude of society toward prayer shows the effect of an increasingly secularized world. Secularism would distance religion from those areas of human experience where a religious influence has always been accepted and where the spiritual perspective has so much to offer. Any effort to separate health and healing, compassion and caring, from the religious life of mankind is more than thoughtless; it is self-defeating. Christ Jesus' teachings plainly bring the influence of Christianity into every aspect of day-to-day living.

Christ Jesus, whom Christians take as their supreme example, was a healer. His was not an abstract theology or philosophy. He preached that the kingdom of God is at hand; he quickened people's moral sense and linked these spiritual truths to safety and health. He healed without drugs or the medicine of his time. He said, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also."

Instead of dismissing as fables or superstitions the abundant healing works described in the Bible, modern men and women have much to learn from these accounts. There is a need to consider seriously that Christ Jesus, a man of unparalleled spiritual wisdom, even though he lived two thousand years ago, was teaching us not only about ethics but about the very nature of man and the universe and how this understanding heals illness. Otherwise, religion is emasculated and loses even its influence for moral action.

Christian Science strives to strengthen the Christian's understanding that Christ Jesus' healings are based on spiritual law. It reveals that this law is just as potent and practical now as it was in Biblical times. Jesus' works illustrate that disease is not the will of God nor is it ordained in the most basic laws of the universe. God is the supreme force in man's life, and this truth provides the underpinning for genuine healing. Recognizing the crucial importance of this point, Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered and founded Christian Science, delivered a sermon entitled "The People's Idea of God: Its Effect on Health and Christianity." In it she explained that the Christian's view of the nature of God, and of man as the likeness of God, has a direct bearing on the effectiveness of prayer. As a Christian hymn puts it: "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, / All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

There is a vast difference between what the public thinks prayer is and what Jesus taught and practiced. For many today, prayer itself is a mystery or involves a ritual or empty words. "My prayers don't work" is not a cry that can be ignored. Our Master prayed and taught his followers how to pray. The account of the Apostle Peter praying at the bedside of Dorcas illustrates the spiritual power prayer has.

For three hundred years following Jesus' ministry, the practice of Christian healing was a normal part of Christian life. With the discovery of Christian Science a little over one hundred years ago, the effectiveness of this religious practice was recovered. Today, Christians of many denominations are actively involved in healing services and prayers for the sick. People around the world have found Christian healing a practical possibility. It has transformed their health—mentally, morally, and physically. They have found that the power of Christ has also made them better citizens and more effective contributors to the betterment of mankind.

Christian Science practice rests on freedom of choice; it is not coercive, nor does it involve criticism of those who seek other forms of care. Christian Scientists feel the deepest respect for the compassion and the tremendous personal commitment of so many in the traditional medical professions. But when prayer is used as an actual method of treating disease, it has proved to be most effective when relied on exclusively. While an entirely medical approach and a wholly spiritual approach differ, each speaks of the heart's natural longing and commitment to relieve suffering.

The Church of Christ, Scientist, was established to preserve and extend the benefits of this vital element of Christian practice. It has encouraged people to enlarge their love for God and man. Admittedly, living by Jesus' precepts has never been easy nor truly supported by society. It was from the context of personal experience that Mrs. Eddy referred to the cross as "the central emblem of history" (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures).

The record of health and well-being for those who have turned to Christian Science for help is, when fairly considered, quite remarkable. A few highly publicized prosecutions, when the record hasn't been perfect, have caused profound self-examination by members of the Church. But an honest examination of the breadth and general consistency of Christian healing as practiced by Christian Scientists shows a contribution to the health and well-being of society that deserves consideration rather than organized bigotry and repression.

Humanity's quest for health is urged on by the continued suffering that humanity experiences despite enormous technological advances—by the appearance of new diseases, the growing costs of public health, along with accompanying moral and ethical questions. It should not be unnatural, then, for mankind to reexamine the life and work of Jesus, who more than any single person in history successfully relieved suffering. Christian healing is no more out of date than is Christianity. Might it be that the time has come for those of all faiths to consider the contribution Christian healing can make to mankind's quest for health?