A definition of "heal" which fully accords with the intent of Christian Science practice is this: "To restore to original purity or integrity." The original purity or integrity which Christian Science is restoring to view is the spiritual perfection of God's creation, a perfection seemingly concealed by the mortal senses and their imperfect pictures of man and the universe. Regardless of the vividness and apparent validity of these mind-pictures, Christian Science maintains that the physical senses represent nothing more than a material state of mind, and that one must stop believing in their reality and existence if he would get rid of their false conceptions. Spiritual sense, the consciousness of moral and spiritual values, discloses "a new heaven and a new earth"—the true conception of being.
Mary Baker Eddy was roused, through her love of God and her deep desire for something higher and more comforting than matter affords, to discern the ever-present realm of God. The substance of Spirit was tangible to her pure sense, and she found that spiritual views put to flight the pains and deformities evolved by the beliefs and sinful moods of the so-called carnal mind. She writes of what she discerned (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 14): "Entirely separate from the belief and dream of material living, is the Life divine, revealing spiritual understanding and the consciousness of man's dominion over the whole earth. This understanding casts out error and heals the sick, and with it you can speak 'as one having authority.'"
Christian Science makes clear that the purpose of healing is to unveil this "Life divine" and inspires its adherents to make every effort to rise above the mortal senses, to resist believing in their matter concepts, and to make no demand upon these senses for satisfaction. It impels contentment with the treasures of character and spiritual activity that their lives express. They seek to demonstrate God's will as the law of their being. They know that they are worthy of the name "Christian Scientist" in the measure that they prove life in Spirit to be their only life.
