FORMER EDITOR of the Journal, Allison "Skip" Phinney, a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Boston, talks about what's on his mind....
Skip, let's start with a question that lurks in the skeptical mind: How realistic is it for healing through prayer to be a central tenet of the Christian Science Church in the 21st century? Is Christian healing a phenomenon whose time has come and gone?
I think the simplest answer is that healing through prayer is the one thing that is realistic. Prayer and healing are absolutely central to Christianity, and Christian Science is devoted to reinstating original Christianity and its healing element. But more than that is the fact that Christian healing isn't something that's going away. It's something that is coming.
