Frequently Asked Questions about Christian Science

Q.  Isn’t Christian Science the same as faith healing?
A.  No.  Christian Science healing and faith healing are poles apart.   Faith healers accept that whatever happens is God’s will — even disaster or death.   This is the opposite of Christian Science, where we learn that God wants and provides only what is good — life, health, happiness.  God is Love, and we are His cherished children.  Disaster and death could never be part of His plan for us.   Faith healing allows for a blind faith, that is, faith without understanding.  This is not true in Christian Science at all.  In fact, it’s just the opposite.  Christian Science teaches that healing results from an increased understanding of God.  Christian Science must be understood to be practiced and to be proved.  We can only prove what we understand.  Christian Science is not blind faith.  It is knowing the truth about God and man (in our spiritual identity) with wisdom and conviction.   Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:32)

Q.  Is Christian Science the same as Scientology?
A.  No, there is no connection whatsoever.  Christian Science was discovered in 1866 by Mary Baker Eddy and is based on the Bible and a love of God.  The teachings and ministry of Jesus Christ are vital to Christian Science.    There is no relationship to Scientology which has neither Christian nor Biblical roots.

Q.  Is Christian Science really Christian?
A.  Yes.  It is firmly based on the Bible and the teachings and works of Christ Jesus.

Q.  Who is Mary Baker Eddy?
A.  Mrs. Eddy was a very spiritually-minded woman and Bible student.  She was born in 1821 in New Hampshire.  In 1866 she was healed of serious internal injuries while reading her Bible.  This led to her discovery of what she named Christian Science.  In 1875 she published the first edition of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the textbook of Christian Science.   More on Mary Baker Eddy. Photo courtesy of Mary Baker Eddy Library, Boston, MA.

Q.  What is Mary Baker Eddy’s role in Christian Science?
A:  Mary Baker Eddy is the Leader, Discoverer, and Founder of Christian Science, and the author of the textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.  Although we are extremely grateful to Mrs. Eddy for her discovery, she is not deified or worshiped in any way.  More on Mary Baker Eddy.

Q.  Does the textbook Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures take the place of the Bible?
A.  No.  Both are studied daily by Christian Scientists around the world and are used in Christian Science church services.  Nothing can take the place of the Bible.

Q.  Do you have your own Christian Science Bible?
A.   No.  In our Sunday church services and in our weekly Bible Lessons, we use mainly the King James Version of the Bible.  Mary Baker Eddy quotes from or alludes to the King James Version on nearly every page of her writings.  However, for personal, individual Bible study, Christian Scientists use many different Bible translations.  In the Fayetteville branch church, various translations are sometimes used for our mid-week testimony meetings.

Q.  Why is the word “Science” used to describe your religion?
A.  Because it can be demonstrated, proved.  It has rules and laws (the Biblical laws of God), just like mathematics or music or physics.  When these laws are understood and applied, healing happens!  These are the same laws that Jesus put into practice 2,000 years ago.  Christian Science has a remarkable proven record of healing since it was discovered in 1866.

Q.  What is Jesus’ place in Christian Science?
A.  Son of God, Way-shower, Savior.  Jesus was not God in a human form, but he embodied the Christ, or Divine nature of a spiritual, Father-Mother God.

Q. Why don’t Christian Scientists practice baptism?
A.  We do practice baptism.   We practice baptism by studying the Word of God daily to purify our thoughts and by striving to live our lives in concert with spiritual cleansing from sin.   Baptism or purification of thought is key to healing, so baptism is vitally important to this Science of Mind healing.  People practice baptism — purification — in many ways.   Immersion in water and the sprinkling of water are symbols of inner purification.  The Christian Science method of baptism focuses on the meaning behind the Christian symbol and on active changes in thinking more than the outward use of water for cleansing.

Q.  Do Christian Scientists believe in the Virgin Birth?
A.  Yes.

Q.  Do Christian Scientists believe in the resurrection of Christ Jesus?
A.  Yes.

Q.   Do Christian Scientists believe in reincarnation?
A.    No.

Q.  Do Christian Scientists believe in a Heaven and Hell?
A.  To us, heaven and hell are states of thought, not places.  Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)  No one is destined to spend eternity suffering in hell.

Q.  Is it true that Christian Scientists don’t go to doctors?
A.  Christian Scientists appreciate the dedication that most medical professionals have towards improving the lives of their fellow man.  Most students of Christian Science choose God as their first resort for healing, rather than as a last resort, because they’ve found that scientific treatment for spiritual healing brings reliable results.   Good health is a natural outcome of spiritual growth, and students of Christian Science are continually seeking spiritual growth.  They tend to seek the services of a doctor infrequently because they get quick healing results from Christian Science treatment.

Q.  Is a Christian Scientist allowed to go to a doctor?
A.  A Christian Scientist may choose any method of treatment that he or she wishes.  There is no condemnation to anyone who might, for whatever reason, choose to consult a medical doctor, have a medical procedure, or take medication.   No permission is needed from any church authority to seek medical treatment.  No method even exists for requesting or granting such permission.

Q.  What is Christian Science treatment?
A.  Christian Science treatment is a focused form of prayer for the purpose of bringing about a corrective action in a person’s experience.  Treatment can be used to effect physical healing, address financial lack, handle employment-related  issues, resolve difficult interpersonal relationships, and more. You can ask any student of Christian Science for treatment, or seek out a full-time Christian Science practitioner.

Q.  What is a Christian Science practitioner?

A.  A Christian Science practitioner is an experienced student of Christian Science who maintains a full-time professional practice helping others through prayer. The Christian Science Journal (which is available at any Christian Science Reading Room and on line) includes a directory of practitioners located around the world.   Fees vary, but are usually quite reasonable.  Often Christian Science practitioners charge less than other health professionals.

Q.  How do I locate a Christian Science practitioner?
A.  Visit, call, or e-mail any Christian Science Reading Room.  The staff there will be able to give you names of practitioners in your area, or you may look in The Christian Science Journal for a complete listing using their on-line directory of practitioners.  Some practitioners also advertise in their local telephone directory under “Christian Science”.

Q.  How can praying change a sick body into a healthy body?
A.  If prayer is just a repetition of memorized words, that might not result in healing.  What’s needed is a sincere change of thinking.  Prayer purifies our thinking, and this change in our thinking has effect on our body because the body a mental construct.  “Disease is an image of thought externalized.”  (Science & Health page 411)  Sickness or disease is like a dream.   Healing occurs when the patient is awakened from the dream to the spiritual reality that God made His children in His image as spiritual ideas.   God made man (and woman) in His image – whole, perfect and healthy now and always.  When thinking is purified and aligned with this perfect creation, the body corresponds to this perfection and the result is seen on the body as a healing effect.  In absolute truth, sickness is unreal, that is, not valid according to God’s law.  Prayer doesn’t change something undesirable into something more desired.  Prayer brings our thinking into harmony with the already-established divine outcome of health.  Read more.

Q.  What is a Christian Science Reading Room?
A.  A Reading Room is a bookstore, reference library, a peaceful study area open to the public, a research center for exploring and proving spiritual healing .  Our walk-in Reading Room is located in our church building (1755 Rolling Hills Drive, Fayetteville, Arkansas) and is open before and after Sunday morning and Wednesday evening services.  Here you can buy Christian Science literature, inspirational CDs, Bibles, Bible reference books, etc.   Click here for more information.  Or you may e-mail our Reading Room staff at info@practicalprayer.org

Q.  Do Christian Science Practitioners really heal the sick?
A.   God is always the healer.  As Mrs. Eddy says in Science and Health page 275, line 31, “Truth (a name for God) spiritually discerned, is scientifically understood.  It casts out error and heals the sick.”   Christian Science Practitioners help each of their patients to turn to God and understand more clearly God’s perfect creation which is already whole and healthy.

Q.  Are members of your church required or pressured to contribute financially?
A.  No, not at all.  There is no pledge system nor any type of assigned giving.  It is common for members and others to give voluntarily out of gratitude for healings and blessings, but it is strictly a personal choice.

Q.  What is your church location and hours?
A.  Our church is located at 1755 Rolling Hills Drive in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Sunday Service & Sunday School — 10:30am    Wednesday evening — 7:00pm  (more )

Visitors are welcome at every one of our services!  A directory of Christian Science churches in other cities throughout the United States and throughout the world can be found in The Christian Science Journal or in this online directory.

Q.  What activities do you have for young people?
A.  Young people from age 3 through 19 are welcome in our Christian Science Sunday School.  There they are taught Bible stories and lessons they can apply in their lives today, including the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the loving nature of God, and the teachings and healings of Jesus.   Share your musical talents or enjoy fresh voices — new interview and new song every week here.  Also on time4thinkers, check out attending Summits (explore the big questions on your mind with others),  taking part in college and university organizations worldwide, making friends and expanding your thinking, sharpening your skills via an internship.

Q.  Must one join your church to be a student of Christian Science?
A.  Not at all.  Everyone is on a unique spiritual journey.  People of many religious affiliations–or no affiliation–apply the ideas found in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures to their lives and get wonderful results.  Jesus didn’t require membership in a particular church, and neither do we!

Q.  Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?
A.  Yes.  Annually, each Christian Science church (in the USA, Canada, and wherever Thanksgiving is a national holiday) holds a special church service on Thanksgiving Day.  The Bible Lesson sermon that day is about gratitude, and those attending are invited to share their gratitude outloud.  Giving thanks is so important to us that every midweek meeting all year long at Christian Science churches and societies throughout the world includes time for the sharing of gratitude by those in the congregation. They tell of healings through prayer and of proofs of God’s care.   All services are open to the public.