The words "discipline" and "disciple" are similar in origin and are allied in meaning. A "disciple" is "one who receives instruction from another," and "discipline" is "training or experience that corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects." According to Christian Science, to be a genuine disciple, a genuine learner of the truth of God and man, one must be willing to undergo rigorous discipline.
The Bible and the writings of Mrs. Eddy give instructions for true discipleship. The area in which the discipline takes place is the thought of the individual. To the Christian Scientist, the constant replacement of false, mortal concepts with divine ideas of God and of man's relationship to Him as His image and likeness is the "training . . . that corrects, molds, strengthens, or perfects."
Jesus spoke plainly of the disciplinary requirement for discipleship when he said (Luke 14:27), "Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple." And Mrs. Eddy says (Miscellaneous Writings, p. 115), "May God enable my students to take up the cross as I have done, and meet the pressing need of a proper preparation of heart to practise, teach, and live Christian Science!"
