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| Questions & Answers | |||
Q What is Christian Science? A Christian Science is based on the words and works of Christ Jesus. It draws on the authority from the Bible. Its teachings are set forth in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. A distinctive part of Christian Science is its' healing of physical disease as well as sin by spiritual means alone. Q Does one have to be a Christian Scientist to have Christian Science treatment? A No, anyone can have treatment. Its teaching can help anyone who turns to a higher power for help. Q Can you tell me about Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy? A Mary Baker Eddy became a very successful healer from her study of the Bible in the late 1860's and early 1870's. She wrote the book on the advice of a doctor. He had witnessed her healing of several patients that were deemed hopeless. Today we still use her final revision from 1908. There have been more than 10 million copies sold. Those searching for spirituality in their lives will find its ideas can change their lives. The last 100 pages of the book have testimonies of people who were healed just by reading it. Today many have given testimonies of healing in our magazines based on what they learned from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. Q Is Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy your Bible? A No, it is not. We study the Bible each day. Our first tenant in our church states, "As adherents of Truth we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life". (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 497) We read Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy with the Bible. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy often enlightens one to things about the Bible he or she did not understand. Q Isn't Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy for people who go to your Church? A No, it is not. It was written for anyone who is a sincere seeker for a more spiritual life. You do not need to be a member of any denomination. Right now you can read this book and be healed. Q Isn't Christian Science a cult? Tell me a little about Mary Baker Eddy. A Far from it. We turn to God for our healing and for guidance in our lives. Yes, we admire Mary Baker Eddy. Who wouldn't if you knew more about her life? She was very sick most of her life. Her first husband died when she was pregnant. She was left with no means for support. She was ill and could not take care of her son and he was given up for adoption without her consent. Later she married a man who was unfaithful to her for twenty years and finally divorced him. She reached her low point after she fell on ice one winter day. The doctors said there was nothing they could do for her and she would not live. She took out her Bible and read over Jesus' healing works. She got so inspired by the Bible she was completely healed. Within weeks after being healed, she began to heal others all around her community. Besides writing Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy, she started the Christian Science Church and founded all of its magazines. At one point was even the editor of these magazines. She was the leader of a worldwide religion in an age where women didn't even have the right to vote. Recently she was inducted to a hall of fame dedicated to the greatest women in the United States. The Christian Science Church started a Library to give the public a better understanding of her life. We are grateful to her because if she had never lived we would not have this unique way of praying for others and ourselves. Q You seemed to focus more on Mrs. Eddy than Christ Jesus. A No it is not true. We study and try to live the teachings of Jesus in our lives. We do believe he is our Lord and Savior. We believe he was the Son of God. We believe he was the greatest man that ever lived. Mrs. Eddy counseled her students to follow her only as much as she followed Christ Jesus. Q What is a Christian Science Practitioner? A A Christian Science practitioner is a person who is in the public practice of Christian Science healing. The work is both a ministry and a profession. It is done through the love of God and man. The practitioner has to earn his living so needs to be paid for his or her services. Q How will I be helped if I contact you? A You are healed through prayer. God is the healer. I am not helping you through blind faith, willpower or mental suggestion. I am not telling you to have a cheerful attitude of positive thinking. Healing is often the result of a better understanding of God and His laws. Sometimes those calling for help do a systematic study of the Bible and of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. You need to open your mind to the love of God. Q What is your view of God? A We think of God as divine Love. We think of Him as the only parent. We feel God is both Father and Mother to us. God gives us the strength as a Father and the tenderness of a mother. God is perfect and He created us in His image and likeness. We feel God's love is impartial and universal. He loves and heals all who turn to Him for help. He is the God of the Christian, the Jew, and the Muslim. It is not God's will to make you sin or suffer. All things are possible when we completely trust Him with our care. Q Can I heal myself? A Thousands have, by turning to God with all their heart. A study of the Bible and /or Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy has brought healing to many. Q Why do I need to pay for you praying for me? A Paying for prayer is also a form of gratitude. You pay for a psychiatrist to help you with mental problems. You pay a medical doctor for physical problems. Another fact to consider is when a priest or minister prays for you he is being paid by his church. We are independent contractors who are not paid by the church. Our income comes entirely from this work. Q What is the advantage of calling a practitioner for prayer over just praying for myself? A One of the main things that a practitioner can help you with is the fear of your problem. When you are praying for yourself the problem might be very real to you, which makes it hard to heal it. For instance, if the patient has been diagnosed with cancer he may be very terrified of the disease and it might be difficult for him not to believe the cancer is part of him. The practitioner is not going through the problem so he would tend not to be so afraid of it. Q What happens in a Christian Science treatment? A First and foremost in every treatment we give God the glory. When you are healed it is God that is healing you. The practitioner is in a sense turning you over to God and trusting God's work. The healer prays to get a better understanding of God so he can help the patient be healed of his problem. He does this by seeing God as all power and the source of all- good. God is able to heal all diseases and mortal discords. God created everything in His own image. Since God is perfect His creation is always perfect. God remains perfect and so His child must remain perfect. Next, he prays to break the fear of the problem. He prays that the patient cannot fear the problem because God never made it. If God never made it the problem cannot have a reality or even a history. He denies all the claims of the problem and affirms the allness and oneness of God. The practitioner finishes his treatment affirming that God is doing the work and there is no power besides Him. The treatment is more detailed than this but this is the general way the work is done. The more the practitioner realizes that his patient's problem is not part of God he begins to separate it from the patient and thus the patient separates the problem from himself. This is what often brings the healing. Q How can you say a disease is unreal or nothing? A What I am saying is because God knows nothing of disease we need to educate our thought to believe more about what God knows instead of what the body is telling us. We must learn to shift our thought from the body to the spiritual concepts about God and His creation. I can compare this with math. If a first grader told you 2 +2= 5 that would be the wrong answer but to him it seems to be the right answer. When he learns the laws of arithmetic he will come to the conclusion that the answer is 4. The first grader has learned to shift his thought to the correct law. We use the laws of God to a certain degree in the same way. If you are diagnosed with disease, a doctor says you have it and you believe it is going to kill you. Your fear has taken over and you are convinced there is no hope. Now let us look at the situation from God's eyes. He made you perfect like Himself . This is His law. This is what we work towards in treatment. We must understand the perfect reality and nothing else. This is happening through prayer. The patient begins to comprehend what God is telling him is true and what the five senses are telling him is a lie. The result is healing. Q Can I be healed without actually visiting you as a patient? A Yes, God is doing the healing and you do not need to live near me to get results. Prayer is effective worldwide. Q What kinds of things can a Christian Science practitioner pray for? A We pray for a wide variety of things. There are many healings in our magazines of cancer, AIDS, heart attacks, and other diseases. There are testimonies about many people healed of drugs and alcohol. Marriages have been saved and financial problems solved. We feel all things are possible to God as the Bible states. |
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