One Saturday I was crossing a street to do some shopping, when I stepped into a small pothole and found myself falling headfirst toward the sidewalk. I caught myself, avoiding impact, and at first there seemed to be no problem—just a vague ache in the ankle of the foot that had gotten caught in the pothole. 

I did my shopping and returned home. Gradually, I began to feel more pain, so I stopped what I was doing and prayed, confidently knowing that because God, divine Spirit, never made matter and our experience consists entirely of thought, there is no sensation in matter, as Christian Science teaches. Satisfied that I had dealt with it, I returned to my tasks. But the suggestion that there was something seriously wrong and painful with my ankle was persistent.

Again stopping what I was doing, I knew that I had to completely refute this false claim of a power apart from God, good. I lay down, and for a moment fear seemed to be getting the upper hand. But two statements from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy came to my rescue. The first was, “Instead of blind and calm submission to the incipient or advanced stages of disease, rise in rebellion against them” (p. 391). Yes! I had the God-given right to rebel against this unjust and fraudulent claim.