Does Christian Science really work?

[Chazemataz]

The Church of Christ (Scientist) believes in praying instead of using medicene. Are there any cases of where this worked? If it does and there aren’t any then that is a darn shame. Millions of lives could be saved if Christian Science works. I myself think it is rather foolish to pray for somebody to get healed instead of using medical techniques. You should pray while the person is getting medical help.

 

[stillsearching]

Chazemataz:

The Church of Christ (Scientist) believes in praying instead of using medicene. Are there any cases of where this worked? If it does and there aren’t any then that is a darn shame. Millions of lives could be saved if Christian Science works. I myself think it is rather foolish to pray for somebody to get healed instead of using medical techniques. You should pray while the person is getting medical help.

I don’t know. My father’s mother was Christian Science. Before WWII, she worked a lot with the poor in the migrant camps in Los Angeles. She contracted T.B. and died when my Dad was only 9.
My grandfather insisted she see a doctor, who told her that it was a very early case, very mild and potentially capable of healing. He recommended that they move out of L.A .and up into the desert somewhere, perhaps Barstow or even further. She refused to go. Instead she had a CS Practioner who sat with her day and night to help her correct her thinking. At that time, the practioners held that illness, war and death were due to incorrect thinking about God and scripture and if one could fix their incorrect thinking these things just would not exist. Needless to say, she worsened until several months later she died of hemorrage. I do not know if CS practioners still work that way.

 

[Kevan]

One good book on the topic (sort of) is Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle by William Nolen. He explains the difference between organic disorders (where something is visibly wrong with the body) and fuctional disorders (when an apprently normal organ isn’t working correctly, for some unknown reason). CS can only succeed on the latter.

 

[puzzleannie]

stillsearching:

meanwhile exposing her family and the hundreds of people she worked with to TB, a highly contagious disease. one of the reasons for isolation in remote spots in TB cases was to prevent the spread of infection. It’s one thing when one’s erroneous beliefs only put oneself at risk, but to use muddled thinking to endanger others is criminal. Scientology repeats some of the same errors of Christian Science, but of course does not even pretend to have CS’s spurious foundation in the teachings of Jesus, having rejected the entire concept of Jesus and God. Same error, relying on a self-proclaimed guru, teacher, swami, wise person instead of on God.

 

[asteroid]

The best friend of my mother-in-law was born and brought up a Christian Scientist and was active and devout in her practice of it.

Then she contracted cancer, a cancer which ultimately led to her death.

Her fellow christian scientists didn’t like that at all and completely disowned her and would have nothing to do with her. All those friends that she had shared her life with were suddenly not friends because she was ill.

Does Christian Science work? No. Just ask Mary Baker Eddy who had frequent headaches and took painkillers for them.

 

[Daniel_Marsh]

We know from Job that satan can inflict harm to people. Basically, removing that infliction is how Satan heals.

 

[Ahimsa]

Yes, CS does work.

However, that does not mean that healing always happens.

 

[Ahimsa]

Yes, CS does work, since CS is simply prayer.

Prayer always works, but not necessarily in the way you might want it to work

 

[alwaysseeking]

Christian Science has worked for me. I am Catholic and the medical world has had no help for me for several health issues. When I prayed about it, I felt told to call a Christian Science practitioner and I’ve been healed of several challenges. I am very grateful to them. I can’t say that I yet fully understand Christian Science or that I agree with all of their theology, but I don’t necessarily agree with any of my M.D.'s theologies either and if they can help me I still accept their help. Christian Science is not what all the rumors say about it. It’s best to investigate for yourself, humbly learn what you can and leave the rest to God. You don’t have to join their church to benefit from what they can share. People die under medical care too, but we don’t pooh-pooh all of medical care for that reason. Neither should we pooh-pooh Christian Science. We all still have a lot to learn from each other and a lot to share with each other in this world. Christian Science does heal a lot of people. I think it’s worth learning from.

 

[Chris0711]

I have heard this argued a great deal and have heard a number of good arguments. I am studying to be a physician so obviously I put a great deal of credence in medicine.

Hear is a statement regarding Christian Scientist and healing that I rather enjoyed.

“If I break my arm I believe God will heal my arm and comfort me during my struggle, but I also believe that God wants me to put a case on my arm so it can heal.”

Also I wonder if Christian Scientist every considered that the answer to a patient praying for aid would be to provide a knowledgeable, capable, and compassionate physician to treat them.

I guess my point is that I do not presume to understand how God answers prayers and I also understand that there are some things that medicine is very good at fixing and others that are unexplainable by medical science.

 

[alwaysseeking]

A Christian Scientist could explain all this better than I can, but Christian Scientists do go to doctors when they feel that that will be helpful. They simply turn to Christian Science prayer because they find it truly effective. It is not a type of prayer that is simply a petition to God to heal them and then a waiting around to see if He does, nor is it “faith healing”, nor is it equivalent to Scientology which is an entirely different thing. It is, as I understand it, rather an active, sincere, thoughtful, studied and prayerful understanding of God and His creation as He created it as they understand it from the Bible, and a seeing how this understanding brings healing. I know that they go to doctors to have bones set, though they also have documented cases of healing of broken bones without having them set. Christian Scientists are just people like you and me who make health care decisions based on what they feel is best and will be helpful. Yes, they see doctors and dentists when they feel it would be helpful. They also have the option of turning to Christian Science prayer because they’ve SEEN it work and work beautifully. They may sometimes be incompassionate as one post here implies, so can anyone. They are normal people, making mistakes sometimes, and learning. Catholics have been incompassionate to me when I’ve been suffering. I don’t ignore Catholic truth because of it. People in the medical field are good, compassionate people seeking to help others and ease suffering. Christian Science honors that. They simply also have another way of looking at things and hold open a beautiful option. Even medical doctors study Christian Science and simply use their understanding of it as they can. Christian Science reading rooms can supply more information. They’re happy to share.

 

[BrianH]

The Christian Science book, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, contains numerous cases of healing. Their website does as well. On the other hand, you can also find websites and examples of children who died without medical care for treatable diseases. ON the other hand, they have stories and accounts of children that have been healed as well.
I am very comfortable with adults choosing to treat themselves how they will. I also understand as a parent how difficult it would be as a parent to make those choices with kids involved. I saw a healing of a co-worker that I still do not understand. She was absolutely terminal and turned to Christian Science. When I saw her at a district inservice years later (after just assuming she had died, it is a big school district), I was floored. It sparked my interest in Christian Science when she said that is what healed her.
I am not sure how to say this exactly. Christian Science speaks to me on many levels and I still often read its literature and occasionally go to the lectures. I just do not believe it on all levels.