One of the necessary activities in the healing ministry of Christian Science is the discernment of the specific truth that will counteract a particular error of thought which is causing the suffering. The more exact this application is, the more efficient the work that is done and the quicker the fruitage. In Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures Mary Baker Eddy states: "The counter fact relative to any disease is required to cure it. The utterance of truth is designed to rebuke and destroy error."  ^{Science and Health, p. 233;}

In seeking out the counter fact one must understand that the human universe and man is an imitative creation. That is, mortal mind, the belief of life and intelligence in matter, has projected a false and material sense of creation in direct contrast to the original and true, or spiritual, sense. Everything in this lower or material creation is a counterfeit of the true ideas of God. Having no real foundation in fact, this lower sense of creation is subject to all kinds of disorder and discord. But through spiritual understanding one becomes aware of creation as God made it. The light of Truth uncovers the fact that man has always been God's spiritual image and likeness and has always been under God's harmonious law.

One instance of seeking the counter fact is seen in this—that each occasion of sin or disease is some phase of material self-will asserting itself and the remedy lies in seeking and understanding the divine will. Discord and sin are the self-assertion of a lie, the belief of life and intelligence in matter. The counter fact may well be perceived as the divine Principle or God asserting the truth of His allness and man's perfection as His likeness. I am that I am is the divine fact that silences the claim of sensation and suffering in matter. God is the only Mind or intelligence, and He shares His government with none other.

Another instance of finding the counter fact may be seen in the comparison of a belief in material nerves as controlling man and the fact of divine law as the governing instrument. Physiology claims that material man is controlled by a network of nerves stemming from the brain, that the body is practically permeated by nerves, and that it is through the sensations of these nerves that one experiences happiness or misery. Divine metaphysics informs us that man is a spiritual idea, the manifestation of divine Mind, that he is controlled by law as the expression of Principle. In fact, his whole being is imbued with spiritual law, and he is completely governed by divine intelligence. As we understand the control that this law has over man, we will be in a better position to deny and destroy the evidence of nervous disorder, the beliefs of sensation in matter, and to eliminate the sense of pain and suffering.

In a similar way we can establish in thought the counter fact relative to any and all the discords that may present themselves in human experience. There is a right idea of feeding and assimilating that can correct the suggestions of malfunction. There is a right idea of rhythm, harmony, and order. There is a right idea of growth, unfoldment, renewal, to heal the beliefs of abnormality. Since everything that seems to exist in the mortal realm exists as a counterfeit, there must be, and is, a right idea in the truth of being to understand and to demonstrate. This right idea acts as the healing Christ to any situation that manifests as disorder. As one realizes the facts of being, the corrective truth destroys the false beliefs and heals the troubles of human experience. How clearly we understand the spiritual fact will determine how quickly we are able to eliminate the false sense and free the patient from suffering.

In using this method of reasoning one must not think of these spiritual counter facts in a human or material mode of interpretation. That is, he must not think in terms of spiritual organs or spiritual parts to a body. Man in Science is idea. He is completely spiritual, and we must be willing to give up the material sense of body and organs. In this healing practice we do not hold in thought material forms or outlines. Man is God's likeness. He is made up of the qualities of God. God's laws constitute his being. He is a spiritual entity. Always distinct and individual, he is a defined activity of divine Principle. The nature, character, and harmony of this Principle determine the nature and harmony of its idea.

Mrs. Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, states, "Rightly understood, instead of possessing a sentient material form, man has a sensationless body; and God, the Soul of man and of all existence, being perpetual in His own individuality, harmony, and immortality, imparts and perpetuates these qualities in man,— through Mind, not matter." ^{p. 280;}

Other counter facts that are useful may be seen in the original sense of purity to counteract any belief of poison, the original sense of order and coherence to offset any sense of imbalance or neurosis, the original sense of harmony and unity to offset any sense of discord and division. In any conceivable situation in human experience there is always a right idea or a right understanding of fact that can be applied to the human circumstance. In other words, there is always an answer or a way of solution. Jesus represented the higher interpretation of being and indicated this fact that there is always a healing idea to meet every human need. Hence his expression of the Christ, the true idea of God, as the Way. This Christ is always available and is the healing power of God applied to human experience. Christ Jesus spoke of the fact that the truth would make us free and he said of his own mission, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  ^{John 10:10;}

The student of Christian Science is being educated into the truth of being. He is finding out that what is spiritually and scientifically real is quite different from that which appears to the physical senses. The evidence of disease and discord is seen to be a mistake, an error of comprehension, and the natural remedy, then, is a grasp of the facts and understanding of truth. In Science and Health the definition of "Elias" is in part, "Christian Science, with which can be discerned the spiritual fact of whatever the material senses behold; the basis of immortality,"  ^{Science and Health, p. 585;} followed by the Bible quotation, "Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." ^{Matt. 17: 11.}

These words were spoken by Jesus and indicate the basis of his healing works. He understood the truth so well that he could wipe out the errors of material sense. And he invited all those who follow him to heal as he did. The Christ, Truth, is present at all times and in every age to dispute the errors of sense and to restore the harmony of being. When we restore all things to their original sense, we will find them harmonious; and we will be aligning ourselves with the divine Principle that governs the universe.