PROBABLY one of the greatest desires of a mortal is to have a better body—a body freed from sickness, from pain, from fatigue, from ugliness. Christ Jesus, who performed his works in accordance with God's directing, disregarded all material healing remedies and methods and showed mankind how to overcome, through spiritual means alone, the ills and shortcomings of the flesh.
In this age Christian Science, the Comforter promised by Christ Jesus, is reinstating his method of spiritual healing, repeating his works, as he prophesied would be done. On page 425 of the Christian Science textbook, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddy writes: "Consciousness constructs a better body when faith in matter has been conquered. Correct material belief by spiritual understanding, and Spirit will form you anew." On page 34 of her autobiography, "Retrospection and Introspection," Mrs. Eddy says, "The mortal body being but the objective state of the mortal mind, this mind must be renovated to improve the body."
Such statements by the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science are sharp challenges to age-old beliefs concerning the human body and the way to heal it. But when it is understood, even in a degree, that the human body is not substantial or real, as the physical senses testify, but, like all matter, is merely an externalized or objectified state of mortal so-called mind, it is not considered either strange or impossible to heal the physical body solely through correcting material beliefs by spiritual understanding. In fact, it will be found to be the only way to heal it permanently. Christian Science shows that in the proportion that we have that Mind in us "which was also in Christ Jesus," as Paul admonished the Philippians, our body, the objectified state of our thought, corresponds to our improved state of thinking, and we have a better body. "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind," wrote Paul to the Romans (12:2). The inspired Word of the Scriptures contains many passages which show that to be redeemed spiritually is to be regenerated physically.
