Have you had any experiences with Christian Science?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Have you had any experiences with Christian Science healing? I don’t want to set firm boundaries on the responses, but I’m primarily interested in your own personal experiences and those that you directly witnessed. Please don’t post about the fact that your son told you that he overheard a neighbor saying that his son’s soccer coach’s sister’s first boyfriend’s probation officer’s mother’s college roommate’s elementary school BFF’s grandma’s freshman composition teacher was/was not healed by Christian Science.

Did Christian Science work? Did it fail?

2

I have and it worked amazingly well. I developed what seemed to be a heart condition when I was 55. Within a few months I could not climb two flights of stairs that I had previously run up several times each day. I was an electronic designer and small company owner, and had been an Army Sergeant when I was young before finishing college. I was a firm believer in mind over matter, but it wasn’t working with this problem. I was in total denial but the symptoms were getting worse and worse.

One day I had what seemed to be a heart attach at work. I was so paralyzed with pain that I couldn’t lean forward in my chair to call 911. An employee, who was a lifelong Christian Scientist, went past my door and saw my condition, and asked it I would like for him to try to help me with silent prayer. I said yes, and he want back to his desk. Almost immediately the pain diminished to what I had been accustomed to. I went to his desk and told him I was a little better and was going home for the day.

I had several more hits that day and during the night but they went away. A little before Dawn, I awoke, still screwed up, and dozed back off. I then awoke with an incredible sense of peace that I could never have imagined I could feel. I have heard of people describing near death experiences that were similar.

I tried to hold on to the feeling but could not, but when it passed, I realized I was no longer in pain. My appetite had returned and I cleaned the kitchen and fixed a big breakfast. When I got to work I climbed the stairs with no problems. After babying myself for a few days, I got on my treadmill, which I had not used for months, and ran until I was panting, with no problems. I passed a physical a few months later with no problems. I resumed running up the stairs.

The experience was so amazing that I began attending the employee’s local Christian Science Church, and have become very adept at spiritual healing through silent prayer. I am now 71 and my retirement project is a shrub and tree nursery. I do hard physical work frequently.

I had a life insurance physical last year when I turned 70 and was renewed until the age of 80. It included an EKG and no problems were found.

It really works.

The CS church is unique in not having a clergy. Services are conducted by Readers elected from the membership for fixed terms. The church is led by Journal Listed Practitioners.

These people have proved their ability to bring healing through silent prayer and have chosen to spend their lives healing and teaching. Most charge from $15 to $50 per day and first call healings are common. Most have several dozen clients at any time. They must make their entire living from their healing practice to retain their listing in the Monthly Christian Science Journal. This arrangement keeps politics out of the compensation of church leaders. If they are successful, they do very well, otherwise they must improve or drop out.

The Journal is available in any Christian Science Reading Room, and Practitioners are also listed online.

The Church was founded by Mary Baker Eddy, who discovered the methods used. They are described in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which is the Christian Science Textbook.

The best book ABOUT CS IMHO is Spiritual Healing In A Scientific Age by Peel. For a quick take read from page 16 to the end of the chapter and then read the story beginning on page 54.

Please feel free to email me if you want more information. I created a website for my local CS Church at www.csvincennes.com.

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This thread is about to get real interesting…

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That’s good that it worked for you. My best friend’s fiancee from a Christian Science family had a very treatable cancer that was discovered early. My friend convinced her less devout fiancee to seek traditional medical treatment. Halfway through the treatment, it was working, as expected, and the prognosis was for a full recovery. Then the fiancee was convinced by his family to stop medical treatment and use Christian Science. He was dead within months.

5

Ummmm…

6

And before that:

Self diagnoses by a non-professional. Not very convincing.

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There is no requirement in CS to use spiritual healing, and members decide for themselves how to handle any situation they are confronted with. The purpose of the church is to teach people how to heal themselves spiritually and avoid the need for medical technology, and to provide a meeting place for others seeking the same knowledge.

The best short explanation I can provide is that we are actually living in the ultimate virtual reality game. That is why apparent material conditions can change instantly. Everything here is a function of our beliefs.

We are spiritual beings having a human experience. We lived before we came into this experience and will be alive after we depart. This is some sort of class and we are to learn while we are here.

God does exist, and he sent his Son here to show us how to live and live more abundantly. As Jesus said, ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. The truth is that we are spiritual beings, not material, and our spiritual existence is perfect. If we can successfully seek the Kingdom of God we can free ourselves from the problems in our apparent material existence. If we can’t, we can use whatever technology seems appropriate and keep trying.

On the front wall in most CS churches is the phrase: “God Is Love” from First John in the New Testament. Points are awarded for earnest attempts.

The main problem with CS is the absolute refusal of those who have not experienced it to believe it can happen. After using it for a while, your whole outlook changes.

I once accidentally crushed a hornet’s nest and was swarmed with lots of bites. I started to run but realized I couldn’t outrun them. I closed my eyes and started praying as I had learned in CS. After about a minute I opened my eyes and saw that all the hornets were crawling around on their ruined nest, ignoring me completely. I continues on my way and continued praying and within five minutes all evidence of the bites had vanished, and they had already started to swell before I started praying.

Don’t knock it if you haven’t studied it.

8

I was raised in Christian Science. My most reliable data points are my mother and father.

My father had a stroke in 2000. He went to the ER and had a lot of tests done. One test indicated that he had previously had a heart attack. My dad remembered having that heart attack, it had been about ten years prior. He felt that he had prayed and was healed.

My mother had breast cancer in 2006. She prayed. She was not healed. She died.

I could probably come up with a few other stories. I know you asked not to hear about “my best friend’s Sunday School teacher” … does it make a difference if I actually met her and talked to her personally? She claimed to have been healed of a broken hip, although I had not experienced it first-hand.

My grandfather has been in Christian Science his whole life. He told me that there was one time in South America where he was traveling with some fellow Christian Scientists, and his heart stopped beating. They prayed for him and he is currently in his late eighties, in absolutely excellent health (I went hiking with him last weekend), and as far as I know, does not take any medications (but does have hearing aids and false teeth).

My grandmother … well, my family never really told me the details about this. I know she died of cancer, and from the whispered rumors surrounding her death it sounds like she tried to pray rather than seek medical help as well.

Finally, my personal experiences. The first time I took medication I was 15. The first time I got any immunization shots I was nineteen. The first time I saw a doctor for anything other than an annual physical … I don’t remember for sure, but I think I was 19. As far as I can tell, this has had no detrimental effects on my health. I suspect this is simply because when you’re young you have a fairly strong immune system, and most sicknesses that a young person has will eventually go away on their own. I readily admit that had I come down with a serious illness as a child (such as leukemia) or one that required medication (such as diabetes), I probably would not have turned out just fine. But lucky for me I didn’t.

MICRDICK says not to knock it if you haven’t studied it. I studied this religion for years, went to church every Sunday and every Wednesday and even attended a school affiliated with this religion. My mother died from a disease with a 90% survival rate (according to this website, if I am reading it correctly). I strongly suspect that had she not been so caught up in this religion, she would be alive today. My personal opinion is that this religion is dangerous, and if you wish to pursue it, proceed with extreme caution.

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I didn’t mean to be flippant in my previous post. CS has been a major life changer for me, and I have used it successfully for most of the things that my contemporaries are taking endless medications for.

At 71 I am in great shape, have overcome several problems, take no medication, and am grateful that I have the view of this life and the universe that I have developed.

I found my creative abilities enhanced after I started studying it, and used the services of practitioners several times on complex projects, always with wonderful results.

Several people in my branch church are currently involved in the use of medical technology, and if you are not getting the results you need with prayer, you should go the medical route.

My life has been greatly blessed by the study of it.

10

Or go to have broken bones put in casts?
If we accept that CS “healing” is true, would not a rotten tooth or broken bone get healed? (Just like a bad heart or cancer)

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Serious question-do you know of any cases where God has healed a missing body part so that it grew back?

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It’s really case by case. I went to a dentist, as did the other kids in my family. My mother did not, and had bad teeth. Some people at my high school also had bad teeth.

Broken bones, you usually go to a doctor, although, as I mentioned in a previous post, occasionally you will encounter people who claimed to have been healed of that as well.

If it seems a little counter to logic, it is, but here’s the reason: the general mindset in Christian Science is that if you feel that a certain problem is beyond your current healing ability, you can seek medical help. Unfortunately, Christian Science culture tends to frown upon seeking medical help for certain medical conditions. Corrective lenses are acceptable, dental work is acceptable.

When my father went to the emergency room after his stroke, he said his decision to seek professional medical help was not received kindly by the church.

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The textbook recommends that bones be set by a physician, but I had an experience where I fell off a roof and a broken bone realigned itself and healed with no medical intervention. I prayed about what to do and saw that I could handle it metaphysically, and was eventually successful. I consulted a practitioner and got relief from pain and saw the bone realign, but did not get the final outcome I needed. I contacted a second practitioner and was able to get a complete healing and full functioning. The total time was still less than what a typical medical outcome would have taken.

I have healed an abscessed tooth with it, but at 71 am on the way to false teeth. I normally use dentists.

My experience with my other church members is that there is no condemnation for seeking medical assistance. Other congregations may differ. I have been a member of two CS churches, the first in St. Louis and the second in Vincennes Indiana close to my farm where I retired.

What I found is: There is a God who is all powerful. He is a spirit, not a wise old man.

He doesn’t do evil but is pure unconditional love.

We are spiritual beings having a human experience and will still be alive after we depart this experience.

Our beliefs are everything, and changing them can be very difficult. They create the world we live in and most people have no idea how they control what is going on in their experience.

A spiritual connection can be created that will provide guidance. Seek and ye shall find.

It is well worth the effort, and will greatly enhance your experience in this life.

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I don’t think I have heard of missing body parts growing back.

I have read accounts of nearly severed fingers being healed so that the person could not remember which finger was injured.

Jesus said you can cast a mountain into the sea, but he didn’t do it and I think he was trying to illustrate the virtual reality nature of what we think of as solid material existence.

15

You say you’re on the way to false teeth, so there’s obviously some ailments you can’t heal. What makes the difference? When can you, and when can’t you?

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Moved MPSIMS --> IMHO.

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I am curious-why would you “think” that you had a “broken” bone in the first place? Falling off the roof was an illusion-so why would you be concerned about physical causes at all? If it is all illusion, why would you be worried at all?

18

Lucretia,

I think it is because of belief, the very thing that creates this world we seem to be in. Teeth and bones are hard and slow growing and we unconsciously assume they are hard to heal.

The story in Matthew 17 where Jesus healed a child who seems to have had some sort of seizures may apply:

14 ¶ And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying,
15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water.
16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him.
17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me.
18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I have always thought it was noteworthy that Jesue didn’t actually move any mountains. Too many violations of the apparent rules of physics would destroy the whole world he was living in.

I think God sent Jesus into this experience to heal it and turn it to the right direction. His chosen people were stuck in a morass of stifling literalism.

Those interested in this thread might also find this interesting: Answers to FAQ, Page 1

There is another reason why Christian Scientists pursue spiritual healing beyond what might seem logical points. The elevation of thought and sense of peace and insight that often accompanies a healing are absolutely wonderful.

I really wish I had some easy way to let others experience what I have, but it is only available to those who seek it.

19

ralph124c,

I THOUGHT I had a broken bone because the shape of the area was obviously not what it should have been.

When I got to my cellphone and called a practitioner, the pain vanished like turning off a switch as soon as I started telling her what had happened. (seemed to have happened)

Part of my metaphysical work was knowing that there had been no fall, that the fall was only a mortal illusion. I succeeded in convincing myself of that.

20

It seems (to me) that acceptance of the CS wordview involves denial of the physical world.
If you accept that the world is a subjective illusion, then CS makes sense.
However, there is very good evidence for the reality of the physical world-if you step off a 10th story balcony, you will shortly be reminded that gravity and the world is indeed real.
And I doubt that any amount of “CS healing” will prevent you from having a horrific experience.