It seems that whenever you hear about Christian Science or its members, it is usually about a legal case where they have refused to permit a child to receive medical attention and the child has consequently died. One of the most dominant traits of Christian Science is its devotion to healing apart from traditional medicine. But by their own admission, Christian Science is concerned with more than just healing of sicknesses. Concerning their purpose they write, "Although a distinctive part of Christian Science is the healing of disease by spiritual means alone, its higher purpose is universal salvation from every phase of evil- including sin and death."¹

     Christian Science began in 1879, when its founder, Mary Baker Eddy and some of her followers decided to organize a church that would "reinstate primitive Christianity and its lost element of healing". Mary Baker Eddy was born in Bow, New Hampshire in 1821. Her childhood and much of her adult life was characterized by illness. Supposedly, she was healed of a serious injury in 1866 after she had read the account of one of Jesus' healings in the New Testament. In 1875 she wrote and published Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, the cornerstone of Christian Science beliefs.

     Christian Science does not issue a formal doctrinal statement, but does list some basic tenets of its faith. These tenets are as follows:

"Tenets of The Mother Church
   by Mary Baker Eddy

1. As adherents of Truth, we take the inspired Word of the Bible as our sufficient guide to eternal Life.

2. We acknowledge and adore one supreme and infinite God. We acknowledge His Son, one Christ; the Holy Ghost or divine Comforter; and man in God's image and likeness.

3. We acknowledge God's forgiveness of sin in the destruction of sin and the spiritual understanding that casts out evil as unreal. But the belief in sin is punished so long as the belief lasts.

4. We acknowledge Jesus' atonement as the evidence of divine, efficacious Love, unfolding man's unity with God through Christ Jesus the Way-shower; and we acknowledge that man is saved through Christ, through Truth, Life, and Love as demonstrated by the Galilean Prophet in healing the sick and overcoming sin and death.

5. We acknowledge that the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection served to uplift faith to understand eternal Life, even the allness of Soul, Spirit, and the nothingness of matter.

6. And we solemnly promise to watch, and pray for that Mind to be in us which was also in Christ Jesus; to do unto others as we would have them do unto us; and to be merciful, just, and pure."²

These beliefs are anything but biblical. Of greatest concern is what the "church" teaches concerning sin, sickness, suffering, and salvation. They write,

"What is the Christian Science view of sin, disease, and death?

Sin, disease, and death do not originate in God, good. They are not ultimate realities of God's creation and are to be overcome as Jesus taught and illustrated. Those evils result from the belief that man is separated from God and that life and substance are in matter, therefore limited and temporal. Instead, life and substance are seen as Spirit, God, therefore unlimited and eternal."³

"How do you explain the various types of suffering in the world?

They result from believing that God, good, is absent from our lives, that evil is real, and that it is equal to or superior to God. Christ Jesus spoke of evil or the devil as a liar in whom is no truth (see John 8:44). His awareness that evil is not authentic but that God and His goodness are the actual reality enabled him to overcome suffering of every sort, for himself and others. Christian Science holds that God's will for all men is wholly good and that He is not the cause of sin, suffering, or death."⁴

     For the Christian Scientist, sin is a false notion, a non-entity. As long as a person believes sin to exist, it does, but should that person be able to rid themselves of the idea of the existence of sin, sin is gone, and the person is saved from its consequences. Likewise, any so-called consequences of sin, such as sickness and suffering can also be overcome simply by ridding yourself of the idea of their existence. This is the "faith" of Christian Science.

     In order to refute the philosophies of Christian Science, it is necessary that we first develop a good Biblical definition of sin. From my studies of the bible I have concluded that sin is anything contrary to the character or will of God. In that sin is the opposite of holiness and in that God is perfectly holy, sin must be the opposite of God's character or will for His creation. Sin then, is doing what God has said not to do, or not doing what He has said to do.

     The ultimate consequence of sin is death, either spiritual, and/or physical. This is proclaimed in a number of passages of Scripture. Beginning in Genesis 2:16-17, God declares to Adam that in the day he eats of the forbidden fruit, he will surely die. As I understand it, the original Hebrew literally states, "dying, you shall die". In other words, being cast into a condition where you begin to physically die, you will die immediately spiritually. The declaration is continued in Ezekiel 3:17-19 where the unrighteous man will die in his sins. Paul states in romans 6:24 that the wages of sin is death. But probably the most graphic picture of the relationship of sin to death is found in James 1:13-15. There the picture of physical conception and birth is used to illustrate the origin and consequences of sin. Lust and temptation serve as the sperm and egg. when they are joined together, sin is conceived. When it has matured over a period of time, sin literally, "gives birth to death". The reason that everyone sooner or later dies (even the Christian Scientist) is because of the reality of sin (Romans 3:23). It is not the figment of someone's imagination.

     It is because of sin that sickness and suffering are in the world. Had Adam and Eve not sinned in the Garden of Eden, we would not need to have doctors and lawyers in the world. There would be no diseases to cure and no disputes to settle. But such is not the case. While all sickness and suffering owes their ultimate cause to the existence of sin, not all sickness and suffering is caused by a personal act of sin. God can, and does use these things to accomplish His purposes. For the Christian Scientist to say sickness and suffering do not come from God is simply to deny the teaching of the Scriptures.

     I would like to suggest that sickness and suffering can result from at least 6 different causes. The first is an act of sin committed by a Christian. 1 Corinthians 11:29-30 says that because of the sin at the communion table some of the Corinthians were sick and some had even died. Some of the more notable sins of alcoholism, homosexuality, and drug abuse can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, AIDS, and hepatitis. it is not healthy to violate God's will.

     A second cause for sickness and suffering is that of Satanic oppression. Job is a prime example of this. Job was declared by God to be a righteous man, one who hated evil. But God allowed Satan to afflict Job by removing his fame, fortune, and family. Yet Job did not sin. Satan then was allowed to afflict Job physically by taking away his health, but once again, Job did not sin. The Apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 12 that to keep him from being exalted above measure, God allowed a messenger of Satan to buffet him with a thorn in the flesh. Paul was not afflicted because he had committed some act of sin, but while in perfect fellowship with his Savior. Whenever a child of God is doing something of value for his God, the adversary becomes especially active.

     A third cause of sickness and suffering is that God allows them to develop character in the lives of His children. Peter talks about the commonness of trials that come into the life of a believer in chapter four of his first epistle. He concludes the chapter by writing, "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator." God sometimes causes us to be "down" in order that we must look up. He wants to reveal the magnitude of His power to us and the best way to demonstrate it is by bringing adversity into our lives through which only He can bring relief.

     A fourth cause is that of worldly oppression. Jesus said that we are not to be surprised that the world will hate us because it first hated him. Paul says that all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. It is inevitable that a person living a lifestyle that glorifies God will be at odds with the world since the unsaved world is under the dominion of the adversary, Satan. Notice that Jesus said the world would hate the Christian. He did not say that the world would not appreciate the Christian, or agree with the Christian, but hate us. hatred is the strongest form of opposition that anyone can experience.

     Fifth, God uses suffering and sickness to provide an opportunity for evangelism. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:8-10 that he endures suffering for the elect's sake, in order that they may obtain salvation. In was in a prison that Paul and Silas led the Philippian jailor to faith. It was chained to a Roman guard that Paul preached the gospel in Rome that spread throughout all the palace. It was after being mocked on the day of Pentecost that Peter and John preached and led 3000 to saving faith. God uses suffering in order to draw people to Himself.

     Finally, sickness and suffering offer an opportunity for God to display His glory. In John 9, the disciples argued as to who committed sin, a boy that was born blind, or his parents. Jesus said that neither of them had committed an act of sin that caused the blindness, but that the boy was born this way in order that the glory of God might be revealed in him.

     So we see that all sickness and suffering is not necessarily caused by sin. But the most important question is how do we overcome it. Christian Scientists say that all you need do is rid yourself of the idea that sin, sickness and suffering is real, and you will be saved from them. If that be the case, there is no need for a Savior, your it. But the Bible does not support such an idea. What does the Bible say as to how to deal with sickness and suffering in each of these cases? The chart below summarizes Biblical relief from sickness and suffering.

CAUSE	CURE
1. Act of Sin	Confess our sins 1 John 1:9
2. Satanic Oppression	Fight and Resist Ephesians 6:10-17, James 4:7
3. Character Development	Count it all joy James 1:3, Philippians 3:7-10
4. Worldly Oppression	Persevere 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10
5. Evangelism Opportunity	Pray Ephesians 6:18-19
6. Display God's Glory	Trust 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

     In that Christian Science has a wrong concept of sin, it stands to reason that it also has a wrong concept of sickness and suffering. Consequently, there is also a wrong remedy or salvation. We must now ask ourselves if there is any science in Christian Science, for that matter, is there anything Christian in it as well. The apostle Paul addressed the issue in 1 Timothy 6:20-21. There he wrote that Timothy was to avoid profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called. The word that is translated "science" is the Greek word "gnosis" which is commonly translated "knowledge". This knowledge is something that can be demonstrated as being true. the fact of the matter is that nothing of the belief system of Christian Science is in accord with the Scriptures and can not be demonstrated to be true. it is therefore not scientific. There is no science in Christian Science. And in that it denies the deity of Jesus Christ, the nature of God, the existence of the devil, the reality of heaven and hell, the need for salvation from sin through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, there is nothing Christian in Christian Science.

     There is an old joke about the death French philosopher, Rene Descartes, the man who said, "I think, therefore I am". One day as he went into a restaurant for dinner, the waiter asked if he would like a drink before eating. Descartes replied, "I think not" and suddenly he was gone. Such is the mindset of Christian Science. Because it thinks that it can rid itself of sin sickness and suffering simply by refusing to believe they exist, they become like the death of Descartes- a joke. The proof lies in the fact the Mary Baker Eddy, the movement's founder, died. If there was no sin in her life, how could she have died? If there is no such thing as sin, then what did Jesus bear in His body on the cross? I thank God that Jesus bore my sins. He bore yours also. He paid for them with His blood and you can be saved from those sins by trusting in His finished work. And that is no joke.