"Only through radical reliance on Truth can scientific healing power be realized."Science and Health, p. 167; Thus Mrs. Eddy sets forth a basic rule in Christian Science healing that separates it from all other methods known today.
Jesus did not use material means to heal disease, and Christian Science healing is in accord with the method used by him. He said: "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."Matt. 6:24; From this statement a Christian Scientist deduces that one cannot rely on both God and matter to bring forth effective healing. It is only through complete reliance on God, who is Spirit, that permanent, spiritual healing takes place.
Implicit obedience to the First Commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me,"Ex. 20:3. is vital to the one who is relying on Christian Science for healing, because the command to have one God is a demand for radical reliance on Truth. It is only thus that men emulate the works of Jesus, healing sin, disease, and death by spiritual means alone. Refusal to use material means enhances one's obedience to God. When a student recognizes God as the only power there is, he will not deny the ability of this power to operate in behalf of mankind. Were he to feel for one instant that matter could aid him, he would be giving less than his full loyalty and obedience to God. To be less than obedient to God is, to a Christian Scientist, tantamount to disobedience to the First Commandment.
