For Christian Science Readers: Is Sin, Sickness, and Matter Truly Unreal?

Truth has nothing to fear from honest examination.

Thank you for taking the time to read this page.

You may have been raised in the Church of Christ, Scientist.

You may regularly read:

• The Holy Bible
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
• The Christian Science Bible Lesson
• The Christian Science Sentinel
• The Christian Science Journal

You may believe that Mary Baker Eddy rediscovered the spiritual laws through which Jesus healed sickness, overcame sin, and demonstrated humanity’s true spiritual identity.

You may understand God through terms such as:

• Mind
• Spirit
• Soul
• Principle
• Life
• Truth
• Love

You may believe that God is entirely good and therefore cannot create disease, evil, suffering, or death.

You may believe that humanity’s true identity is spiritual, perfect, whole, and made in God’s image.

You may view material existence, disease, sin, and death as errors of mortal thought rather than realities created or sustained by God.

You may believe that spiritual understanding corrects these errors and brings healing.

You may deeply respect Jesus as the supreme example of spiritual understanding and the one who most completely demonstrated the Christ.

You may believe that Jesus’ healings should not be treated as unrepeatable supernatural exceptions but as demonstrations of divine law that His followers can understand and practice.

Some Christian Scientists have experienced what they sincerely regard as remarkable answers to prayer.

That experience deserves to be heard respectfully.

Nevertheless, several foundational questions must be examined:

Is God a personal Being—or primarily infinite divine Principle and Mind?

Is the physical creation real and created by God?

Are sickness, pain, sin, and death merely false beliefs—or actual conditions within a fallen creation?

Was Jesus’ physical body real?

Did Jesus bear actual guilt and punishment for sinners?

Is salvation received through faith in Christ’s finished work—or progressively demonstrated through spiritual understanding?

Does Science and Health merely help readers understand Scripture—or function as an additional interpretive authority?

Did Jesus’ crucified body physically rise from the grave?

“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV

What Is Christian Science?

Christian Science is a religious movement founded in the nineteenth century through the work of Mary Baker Eddy.

It presents itself as a Bible-based Christian religion centered upon the words and works of Jesus Christ, especially His healing ministry.

Its teachings are explained principally through:

• The Holy Bible
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures
• The writings of Mary Baker Eddy
• Church services and Bible Lessons
• Testimonies of spiritual healing

Christian Science commonly teaches that:

• God is infinite Spirit and perfect good.
• God is also understood as divine Mind, Soul, Principle, Life, Truth, and Love.
• God did not create evil, disease, sin, or death.
• Humanity’s true identity is spiritual rather than material.
• Matter is not ultimate spiritual reality.
• Sin, sickness, and death are overcome through the understanding of God and spiritual reality.
• Jesus demonstrated the divine laws that heal and save.
• Prayer may bring physical as well as moral healing.
• Mary Baker Eddy discovered and explained the Science underlying Jesus’ works.

Christian Science should not be confused with Scientology.

It should also not be reduced to human willpower, positive thinking, or pretending that nothing hurts.

Christian Scientists ordinarily say that healing comes from divine Mind—not from the unaided human mind.

Important Areas of Agreement

Christian Scientists and biblical Christians share several significant affirmations.

Christian Science officially acknowledges:

• One supreme God
• Jesus Christ
• The Holy Ghost or divine Comforter
• The inspiration and importance of the Bible
• The necessity of overcoming sin
• God’s goodness and love
• The importance of prayer
• The crucifixion of Jesus
• The resurrection of Jesus
• The moral necessity of following Christ
• God’s power to heal

The Bible certainly teaches that God is Spirit:

“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
— John 4:24, KJV

God is love:

“God is love.”
— 1 John 4:8, KJV

God is truth:

“A God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”
— Deuteronomy 32:4, KJV

God gives life:

“He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.”
— Acts 17:25, KJV

The Bible also records many genuine healings in answer to God’s power.

Christians should pray for the sick and trust God rather than treating the material world as though it exists independently of Him.

These agreements are meaningful.

But using similar biblical words does not necessarily mean that those words carry the same meaning.

Is God a Personal Being?

Christian Science frequently identifies God as infinite Mind, Principle, Life, Truth, and Love.

These descriptions may emphasize that God is not a limited human-like being.

The Bible also teaches that God is infinitely greater than humanity.

Nevertheless, God is personal.

He says:

“I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me…”
— Isaiah 45:5, KJV

God possesses:

• Will
• Knowledge
• Love
• Purpose
• Judgment
• Compassion
• Speech

He knows individuals:

“O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me.”
— Psalm 139:1, KJV

He loves:

“Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love…”
— Jeremiah 31:3, KJV

He can be grieved:

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God…”
— Ephesians 4:30, KJV

A principle describes a truth or law.

But the living God is more than an abstract principle.

He is the personal Creator who knows, commands, loves, judges, forgives, and enters covenant with His people.

Is God Both Father and Mother?

Christian Science literature sometimes refers to God as Father-Mother.

The Bible occasionally uses maternal comparisons to illustrate aspects of God’s care.

God comforts His people as a mother comforts her child.

Jesus compared His desire to gather Jerusalem with a hen gathering her chickens.

Both men and women are created in God’s image.

God is not a biological male with a physical body.

Nevertheless, Scripture consistently reveals Him through the covenantal name and relationship of Father.

Jesus prayed:

“Our Father which art in heaven…”
— Matthew 6:9, KJV

Jesus did not teach His followers to replace God’s revealed name with a religious formula produced from human reasoning.

We should receive the language God chose to reveal Himself.

Did God Create the Material World?

Yes.

The Bible begins:

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
— Genesis 1:1, KJV

God created:

• Light
• Land
• Water
• Plants
• The sun and moon
• Animals
• The human body

After creating the physical world, God declared:

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”
— Genesis 1:31, KJV

Matter is not eternal and independent of God.

It is created.

It is not the highest reality.

But created physical existence is real.

The Bible does not teach that mountains, bodies, wounds, food, water, and death are merely errors within mortal consciousness.

Is Matter Evil?

No.

Physical creation was originally good.

Sin did not arise because God made matter.

Sin arose through the moral rebellion of created persons.

Paul warns against those who forbid created gifts that God made to be received thankfully:

“For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving.”
— 1 Timothy 4:4, KJV

Food, bodies, marriage, work, and physical creation are not illusions to be overcome.

They are gifts that have been affected by humanity’s fall and await redemption.

Why Does the Physical World Contain Suffering?

God created the world good.

Humanity rebelled against Him.

Sin and death entered human experience:

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin…”
— Romans 5:12, KJV

Creation became subject to corruption:

“For the creature was made subject to vanity…”
— Romans 8:20, KJV

The world is neither exactly as God originally created it nor merely an illusion.

It is a real creation damaged by real sin and awaiting real restoration.

Is Evil Unreal?

We must define “unreal” carefully.

Evil has no independent eternal existence equal to God.

God did not create an evil substance or an evil deity.

Evil will not triumph forever.

But evil is not imaginary.

The Bible records actual:

• Murder
• Abuse
• Idolatry
• Oppression
• Deception
• Hatred
• Rebellion

Jesus did not address evil as though it were merely a mistaken impression.

He said:

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders…”
— Mark 7:21, KJV

Sin lacks rightful authority and will finally be defeated.

But it produces real guilt, suffering, and judgment.

Is Sin Merely a False Belief?

No.

False beliefs may contribute to sinful conduct.

Ignorance may lead people into error.

But sin is more than misunderstanding spiritual reality.

Sin is lawlessness:

“Sin is the transgression of the law.”
— 1 John 3:4, KJV

It is personal rebellion against God.

David confessed:

“Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight…”
— Psalm 51:4, KJV

A person who lies, abuses, steals, or murders has not merely held an inaccurate concept.

He has committed a genuine moral wrong for which he is accountable.

Does Calling Evil Unreal Minimize Its Seriousness?

It can.

Christian Scientists do not ordinarily intend to excuse wrongdoing.

Their official teachings emphasize destroying sin rather than tolerating it.

Nevertheless, describing evil as unreal may create confusion about why guilt requires atonement.

If sin is ultimately only mistaken belief, the solution becomes corrected understanding.

But Scripture says:

“The wages of sin is death…”
— Romans 6:23, KJV

Sin requires more than education.

It requires forgiveness grounded in justice.

Is Sickness Real?

Sickness is not part of God’s original perfect creation and will not exist forever.

But within this fallen world, sickness is a real condition.

The Bible describes people as genuinely:

• Blind
• Lame
• Fevered
• Bleeding
• Paralyzed
• Diseased
• Dying

Jesus said:

“They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.”
— Matthew 9:12, KJV

His illustration depends upon a meaningful distinction between sickness and health.

Jesus healed real suffering people.

He did not merely teach them to deny that symptoms existed.

Did Jesus Treat Disease as an Illusion?

Jesus sometimes forgave sin and healed disease within the same encounter.

But He did not teach that every illness resulted from the patient’s mistaken thinking.

When asked about a man born blind, Jesus said:

“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents…”
— John 9:3, KJV

Jesus acknowledged physical conditions and then changed them through divine power.

He touched people.

He spoke to them.

He restored bodily functions.

He raised physically dead people.

The healings demonstrated His authority over fallen creation—not that creation or bodily suffering never truly existed.

Does Faith Guarantee Physical Healing Now?

No.

God can heal miraculously.

Christians should pray in faith.

But Scripture does not promise that every faithful believer will be physically healed before resurrection.

Paul experienced a continuing bodily affliction despite repeated prayer:

“For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:8, KJV

God answered:

“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:9, KJV

Paul advised Timothy concerning recurring physical illness:

“Use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.”
— 1 Timothy 5:23, KJV

Epaphroditus became seriously ill and nearly died.

Trophimus was left sick at Miletum.

Faithful Christians may suffer physically without lacking faith or spiritual understanding.

Should Christians Seek Medical Care?

Prayer and medical care should not automatically be treated as enemies.

God may answer prayer through many forms of ordinary providence, including skilled physicians, nurses, medicine, surgery, nutrition, and emergency treatment.

Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and Acts, was called:

“The beloved physician.”
— Colossians 4:14, KJV

Jesus used the work of a physician as an ordinary and understandable illustration.

Seeking responsible medical help does not necessarily demonstrate unbelief in God.

Prayer should accompany every important decision.

When urgent symptoms, serious injury, poisoning, difficulty breathing, loss of consciousness, severe bleeding, or another medical emergency occurs, prompt professional medical assistance should be sought.

A child or dependent person must receive responsible care rather than being placed at avoidable risk.

Does Christian Science Forbid Doctors?

Its present official explanation says that individual Christian Scientists are free to choose spiritual healing, medical care, or another form of healthcare.

Many nevertheless prefer prayer-based treatment because they believe it follows Jesus’ healing method.

That distinction should be stated fairly.

The biblical disagreement is not simply:

“Do Christian Scientists ever visit doctors?”

The deeper question is whether disease is fundamentally a false mental condition overcome through spiritual realization, or a real consequence of a fallen creation that God may address through miraculous or ordinary means.

What Is Christian Science Treatment?

Christian Science treatment commonly involves prayer intended to correct fearful or material beliefs through the recognition of God’s perfection and humanity’s true spiritual identity.

A Christian Science practitioner may pray with or for someone seeking healing.

The treatment does not ordinarily involve:

• Medical diagnosis
• Medication
• Surgery
• Physical manipulation
• Laboratory testing

Christian Science nursing provides practical nonmedical care while a person relies upon Christian Science treatment.

Compassionate prayer and personal support are valuable.

But spiritual confidence should not prevent responsible recognition of a dangerous physical condition.

Is the Human Mind the Healer?

Christian Science rejects the idea that ordinary human willpower heals through positive thinking.

It attributes healing to divine Mind.

This is an important clarification.

Nevertheless, the Bible does not identify God merely as universal Mind or teach that healing occurs by correcting the mortal belief that matter and disease are real.

God heals because He is the sovereign personal Lord.

David prayed to Him:

“O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.”
— Psalm 30:2, KJV

Healing is an act of God’s will and mercy—not the inevitable operation of a metaphysical technique.

Are Jesus’ Healings Repeatable Spiritual Laws?

Jesus empowered His apostles and other disciples to perform remarkable signs.

God still answers prayer and may heal miraculously.

But Jesus’ miracles also served a unique purpose.

They confirmed His identity and apostolic message:

“The works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me…”
— John 5:36, KJV

The signs of an apostle were performed among the churches:

“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”
— 2 Corinthians 12:12, KJV

The Bible does not teach that every believer who understands a universal healing science can necessarily reproduce every miracle of Jesus.

Is Failure to Be Healed Evidence of Wrong Thinking?

No.

Illness should not automatically be blamed upon:

• Fear
• Insufficient spiritual understanding
• Failure to recognize perfection
• Hidden sin
• Lack of faith

Such assumptions may burden suffering people with shame.

Job’s friends wrongly assumed that his suffering proved personal wrongdoing.

Jesus rejected a simplistic connection between disability and personal sin.

Faithful believers sometimes remain ill while trusting God deeply.

Our ultimate hope is not perfect physical health before death.

It is bodily resurrection.

Was Jesus a Real Human Being?

Yes.

Jesus was not merely a spiritual idea appearing within human consciousness.

The eternal Word truly became flesh:

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
— John 1:14, KJV

Jesus possessed a real human body.

He:

• Was born
• Grew
• Became hungry
• Became tired
• Slept
• Ate food
• Was touched
• Bled
• Died

John warned against teachings that denied Christ’s true coming in flesh:

“Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God…”
— 1 John 4:3, KJV

What Is the Difference Between Jesus and Christ?

Christian Science often distinguishes the human Jesus from the eternal Christ, understood as the divine idea or manifestation of God that Jesus uniquely demonstrated.

The Bible does distinguish Jesus’ personal name from His title, Christ or Messiah.

But it does not separate Jesus from Christ as though the Christ were an impersonal healing principle expressed through Him.

The angel announced:

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
— Luke 2:11, KJV

Peter confessed to Jesus:

“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
— Matthew 16:16, KJV

The Christ is not merely a universal spiritual idea.

Jesus personally is the Christ.

Is Jesus Eternally God?

Yes.

John writes:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
— John 1:1, KJV

Thomas addressed the risen Jesus:

“My Lord and my God.”
— John 20:28, KJV

Paul says of Christ:

“For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.”
— Colossians 2:9, KJV

Jesus is not merely the greatest human demonstrator of divine Science.

He is the eternal Lord who became truly human.

Why Did Jesus Die?

Jesus’ death was not merely the ultimate demonstration that spiritual life overcomes the belief in matter.

He died for our sins.

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3, KJV

Peter writes:

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…”
— 1 Peter 2:24, KJV

Isaiah prophesied:

“The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
— Isaiah 53:6, KJV

Jesus did not merely expose the unreality of sin.

He bore its real judgment as our substitute.

Did Jesus’ Blood Really Matter?

Yes.

Scripture repeatedly connects forgiveness with Christ’s blood.

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins…”
— Ephesians 1:7, KJV

John writes:

“The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
— 1 John 1:7, KJV

Peter says believers were redeemed:

“With the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
— 1 Peter 1:19, KJV

Christ’s blood is not merely a symbol of self-sacrificing love or the destruction of material belief.

It represents His actual sacrificial death for sinners.

What Is Atonement?

Atonement concerns reconciliation between guilty sinners and the holy God.

Humanity is not merely unaware of its existing unity with God.

Sin has produced real alienation:

“Your iniquities have separated between you and your God…”
— Isaiah 59:2, KJV

Christ made peace:

“Having made peace through the blood of his cross…”
— Colossians 1:20, KJV

God reconciles sinners through Christ’s death:

“When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…”
— Romans 5:10, KJV

Atonement is not simply awakening to an unbroken spiritual relationship.

It is God’s act of reconciling those who were truly estranged by sin.

Does God Forgive by Destroying the Belief in Sin?

God certainly transforms those He forgives.

He does not merely declare sin harmless.

But forgiveness is more than the progressive elimination of sinful thought.

It includes release from guilt and condemnation.

David said:

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
— Psalm 32:1, KJV

Paul writes:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus…”
— Romans 8:1, KJV

God forgives because Christ satisfied justice—not because sin was never real.

Does Forgiveness Require Punishment?

God is loving, but He is also just.

A judge who treats cruelty and murder as unreal would not be righteous.

God did not ignore sin.

Jesus willingly bore its penalty:

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…”
— 1 Peter 3:18, KJV

God remains:

“Just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
— Romans 3:26, KJV

At the cross, justice and mercy meet.

Did Jesus Physically Die?

Yes.

Roman soldiers confirmed His death.

His side was pierced.

His body was taken down, wrapped, and placed in a tomb.

Joseph of Arimathaea requested:

“The body of Jesus.”
— John 19:38, KJV

The crucifixion was not merely a mistaken material appearance.

The eternal Son truly experienced human death in His real body.

Did Jesus Bodily Rise From the Grave?

Yes.

Christian Science affirms Jesus’ resurrection, but may emphasize it as the demonstration that spiritual life overcomes material belief.

The Bible emphasizes the resurrection of the actual body that was crucified.

Jesus predicted:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
— John 2:19, KJV

John explains:

“But he spake of the temple of his body.”
— John 2:21, KJV

After rising, Jesus said:

“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
— Luke 24:39, KJV

He ate food before His disciples.

Thomas examined His wounds.

The tomb was empty because His body had risen.

Why Does Bodily Resurrection Matter?

If matter and physical existence were merely errors to be discarded, resurrection of the body would be unnecessary.

But God created the body and will redeem it.

Paul writes:

“It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:44, KJV

A spiritual body does not mean a nonexistent or merely mental body.

It means a real body transformed, glorified, and governed by the Holy Spirit.

Christ will:

“Change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…”
— Philippians 3:21, KJV

Christian hope is not escape from embodiment.

It is bodily resurrection.

What Is Salvation?

Christian Science often speaks of salvation as deliverance from sin, sickness, death, and material belief through spiritual understanding and demonstration.

The Bible includes transformation and final deliverance from death.

But salvation begins with God rescuing guilty sinners who cannot save themselves.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
— Ephesians 2:8–9, KJV

Salvation is not achieved by demonstrating enough spiritual understanding.

It is received as God’s gift through faith in Christ.

Are We Already Perfect and Merely Unaware of It?

Human beings were created in God’s image.

Those who belong to Christ possess a new identity and will finally be made perfectly like Him.

But Scripture does not teach that fallen people are presently perfect spiritual beings who merely need to recognize their true condition.

It says:

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
— Romans 3:23, KJV

Jesus said:

“Ye must be born again.”
— John 3:7, KJV

A person who is already spiritually perfect does not need new birth.

Sinful humanity needs forgiveness, regeneration, and transformation.

What Does It Mean to Be Born Again?

New birth is not the realization that material identity was always unreal.

It is a genuine work of the Holy Ghost.

God gives spiritual life to those who were dead in sin:

“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.”
— Ephesians 2:1, KJV

God promised:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you…”
— Ezekiel 36:26, KJV

The sinner is not merely educated.

He is regenerated.

Is Salvation a Gradual Demonstration or a Present Gift?

Christian growth is gradual.

Believers continue learning obedience, resisting sin, and becoming more like Christ.

But justification is received when the sinner trusts Christ.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Romans 5:1, KJV

The believer presently has peace with God.

He does not wait until he has fully demonstrated freedom from sin, sickness, and material limitation.

Can You Know That You Have Eternal Life?

Yes.

John wrote:

“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…”
— 1 John 5:13, KJV

Jesus said:

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”
— John 6:47, KJV

Assurance rests upon Jesus’ promise and completed sacrifice—not upon the degree to which we have mastered spiritual healing.

Does Assurance Encourage Sin?

No.

Those whom God saves are transformed.

After teaching salvation by grace, Paul writes:

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works…”
— Ephesians 2:10, KJV

Good works and holiness are the fruit of salvation.

They are not the payment for it.

Is the Bible Sufficient?

Christian Science formally identifies the Bible as its guide to eternal life.

Nevertheless, its distinctive doctrines are learned through the interpretive system taught in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

This raises an important question:

Could an ordinary reader derive Christian Science doctrine from the Bible alone without Mary Baker Eddy’s interpretive key?

Scripture says:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God… That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.”
— 2 Timothy 3:16–17, KJV

The Bible thoroughly equips the servant of God.

No nineteenth-century key is necessary to reveal that physical creation, disease, sin, and death are ultimately unreal.

Should Science and Health Govern How the Bible Is Read?

Books may help explain Scripture.

Pastors, teachers, commentaries, and dictionaries may be useful.

But every teacher and book must remain subject to the Bible.

The Bereans examined even Paul’s preaching:

“They received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
— Acts 17:11, KJV

We should not begin with Mary Baker Eddy’s metaphysical system and reinterpret every biblical passage through it.

We should allow Scripture to define its own terms through grammar, context, history, and the whole counsel of God.

Was Christian Science Lost Until Mary Baker Eddy Rediscovered It?

Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His Church.

He also promised the Holy Ghost would guide His apostles into truth.

If the essential science underlying Christianity disappeared for approximately eighteen centuries, important questions arise:

• Did the apostles understand it?
• Why do their writings describe creation, sin, sickness, Christ’s body, atonement, and resurrection so differently?
• Why did God leave generations of believers without the necessary interpretive key?
• Why must biblical truth depend upon a modern founder?

Paul instructed believers to remain in the apostolic gospel already delivered:

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught…”
— 2 Thessalonians 2:15, KJV

Can Healing Prove a Religious System Is True?

No.

A reported healing deserves honest consideration.

Prayer may benefit people spiritually, emotionally, and sometimes physically.

God may mercifully answer someone despite incomplete doctrine.

Some conditions also improve naturally, fluctuate, or are initially misunderstood.

Most importantly, supernatural signs alone cannot establish doctrine.

Jesus warned that false teachers may display signs:

“For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders…”
— Matthew 24:24, KJV

A teaching must be tested by God’s Word—not accepted merely because someone reports a healing.

Does God Still Heal?

Yes.

Christians should not react against Christian Science by denying prayer or God’s power.

James wrote:

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him…”
— James 5:14, KJV

God may heal:

• Immediately
• Gradually
• Through medical treatment
• Through ordinary bodily processes
• Through changes in behavior
• Through miraculous intervention

God may also grant sustaining grace rather than immediate healing.

Every answer should be received with humility.

What Is the Believer’s Ultimate Healing?

Even people who receive remarkable healing eventually age and die unless Jesus returns first.

Temporary healing is not humanity’s final hope.

Our ultimate healing is resurrection:

“For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:53, KJV

God will finally remove suffering:

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…”
— Revelation 21:4, KJV

This promise does not deny present pain.

It guarantees its future defeat.

What Must You Do?

1. Read the Bible Without Requiring Mary Baker Eddy’s Interpretive System

Ask what each passage meant in its grammatical, historical, and apostolic context.

“Thy word is true from the beginning…”
— Psalm 119:160, KJV

2. Recognize That Sin Is Real

Sin is not merely mistaken mortal belief.

We have genuinely rebelled against God.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
— Romans 3:23, KJV

3. Stop Trusting in Spiritual Demonstration

Your healing experiences, prayer discipline, metaphysical understanding, and moral progress cannot erase guilt.

“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…”
— Titus 3:5, KJV

4. Repent

Turn from sin, self-righteousness, and every doctrine that minimizes Christ’s true humanity, sacrificial blood, or bodily resurrection.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…”
— Acts 3:19, KJV

5. Believe the Gospel

“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, KJV

6. Receive Jesus as the Eternal Lord

Do not receive Him merely as the supreme demonstrator of a universal Christ-principle.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God…”
— John 1:12, KJV

7. Trust His Finished Sacrifice

Jesus did not merely expose sin and death as false beliefs.

He bore sin’s real penalty.

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
— Hebrews 10:14, KJV

8. Follow Jesus in Truth and Love

Those whom Jesus saves should pray, care for the sick, resist sin, love others, and trust God in suffering.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
— John 14:15, KJV

A Prayer From an Honest Heart

Repeating a prayer cannot save you. Jesus Christ saves. But you may express sincere repentance and faith in words such as these:

God, I want to know You as You have truly revealed Yourself. I confess that I have sinned against You and cannot save myself through spiritual understanding, healing, moral improvement, metaphysical demonstration, or the denial of evil and matter. I believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who truly became flesh, lived without sin, bore my actual guilt in His body, shed His blood for my forgiveness, physically died, and bodily rose from the grave. I turn from every teaching that diminishes His finished sacrifice or treats sin as merely unreal. I place my complete trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord, Savior, righteousness, High Priest, and only Mediator. Forgive me, give me a new heart, fill me with Your Holy Spirit, and teach me to understand and obey Your written Word. In Jesus’ name, amen.

The saving power is not in repeating these exact words.

The question is whether you have genuinely turned to God through the biblical Jesus Christ in repentance and faith.

What If Christian Science Helped You?

You may sincerely believe that Christian Science:

• Helped you overcome fear
• Brought physical improvement
• Deepened your prayer life
• Encouraged forgiveness
• Comforted you during grief
• Helped you feel closer to God

You do not need to deny every positive experience in order to examine the doctrine honestly.

God may show mercy to people who possess incomplete understanding.

Practical benefit does not prove every theological claim.

The decisive question is not merely:

“Did this help me?”

It is:

“Does this agree with the full teaching of the Holy Bible concerning God, creation, sin, Jesus, atonement, resurrection, and salvation?”

What If You Fear That Medical Treatment Shows Unbelief?

Do not treat responsible medical care as automatic rejection of God.

Pray for wisdom.

Seek trustworthy medical advice when needed.

Ask questions and make informed decisions.

Do not delay urgent care because you feel pressured to prove spiritual understanding.

Your standing with God does not depend upon whether you achieved a physical healing without medical assistance.

It depends upon Jesus Christ.

What If Your Family Is Christian Scientist?

Continue loving and honoring your family.

Do not mock Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science practitioners, or testimonies that are meaningful to them.

Speak patiently and accurately.

You may explain:

“I still believe deeply in prayer, God’s goodness, and His power to heal. But I now see from Scripture that physical creation is real, sin creates genuine guilt, Jesus truly came in flesh, His blood paid for our sins, and His actual body rose from the grave. My salvation rests in His finished work rather than my spiritual demonstration.”

Peter wrote:

“Be ready always to give an answer… with meekness and fear.”
— 1 Peter 3:15, KJV

What Should You Read Next?

Begin with the Gospel of John, reading it without redefining its ordinary words through Science and Health.

Ask:

Is God personally speaking and acting?

Did the Word truly become flesh?

Is Jesus Himself the Christ?

Were sickness and death treated as real enemies?

Did Jesus bear actual sins?

Did the same body placed in the tomb rise again?

Continue with:

• Genesis 1–3
• Psalm 32 and 51
• Isaiah 40–46
• Isaiah 53
• The Gospel of John
• Luke 24
• Romans 1–8
• 1 Corinthians 15
• 2 Corinthians 4–5 and 12
• Galatians 1–5
• Ephesians 1–2
• Colossians 1–2
• 1 Timothy 4–5
• Hebrews 1–2 and 7–10
• 1 Peter 1–3
• 1 John
• Revelation 21–22

As you study, ask:

Does Scripture describe matter as unreal or as God’s created work?

Is evil imaginary, or is it rebellion that produces genuine guilt?

Is sickness merely mistaken consciousness?

Was Jesus’ body real?

Did His blood actually purchase forgiveness?

Is Christ an impersonal divine idea—or Jesus the eternal Son?

Is salvation progressively demonstrated—or received through faith in Christ?

Is bodily resurrection essential to the gospel?

Our Purpose

Our purpose is not to insult Christian Scientists, dismiss every testimony of answered prayer, deny God’s power to heal, or pretend that everyone outside Christian Science understands the gospel correctly.

Many traditional church members also trust in:

• Religious experiences
• Physical healings
• Church membership
• A respected teacher
• Good works
• Family tradition
• A prayer once repeated

rather than Jesus Christ.

Every person must examine the foundation:

“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”
— 2 Corinthians 13:5, KJV

God is infinite Spirit.

God is perfect, holy, loving, and true.

Prayer matters.

God can heal.

Fear should not rule us.

Sin must be overcome.

But God is more than an abstract Principle or universal Mind.

He is the personal Creator.

The physical world is His real creation.

Matter is not eternal, but it is not imaginary.

Sickness is not part of God’s final purpose, but suffering people are genuinely suffering.

Evil is not equal to God, but it is real rebellion.

Sin is not merely false belief.

It creates genuine guilt.

Jesus is not merely the finest demonstrator of a universal Christ-idea.

He personally is the Christ.

He is the eternal Word.

He truly became flesh.

He possessed a real human body.

He shed real blood.

He bore our actual sins.

He physically died.

His body was placed in a tomb.

That same body bodily rose from the dead.

His sacrifice obtained forgiveness.

His resurrection guarantees the future resurrection of His people.

Salvation is not a metaphysical condition we demonstrate.

It is a gift we receive through faith in Jesus Christ.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…”
— 1 Peter 2:24, KJV

“For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”
— Hebrews 10:14, KJV

“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.”
— 1 John 5:11–12, KJV

Do not rest your eternal hope in metaphysical understanding, spiritual healing, or the denial of matter, sickness, and sin. Come completely to Jesus Christ—the eternal Son who truly became flesh, bore your sins in His body, physically rose from the grave, and gives everlasting life to everyone who genuinely trusts Him.