"WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU HAD [fill in the blank with any illness or injury]?" Most students of Christian Science have been asked this question by interested inquirers at one time or another. This is an intelligent question, and I'm grateful for every person who wants to understand why Christian Scientists confidently rely on Christian Science treatment for healing. And since each Christian Scientist would answer this question in his or her own individual way, what follows isn't the answer but simply my own attempt to shed some light on the issue.
Christian Scientists approach conditions of injury or illness in much the same way that most other people do, whether monotheistic, polytheistic, or atheistic—by wanting health restored. Pretty much everyone chooses the type of treatment that they feel confident will most likely help. For example, in the case of back pain, some people might enlist the professional services of a medical doctor or surgeon; others might choose an orthopedist or a chiropractor; still others might seek relief through yoga, pain pills, or acupuncture. Christian Scientists generally choose Christian Science treatment and for the very normal reason that they have found Christian Science treatment—in other words, Christianly scientific prayer—to be effective. Spiritual healing isn't something that Christian Scientists "believe in" with a blind faith, but something that they have experienced. In other words, they've proved this treatment to be trustworthy.
Occasionally, someone asks if Christian Scientists are allowed to go to doctors. This question amazes me. Apparently, such questioners are operating under the mistaken assumption that an ecclesiastical hierarchy dictates how church members live. The fact is that Christian Science church members are free moral agents with the inalienable right to engage whatever professional help they choose. Science and Health states plainly that "... all are privileged to work out their own salvation according to their light..." (p. 443).
