Article February 8, 2010 Issue

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE PRAYER —NOT FAITH HEALING

Ingrid Peschke with contributions from Phil Davis

What is prayer in Christian Science? How is it different from faith healing? What is the role that faith plays in healing? For anyone seeking healing in their lives, it's essential to find clarity on these questions. The following is an excerpt from a live spirituality.com event with guest, Phil Davis, spokesman for the Christian Science church based in Boston. Phil is a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science, and has had extensive experience speaking to these questions in public forums.

Ingrid Peschke: Phil, do you have some thoughts to get us started on the topic?

Phil Davis: You know, you could almost call this program a case of mistaken identity! In the United States there have been some recent deaths of children with parents who are referred to as "faith healers." Just to be clear, none of these involved Christian Scientists. But that's the problem. There's a tendency to lump Christian Science in with others under the banner of "faith healing." And the problem is that it really doesn't belong there. In other words, there's a lot of baggage that comes with the term "faith healer." I want to be clear—I'm not here to talk about anybody else's religion, but I do want to talk about what Christian Science is and what it is not. And how it's distinct, and quite different, from what is commonly thought of as "faith healing."

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