Of utmost importance to each one of us is the simple question, "What am I?" The answer to this question relates vitally to one's conduct, to his health, and to his demonstration of the harmony of true being. The orthodox belief that man is a miserable sinner acts as a millstone about the necks of those who accept it, and therefore they play out the part of suffering mortals. Christian Science has come to heal this misconception and to reveal the actual status of man as the beloved child of God.
The Bible distinctly states that man is made in the image and likeness of God. A true concept of God as wholly good, pure Spirit, divine Mind, must then result in a correct concept of man as God's image. Man, in God's likeness, is spiritual, perfect, sinless, and whole. Real manhood, when seen as the true selfhood of each one, can be progressively demonstrated in individual experience; and this activity shows forth the practical healing effect of the Christ in our everyday life. Jesus illustrated the divine nature of true sonship, that is, that man is indeed the child of God.
In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mary Baker Eddy states (p. 259): "The divine nature was best expressed in Christ Jesus, who threw upon mortals the truer reflection of God and lifted their lives higher than their poor thought-models would allow,—thoughts which presented man as fallen, sick, sinning, and dying. The Christlike understanding of scientific being and divine healing includes a perfect Principle and idea,— perfect God and perfect man,—as the basis of thought and demonstration."
