“Where had the diseases gone?” asked an individual who had been healed of life-threatening kidney trouble and rheumatism by reading “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy. What had happened?
That individual’s account is one testimony of 84 in the book’s final chapter, “Fruitage.” This chapter includes healings of a broken arm, cancer, heart disease, hernia, tuberculosis, cataracts, poor eyesight, deafness, and many others – all through reading Science and Health.
What is it about this book that could bring such results?
Quite simply, these readers felt and experienced the power and love of God. Not as a distant, theoretical projection of an oft-misconstrued deity but as the profoundly close, sacred allness of the one infinite, all-good, all-loving God. They dearly felt the power of God’s presence and transforming love, which was borne out in physical freedom.
The testifier wrote, “I persisted in reading Science and Health, together with the Bible, with the knowledge that God as revealed by Christ Jesus can do everything, that He made everything that was made, that He can and does heal the afflicted. He has healed me, thanks to His most holy name” (p. 616).
Such a statement resonates with anyone whose life has been improved and even transformed through their study of Science and Health. This magnificent book is accessible to every reader, and its unique theology is universally applicable. The truths in this book, revealed by God, speak directly to each of us. They invite the reader to ponder how these statements address and can heal whatever challenging situation we might be facing.
Mrs. Eddy’s discovery of Christian Science brings the Bible alive by explaining the spiritual meaning of Scripture. For example, Genesis 1:27 states that we are all made in the image of God. Reflecting the divine Spirit, God, means that we are fundamentally spiritual and Godlike. Being wholly spiritual, we are not subject to material conditions, prognostications, limitations, or fears. In fact, we are natively exempt from all of that as the pure, sinless, perfect, beautiful creations of God. And the understanding that Science and Health gives of our true, spiritual identity as children of God naturally leads to healing.
Mrs. Eddy gleaned deep inspiration from the Bible, particularly the Gospels. She studied how Christ Jesus’ understanding of his identity as the Son of God enabled him to heal every type of disease and even bring people who had died back to life. Looking to him as the Way-shower, she proved the forever applicability of his statements such as “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
She showed that relying on God’s spiritual laws – as illustrated and proven by many individuals in Scripture – heals mental, moral, and physical ailments of all types. Science and Health – the textbook of Christian Science – resulted from her inspiration and actual experience, and it explains how a deeper understanding of God, who is both infinite Love and the divine Mind, heals, often transforming our lives.
The transformative element in particular is what makes Christian Science healing outstanding. Yes, healing includes a proper adjustment of the physical body. But Science and Health explains that the body is just the outward presentation of thought. Changed thought results from spiritual growth and a deeper sense of God’s presence and power and typically brings character reformation.
Mrs. Eddy wrote about her discovery: “I had learned that Mind reconstructed the body, and that nothing else could” (“Retrospection and Introspection,” p. 28).
Thousands have found this to be the case through their study of the Bible and Science and Health. Another “Fruitage” testifier wrote, “I have been benefited in every way by Christian Science, physically, mentally, and spiritually, and would not be without my understanding of it for anything” (p. 615).
The testifier quoted at the beginning of this editorial asked in awe, “Where had the diseases gone?” Understanding the spiritual laws elucidated in the textbook enables us to demonstrate our freedom, including from the misconception that disease is or ever was a part of us. After all, how could we, as expressions of God, be trapped or limited or harmed in any way? We can’t, and we aren’t.
The reality is that the expression of God is inherently limitless, joyful, free, and whole. Those healed by this singular book vouch for this fact. As another wrote, “The book has done the work and I am a well man” (p. 618). The invitation to open, study, and be healed by Science and Health is extended to all.
Adapted from an editorial published in the Dec. 30, 2024, issue of the Christian Science Sentinel.
