NOT a little is heard in these days concerning the preservation of health and its restoration should it be impaired. Indeed, there is probably no field in which theory is so active as in this; and for the reason that health is such a desirable asset, not only for the carrying on of those activities which humanity deems necessary for its existence, but also for the enjoyment of life. Great numbers of people today are in search of health, in search of something which will restore their strength, their vitality; and not a few of them would gladly barter all their material possessions to secure it.
The Christian Scientist, like every other rational person, has a keen regard for good health; but he differs from many as to the means of preserving it or of restoring it. For example, the Christian Scientist is not a believer in material methods of treating disease. He does not acknowledge that drugs are remedial; rather is he convinced that the way of maintaining or restoring health is through spiritual means. The great majority of Christian Scientists have proved the healing power of spiritual understanding in their own experience, in many cases after material remedies have been tried in vain. So, when they refer to their healing experience they are speaking of that of which they are certain; and when they refer to the way in which the healings were brought about they are not speaking of methods which they no longer use, but they are referring to a far more reliable method, that of spiritual understanding.
Consider how health is regarded in Christian Science. This Science declares that health is the normal condition of man. It shows, even as does the Bible, that man is the image or likeness of God, and that since God is perfect Mind or Spirit, in whom is no trace of inharmony, man—the real man—is perfectly harmonious. Thus, in true being harmony or health alone is real. Moreover, since God is omnipotent—infinite in power—man by reflection manifests unlimited power or strength. These are absolute truths; and no reasoning based on a material sense of things can possibly reverse them.
