What distinguishes Christian science?

Christian science explains how sin, disease and death are all illusions. Instead, it states that human beings should be focused on the spirituality of the universe to overcome their problems. Learn more about Christian science beliefs in this article.

Foundations

The core belief of Christian science is that God created all things in his likeness. Since God is considered (by believers) as entirely good and spiritual, Christian science dictates that any form of evil must be unreal. Enlightenment Christian scientists believe that sin, disease and even death are all illusions that can be overcome through the power of prayer. However, prayer does not necessarily mean a direct request to God for a better life. Instead, prayer is used to awaken a “spiritual reality” in believers. Similar to some forms of meditation, Christian science attempts to achieve a sense of enlightenment. Spiritual cures Devout followers are known to reject modern medicine, in favour of spiritual cures for their aliments. Christian science textbooks explain how the medical industry wrongly focuses on resolving physical issues, when it should spend time developing spiritual solutions.

Further reading

A difficult concept Non-believers often find Christian science to be a difficult concept to fathom. There is much evidence for the existence of evils such as disease and death. However, Christian scientists counter this by explaining how a belief in evil is replaced by the understanding of universal goodness. Therefore, the only people who query Christian scientific beliefs are those who do not understand them, and once you believe, the queries become redundant. The Bible as foundation Much like traditional Christian beliefs, there are degrees of acceptance of Christian scientific principles. Both use the Bible as a foundation, but individuals vary on how literally they interpret its teachings. There are Christian scientists who blur the edges of medicine and spirituality by explaining how the former evolved from the latter. Philosophy of dualism One common interpretation of the belief system evolved from the philosophy of dualism. The traditional “God versus the Devil” is substituted for “God versus matter”. Matter is simply an illusion, detracting people's attention from the spirituality of the universe. Due to the adamant belief that death is simply an illusion, the nature of an afterlife differs from conventional Christian views. Christian scientists perceive heaven and hell as mental states. It is accepted amongst followers that death will be overcome when sin has eventually been conquered.