Mary Baker Eddy states in "Miscellaneous Writings" (p. 196): "The sweet, sacred sense and permanence of man's unity with his Maker, in Science, illumines our present existence with the ever-presence and power of God, good. It opens wide the portals of salvation from sin, sickness, and death." What a marvelous promise! What assurance of protection from the mesmeric suggestions which seem to assail mortals in the unreal dream world of the carnal mind and so-called physical senses!
Christ Jesus saw and understood completely his own true identity and that of each individual as the idea of God, infinite Principle, Love. He was conscious of his eternal unity with infinity and of the power which this implies. He declared with humility, strength, and clearness that his mighty works were not the result of his own personal ability or might, but rather the reflection of divine power, the evidence of God's infinite wisdom, love, and goodness.
His disciples followed faithfully in his footsteps. The healing of sickness through spiritual power continued in the Christian churches until the fourth century, when Christianity became the state religion of the Roman Empire. Then the Christian teaching became secularized, spirituality diminished, and spiritual healing lessened and thus by degrees ceased.
