TALK TO SOMEONE BATTLING ILLNESS OR DISEASE who’s decided to turn away from medicine and pursue alternative forms of health care, and you’ll likely hear something about the need to attend to “the whole person.” Call it “spirit” or “soul,” mental or spiritual well-being, but there’s an insatiable yearning for wholeness that demands more than just physical treatment.

Studies show that even patients who stick with traditional medicine are asking questions about where faith fits into the picture. Some actually want their doctors to pray with them. In short, a growing number of people are seeking solutions that involve a marriage—or at least a relationship—between science and spirituality. Which raises the question: Can the two work together to restore wholeness, to afford people happier, healthier, more productive lives?

Mary Baker Eddy, a thought-pioneer of the 19th century, essentially asked the same question. And, in her book, Science and Health, she answered it in no uncertain terms. What she discovered—through her study of the Bible and Jesus’ ministry—was that Science and Christianity naturally work hand in hand, although it’s important to note that her concept of “science” transcends the traditional, matter-based definition. This is the Science of the Christ, a systematic, Spirit-based approach to healing that’s demonstrable and practical because it’s rooted in divine Principle.

Mrs. Eddy not only saw the possibility that healing could involve both mental and physical regeneration, but she also recognized the certainty of that result because of this marriage between a demonstrable Science and a character-elevating Christianity. “Science will declare God aright, and Christianity will demonstrate this declaration and its divine Principle,” she wrote, “making mankind better physically, morally, and spiritually” (Science and Health, p. 466). This was hardly a new idea. As she pointed out, Jesus demanded Christian action of those he healed. “When forgiving the adulterous woman he said, ‘Go, and sin no more’ ” (Science and Health, p. 11), she explained.

The change in thought that leads to healing involves not only an application of spiritual principles, but also an attitude that is Christian: loving, trusting, pure, childlike. When asked how she healed so readily, Mrs. Eddy’s answer always involved the need for love, that foundational Christian virtue. The softening or purifying of one’s character may seem totally unrelated to physical well-being, but effectively restoring health has as much to do with systematic, spiritual treatment as it does with replacing unprincipled or sinful thoughts with humility, love, and gentleness. In fact, in the chapter in Science and Health entitled “Christian Science Practice,” Mrs. Eddy devoted the opening section to the Christian qualities necessary for healing, rather than beginning with the scientific method of spiritual treatment.

I discovered the importance of remembering both the “Christian” and the “Science” aspects of Christian Science when I struggled for almost a year with a blockage in my nose. Although it wasn’t painful, it was terribly inconvenient and embarrassing. I couldn’t blow my nose and my voice sounded terrible.

As I prayed—sometimes with the help of a Christian Science practitioner—to see the spiritual evidence of my perfection as God’s image, I gained a number of important insights. One of the first had to do with the Science aspect of my practice of Christian Science. In my quest for healing, I’d been studying the Bible and Christ Jesus’ works, trying to learn how to pray more effectively. Jesus, I discovered, gave some pretty direct instructions: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Matt. 6:6).

I was somewhat surprised when I realized I wasn’t being fully obedient to this. My prayers were too hit and miss. I needed to set aside a special time when I wouldn’t be disturbed or distracted. This was the “closet.” Then I needed to specifically “shut the door” on what my five physical senses were saying—on every thought that wasn’t coming from God.

I recognized other things. I needed to be more insistent, persistent, and consistent. It wasn’t good enough to voice a few statements of truth and hope this would bring healing. For example, I could state that I was a spiritual idea made in the image and likeness of a wholly spiritual God. Therefore, my being could not include any material blockage. But I had to take it further. I had to insist that this was logical and true based on a fundamental, spiritual law—the law of reflection. A reflected image is always as complete and perfect as the original. And reflection is instantaneous. Whatever the original expresses, the reflection expresses without a pause. Because of this, I didn’t have to wait for healing or go through some process in order to get well. I was perfect that very instant as God’s immediate reflection.

I discovered I couldn’t even stop there. I needed to persist in reasoning this way until my thought yielded to the spiritual truths I was declaring. This was the consistent, systematic application that Christian Science required. Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize at the time was that I couldn’t forget the Christianity.

The blockage continued until I was really fed up and discouraged. Then one evening, when my wife and I were on our way to a testimony meeting at church, she said she thought there was some improvement in the condition. I grumpily replied, “Maybe, but it has a long way to go.” In response, she gently reminded me that I needed to acknowledge and be grateful for the progress I’d already seen. I realized that she was right, and the concept of gratitude struck a chord within me. If I was starting from the standpoint that this condition had no power over me—and no real existence to begin with—then it was not only important for me to feel grateful for the healing, it was natural.

So, during the time set aside at this meeting for the congregation to talk about healing, I stood up. In my now-familiar, nasal twang, I began to give thanks for the healing that had already taken place, based on my understanding that my spiritual perfection was unimpeachable. It took some courage to take such a public stance and some meekness and humility to ward off the questioning glances. But I was reminded of a line from a hymn in the Christian Science Hymnal (No. 204) that says: “And during the battle the victory claim,— / Their trust in Thy truth is their daring.” That’s what I was doing.

On the way home, I went to blow my nose and the obstruction just fell out. I was healed.

The lessons I learned about healing from that experience are numerous. I discovered the importance of consistent, systematic, and consecrated prayer. I was reminded of the need to keep insisting on the unreality of matter and the allness of Spirit, in spite of what my physical senses were saying. I also needed more Christian virtues—more humility, meekness, and love for a wholly good God who made and was maintaining me in His image. These thoughts replaced feelings of negativity and discouragement with trust and gratitude—two key factors in healing.

Ultimately, yielding to Truth has to involve both Science and Christianity, because it’s through the operation of the divine Principle that each individual’s true, Christlike nature comes to light. Of course, there’s no formula for how Science and Christianity will work together—sometimes that Principle, which is synonymous with Love, works in an instant. Other times, it takes a more consecrated, consistent approach to find one’s nature as the reflection of God. But it’s always possible. Because the physical, mental, and spiritual regeneration that comes from the application of Christian Science is the most natural thing in the world.