Healing FAQ
What does spirituality have to do with healing?
Most methods of healing involve diagnosis of a problem and prescribing a course of treatment to rectify it. Christian Science healing is different. Rather than starting with the physical symptoms, identifying and analysing them, and prescribing a cure, it starts with the patient’s spiritual make-up. Finding out what one’s own spirituality is all about sets the scene for spiritual healing to take place.
So do you ignore the symptoms?
Not at all. They are usually the first sign that there’s a problem. But it’s just a case of how the individual responds to the symptom – will it be physically, or spiritually?
So how do you do the spiritual thing?
By praying. But before you click to another website, let’s explain that a bit. Prayer isn’t about asking God to mend something, or heal someone, or repeating some holy text over and over. It’s an inspired and positive assertion – an intelligent application of the teachings of the Bible. It involves understanding the patient’s relationship to God, and what God is. It’s a bigger subject than space allows here, but the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health, is all about how to heal through prayer. And its first chapter is entitled “Prayer”.
Can I heal myself?
Absolutely. There’s a 100-page chapter at the end of Science and Health made up of letters from people who were healed just by reading the book on their own with an open mind, and these healings are going on in the same way all the time.
What if it doesn’t work?
You’re not on your own. There are people who can help. First, there are Christian Science practitioners, who are self-employed spiritual healers, whose practice is based on the teachings of Christian Science. They have studied with a Teacher of Christian Science and if they are listed in the Christian Science Journal, it means they work full-time as healers and have a proven track record of healing.
What about nursing care?
If you have an injury or illness that means you are out of action for a while, but you want to rely on prayer alone for healing, there are Christian Science nurses who can help. You can be nursed in a Christian Science nursing home or in your own home, depending on the need. Again these nurses are listed in the Christian Science Journal. There’s a Visiting Nurse Service in this area.
Isn’t it just mind over matter?
No. It’s not will-power or hypnotism. It’s about your relationship with God. It’s about you as a loved spiritual idea. It’s about your search for your spiritual identity and the proof of its existence. It’s a method of healing that has been tried, tested and proven.
More questions?
You can find more answers at our Reading Room, or by visiting www.spirituality.com
