Facing down dementia

Last December a major meeting on the quest for a cure for dementia was held in London. It’s believed that this disease afflicts up to 44 million people around the world. That number is expected to triple by 2050.

David Cameron, the United Kingdom’s prime minister, said he hoped the 2013 conference, which was called by the UK, would mark the point when “the global fightback really started, not just in finding a cure for dementia, but also in preventing it, delaying it and, crucially, helping those with dementia to live well and with dignity” (“£122m to find dementia cure,” Heraldscotland.com, December 12, 2013).

Christian Scientists and other spiritual thinkers who understand the power of God to heal can join in this “global fightback” in their healing work and their prayers for the world. Mary Baker Eddy understood God to be Mind, infinite, complete, and perfect. She also proved through her healing work that intelligence, and all its accompaniments, doesn’t have its source in the brain, but in this one, perfect Mind.

Under God’s law, it is possible to discover and prove that physiology, psychology, and heredity do not depict what we truly are.

Man—including men and women—isn’t a material repository of mortal thoughts, but the idea, or reflection, of this Mind. Since Mind is perfect and complete, it cannot become fragmented or inoperative, and neither can its reflection, man. As Mind’s loved idea, man cannot be subject to cruel hereditary beliefs or any other “causes” that would deprive him of coherent thought.

Our prayers about this disease can take this statement from Mary Baker Eddy’s book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures as our rallying cry: “Rise in the strength of Spirit to resist all that is unlike good. God has made man capable of this, and nothing can vitiate the ability and power divinely bestowed on man.

“Be firm in your understanding that the divine Mind governs, and that in Science man reflects God’s government” (p. 393 ).

Although the human mind is believed to have its abode in the brain and that this organ determines our intelligence and thoughts, the acceptance of divine government in our lives strengthens us and gives us peace. It reveals God’s precious love for each one of us.

A woman who had been medically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease found out about Science and Health. Hesitant at first to read the book, she acted after her situation became worse. As she read it, a significant change in her condition occurred. Eventually, this was noticed by the staff supervising the Alzheimer’s support group she attended. They asked her to submit to a new examination. She did so, and was found to be free of the disease. Her article “My journey forward to complete health” was published in the February 17, 2003, issue of the Sentinel.

Under God’s law, it is possible to discover and prove that physiology, psychology, and heredity do not depict what we truly are. Nor do they define our intelligence, mental capacities, or our future. Only divine Love can do this, and that means all the past, present, or future can truly hold is Love.